An Alabama man has been charged with the 2021 murder of a 2-year-old toddler.

WTVA in Tupelo reports that Justin Atkins, 33, of Reform, Alabama, was arrested in connection with the death of 2-year-old Layton Nabors, who died on March 19, 2021.

Pontotoc Sheriff Leo Mask said it took 16 months to get autopsy results from the state crime lab in the case.

Results showed that the toddler died from blunt-force trauma, injuries that were inconsistent with Atkins report of what happened when he was responsible for the child at a home on Evergreen Drive in Pontotoc.

Atkins was reportedly the boyfriend of the child’s mother at the time. Atkins was reportedly watching the toddler and his sister at the time while the mother was away at work.

Mask told the Pontotoc Progress that having to wait so long for autopsy results is an indication of the need for additional crime lab resources in the state.

Mask told the Pontotoc Progress that having to wait so long for the autopsy results is “ridiculous” and that residents should call their state leaders to push for a crime lab in the northern part of the state.