By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:17, 6 August 2026 | Updated: 14:29, 6 August 2026 The family of a two-year-old girl who was mauled to death in a horror dog attack have been arrested after they allegedly left her unattended for 40 minutes before the animal dragged her away. Earnest Jackson, 54, Christina Hart, 41, and Ma'Kayla Jackson, 21, were arrested Tuesday on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor, following an investigation into the March 28 fatal dog attack that killed Celeste Jackson, 2. A witness, whose name was redacted from court records, told investigators that Celeste was playing outside the family's run-down home in North Little Rock, Arkansas when she was dragged away by the dog. The dog was reportedly a notorious stray that was known for wandering the area, and it was not chained up or fenced in before it picked up the little girl and took her into the woods. Police said when they arrived on the scene, they found Celeste laying by the backseat of a van without a diaper or any clothes on, covered in blood and suffering a number of lacerations and bite injuries. An officer said they could not find a pulse and felt Celeste's arm was cold, and she was tragically pronounced dead at the scene soon after. Ma'Kayla Jackson told officers that she had left the child with someone, whose name was redacted from her arrest affidavit. At the time, Celeste's mother Angel Jackson was at work. However, a review of surveillance footage allegedly found that Celeste had been walking outside alone at 5:03pm, and no adult came to check on her until she was attacked by the dog at 5:41pm, police said. Detectives added in the affidavit that when they went over camera footage from a week earlier, they also alleged that Celeste had been wandering outside the home for over 20 minutes on March 21 without any supervision. Celeste Jackson, 2, was dragged into the woods and mauled to death in a vicious 'stray' dog attack on March 28 in North Little Rock, Arkansas Following an investigation into the toddler's tragic death, police announced this week they had arrested her family members (L-R) Ma'Kayla Jackson, 21, Christina Hart, 41, and Earnest Jackson, 54, on child endangerment charges. They all pleaded not guilty The attack occurred when Celeste was playing outside the ramshackle seven-bedroom home she shared with 11 relatives in North Little Rock, Arkansas (pictured) Following the family member's arrests, all three pleaded not guilty to charges of child endangerment in Pulaski County District Court, and were held in the county jail. Bond was set for $10,000 for Earnest Jackson, $8,500 for Ma'Kayla Jackson and $3,000 for Hart, reports the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Ma'Kayla allegedly told police that she had fallen asleep while her daughter was playing outside, and she had left her in the care of a person - whose name was redacted from the filing. A witness said they heard children playing outside, and they ran out when they heard screaming. Police said that in their review of surveillance footage, Celeste was left alone from 5:03pm, and a woman was seen leaving their home at 5:31pm but did not appear to be looking for her. That woman, whose name was redacted, walked to a car parked outside and retrieved a bag, before walking back inside after only three minutes and leaving Celeste by herself, police said, Ten minutes later, several people left the home and began searching for Celeste, police said. 'So, for approximately 40 minutes' Celeste 'was outside, unattended, with no other adults or kids around, wandering by herself up and down the street,' officers wrote in the affidavit. Celeste's grandmother described her as a 'little angel' who 'loved to sing and dance', with a photo of her uploaded to a GoFundMe page that appears to have been enhanced with AI Grandmother Shawanda Jackson (pictured with Celeste) said she 'didn't know' how the attack happened while Celeste was at home, where she should have been under the care of several adults Officers responded to the family home, which sits across from a wooded area cluttered with tires, debris and garbage, to find Celeste had no pulse following the dog attack Officers noted that Celeste's family home had seven-bedrooms and was shared by 11 relatives. Photos show a household marred by squalor and chaos. Celeste's family members posted photos of her online that appear to have been enhanced using artificial intelligence, with one showing her posing with a coffee at an office desk and another of her drinking a hot drink in a pristine home. They described the dog that attacked her as 'tan, dingy, dirty-looking'. The animal is currently in the custody of the Pulaski County Animal Control Division. Celeste's grandmother Shawnda Jackson said she was left heartbroken and confused over how the tragedy unfolded. 'There were six adults... how did this happen?' she told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. 'She was my whole world,' she added. 'I don't know what I'm going to do without her.' She said that she and Celeste's mother Angel left the toddler in the care of her family members when they both went to work. The toddler's grieving family alleged the dog was a neighbor's pet that was not fenced in or kept on a chain, allowing it to drag her into the heavily wooded area. This account was disputed by neighbors, however, who denied that their dog was involved and said the mutt described had been seen roaming the area for at least four years and was nearly impossible to catch, often darting away at the first sign of people. Ma'Kayla allegedly told police she thought Celeste was under the care of another adult when she went to sleep moments before the fatal dog attack Pictured: a photo of Celeste on her grandmother's Facebook that appears to be enhanced by AI The area is no stranger to stray animals, neighbors said, which are often seen wandering the streets lined with single-story homes and trailers, many appearing abandoned or in disrepair. 'Who expects to have to bury a two-year-old? I certainly did not expect to. I expected to have her for the rest of my life and I don't,' Shawnda told KATV News. 'My daughter is completely devastated,' she added. 'That's her only child, and for her to be taken this soon and in this manner, I mean, I know she suffered, and that's what hurts the most.' 'I should have called into work that day,' Shawnda told the outlet, explaining that she had considered taking Celeste to leave flowers at her late mother's grave for her birthday - a plan that never came to fruition. 'This never would have happened,' she added.
المصدر: Daily Mail
| Source: Daily Mail
