A TRAGIC drowning that claimed the life of a two-year-old has taken a shocking turn after new allegations surfaced nearly three years later.
A former police officer is now facing serious charges connected to the child’s death.
Former police officer Carl Swanson, 41 was charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter, abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death[/caption]
Swanson’s two-year-old son drowned in a backyard pool while allegedly left unsupervised[/caption]
The case stems from an October 2022 incident in St. James, Missouri, a small city about 90 miles west of St. Louis.
On October 16 of that year, the toddler climbed into a backyard swimming pool and was found unresponsive.
Emergency crews airlifted him to the Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, where he fought for nearly two years.
The boy passed away on July 10, 2024, due to complications from the near-drowning.
At the time, the St. James Police Department asked the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department to take over the investigation.
According to an initial statement, a woman inside the home said she last saw the boy indoors while his father was in his bedroom, Fox local affiliate WDAF-TV.
She believed the child’s older siblings, ages nine and 12, were keeping an eye on him.
The child’s father, identified as former officer Carl E. Swanson, later told investigators he had stepped out of his bedroom to ask about his son’s whereabouts.
When no one knew where the boy was, the family searched the home before Swanson discovered him floating in the pool.
He yelled for one of the older children to call 911 as frantic efforts were made to save the toddler.
But in September 2025, the case was reopened after new information was brought to the sheriff’s department.
On September 15, officials received a tip from someone recounting a year-old conversation with the same female witness.
In that conversation, the woman allegedly confessed she needed to “get something off her chest.”
She told the individual that she had been having sex with Swanson on the afternoon the boy drowned.
She reportedly said the encounter lasted five to ten minutes, but the child had been left without supervision for about half an hour.
Investigators interviewed the woman, who repeated the same account directly to them.
She said after their encounter, she got dressed for work while Swanson changed into shorts and a shirt before sitting on the couch to play video games.
It was only later that Swanson began asking where his son was.
The woman also claimed Swanson instructed her to lie about what they had been doing at the time.
She added that Swanson became angry afterward, blaming her and the other children for failing to watch the toddler.
When confronted by investigators, Swanson admitted he should have been supervising the child.
But he insisted it was not unusual for him to leave his youngest in the care of his older siblings.
Authorities also allege that Swanson had previously misled the woman’s biological mother into believing he had legally adopted her.
They say he used falsified documents to convince the mother she no longer had custody.
Following the new testimony, prosecutors filed multiple charges against Swanson.
He was charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter, abuse or neglect of a child resulting in death, and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Court records show he was booked into the Phelps County Jail.
Bond was set at $100,000, which was posted on September 16, allowing Swanson to be released.
The 41-year-old is due back in court on Tuesday, September 30.
The Phelps County Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed the charges are moving forward.
