Columbus Mother Charged After 3-Year-Old Son Fatally Shot Himself

Law enforcement tape cordons off the crime scene where a... — Source: SOPA Images / Getty

The mother of a 3-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself in bed Monday morning faced a Franklin County judge on Tuesday.

Carley Dials (29) was arraigned on one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of her son, Cartier Smith. The boy died at Nationwide Children’s Hospital around 9:51AM Monday.

According to police, Cartier found a gun hidden between a mattress and the wall in his mother’s bedroom and shot himself while on the bed. Investigators say the weapon had been brought into the home by 31-year-old Sean Perrin.

Dials told police she discovered it on the floor before moving it behind the mattress.

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Both Dials and Perrin were asleep when the child found the firearm. Dials was arrested at the scene and booked into the Franklin County Jail.

Perrin, who was wanted for a probation violation and barred from possessing a firearm, was later arrested in Columbus’ Hilltop neighborhood. He is charged with having a weapon under disability.

Bond for Dials is set at $50,000, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for October 2nd. Perrin’s bond is set at $750,000.