Tag: Utah
Teen allegedly kills man wrongfully accused of sexually assaulting his sister
A teenage boy fatally attacked a man after the teen’s younger sister told her brother that she was sexually assaulted by the man on a public bus in Utah — an incident that investigators say never happened, according to reports.
Police say the 16-year-old girl told her 17-year-old brother that she was sexually assaulted aboard a Cache Valley Transit District bus around 3 p.m. April 23, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The brother immediately sprang into action and tracked down 62-year-old Michael Fife — the man his sister accused — as the man was exiting the bus in the city of Logan, according to the news outlet.
The teen then attacked Fife, who suffered head injuries and was beaten unconscious.
Fife fell to the ground and was left lying on the sidewalk as the teenage boy fled, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Later that night, the boy’s sister reported the sexual assault to police, who discovered that surveillance footage from the bus showed that the assault never happened.
“Logan Police detectives reviewed the video footage of the alleged assault,” authorities said, according to the news outlet. “The video showed Mr. Fife walking past the girl, but no sexual assault occurred.”
Fife died from his injuries four days after the attack.
The identities of the teen brother and his sister were not released because of their ages.
The Cache County Attorney’s Office is also investigating the case.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
4-year-old girl found alone in the cold leads Utah police to mother’s body
OGDEN, Utah — A man came to the aid of a 4-year-old girl who was alone and not dressed for the cold Wednesday night, leading police to a tragic scene, according to KSTU.
Ogden Police say he encountered the young girl just before 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Marcus King said he was on his way to play pickup basketball when a little girl called out to him from a playground near the Marshall White Community Center.
“I had heard a little girl’s voice inside the park, didn’t really think nothing of it… once I came around this way she had got my attention,” he said.
King said the girl was playing in the snow on the playground, but with the sun already down and temperatures near freezing, he was shocked by her attire.
“She didn’t have any jacket, no shoes, no parental supervision, and just took action then and took her inside,” he said.
The staff at the nearby community center helped him call the police, and King stayed around for almost three hours until police could figure out where the girl’s mother was.
“When they walked over there, the door was wide open,” King said. “And the way the little girl was explaining it was: Her mom wasn’t paying attention, and her mom was on the floor sleeping.”
Lt. Tim Scott with Ogden Police spoke about the scene.
“Officers went inside and found a 41-year-old mother dead,” he said. “She was living alone with her mother. There is no sign of foul play. There are some pre-existing medical conditions that may have played a role.”
Ogden Police confirm the girl’s mother died nearly 24 hours before the child was found by King. At some point, the young girl left the apartment and went across the street to the playground.
King said he was glad to help out a child in need.
“This is not a good part of Ogden—there’s a lot of weirdos around here, and I’m really, really fortunate and happy that I got to her, and nobody else did,” he said.
As of Thursday night, the child was in the care of the Division of Child and Family Services and authorities were working to determine if there are relatives she can stay with.
Utah Couple Charged With Murder, Child Abuse in Connection With Death of 13-Day-Old Baby
A Utah man has been charged with murder and child abuse in connection with the death of his girlfriend’s 13-day-old boy and the child’s mother also faces charges because she did not do anything to stop the abuse, officials said.
Maria Elena Sullivan, 26, and Dylan James Kitzmiller, 21, were charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of child abuse in the death of Sullivan’s infant son, according to court documents filed on Friday, KTLA sister station KSTU reported.
Sullivan was arrested at a Georgia hospital where she was seeking treatment and will face a judge to determine if she will be extradited back to Utah. Kitzmiller was arrested in a West Jordan, Utah, where the couple lived with a relative.
While officials don’t think Sullivan caused any of the abuse directly, she still faces a murder charge because she was aware of the abuse and took no steps to stop it or take the child to safety.
The child was born September 4 with no known health problems, and on September 17 the child was pronounced dead by medical responders.
Prosecutors allege Kitzmiller was abusing the child regularly and that Sullivan knew about the abuse, but did nothing to stop it or to get treatment for the injuries.
On the day of the child’s death, Sullivan told police she was on the phone with a friend and speaking about her desire to “get away from Kitzmiller’s abuse” of her and her son.
As this call was occurring, the baby was in Kitzmiller’s care. When Sullivan went downstairs, she found the baby wearing only a diaper while Kitzmiller moved the boy’s legs “in a rough weird bicycle thing.” Kitzmiller told Sullivan the boy would be fine and to just put him to sleep, she told police.
She picked him up and he seemed calmer, but later that night she heard the boy making noises and gasping for air. She pinched the boy to try to get him to respond and said she heard the baby gasp a few more times before the child stopped breathing.
The couple went upstairs to use a relative’s phone to call 911. First responders performed CPR but life-saving measures were ultimately unsuccessful.
Charging documents say Sullivan told police that Kitzmiller was rough with the baby, but she continued to leave him in his care. She also said she had learned the man was using heroin daily and said he was verbally abusive toward her.
She said Kitzmiller would abuse the boy, including grabbing him by the shoulder and throwing him in the air, swaddling him face down and on one occasion covering the boy’s mouth and nose with his hand as the baby cried. She said he once threw the baby back and forth between his hands and also slapped him in the face and bite his hands.
Charging documents state Sullivan was aware of the injuries but never sought medical care for her son.
Police said Kitzmiller told officers that Sullivan and a relative had yelled at him for being too rough with the baby and that Sullivan did not cause any of the boy’s injuries.
A doctor examined the boy and found he had lost 14 percent of his body mass in weight in the 13 days since his birth, going from 5 pounds 6 ounces to 4 pounds and 8 ounces at death. He had abrasions and bruises on his face and body. The boy also suffered a spinal fracture and a broken rib along with a “massive” amount of swelling in his brain.
via: http://ktla.com/2017/10/23/utah-couple-charged-with-murder-in-death-of-13-day-old-baby/
Utah Mother Arrested After Allegedly Locking Children in Trunk of Car While She Shopped at Wal-Mart
A mother was arrested on suspicion of child abuse Thursday after a witness saw her lock her 2 and 5-year-old children in the trunk of a car in a Wal-Mart parking lot while she went shopping, KTLA sister station KSTU reported.
According to police, several people helped the children escape from the locked trunk before Tori Castillo, 39, surfaced from the store.
Heidi, who wanted to keep her last name anonymous, was one of those people.
She said she and her friend were unloading groceries nearby when she heard noise coming from the trunk. She walked over and put her ear against the car.
“I could hear some kids crying,” she recounted. “I turned to my friend and I’m like, ‘There’s people in this trunk. There’s kids in this trunk!'”
Heidi said she and her friend, as well as two other women, started trying to help the girl inside. She said one of the women had seen the mother put the children in the trunk, before walking into the store.
“I started talking to the little girl that I could hear screaming,” Heidi said. “She was (yelling), ‘Mom, let me out! Let me out! Mom! Help!” She was screaming, crying.”
At that point, Heidi said she started yelling back at the girl, guiding her on how to open the truck with the emergency latch.
The trunk popped open. Heidi said the children were scared, and sweating from the heat.
“Both kids just came out… they just jumped out at us,” Heidi said. “One lady took the 2-year-old, I took the 5-year-old.”
While they waited for police, Heidi said the mother emerged from the store.
“The only explanation she had was, ‘My babysitter didn’t show up,'” Heidi said.
According to the Riverdale Police Department, Castillo was booked into the Weber County Correctional Facility in Ogden. She faces four counts of child abuse with physical injury and one charge of theft.
The Division of Child and Family Services responded, “and the children were turned over to a responsible party,” according to a news release.
Heidi still can’t believe the shocking scene she witnessed.
“It was kind of heartbreaking to see that somebody could do something so cruel,” she said.
Teen arrested for recording girl hanging herself from tree
A Utah teen was arrested Saturday in connection to the death of a 16-year-old girl found hanging from a tree.
Tyerell Joe Przybycien, 18, was charged with murder after confessing to investigators that he helped the girl kill herself and recorded the incident, the Desert News reported.
He told officers he was “suicidal and wanted to watch the victim die to see if it was something he could go through with himself,” according to an affidavit.
On Saturday morning, the 16-year-old girl was found hanging in Maple Lake, Utah, with a receipt for rope purchased by Pryzbycien nearby.
Authorities also recovered a cellphone and handwritten note identifying the girl at the scene. The note also said “if there were any questions to watch the video” on the phone.
Officers said they charged the phone and watched the video, which showed the girl’s final moments.
“You can clearly see the victim with a noose around her neck while standing on a rock” according to an affidavit. “Przybycien is heard asking the juvenile to say something.”
In the video, the teen girl inhales a large dose of industrial strength air duster, which was later discovered at the scene.
“Przybycien then continues to film this incident on camera for approximately 10 to 11 minutes,” the report said. “Przybycien never offers assistance at anytime, and can be heard asking her to move or say something.”
Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon said that the 18-year-old was not captured on video trying to dissuade the girl from taking her life.
“Don’t know if he encouraged her as much as he did not actively discourage her. They talked about it,” Cannon told the Desert News. “He knew what she intended to do. They went together as he purchased the items she intended to use. And he played an active role in her death.”
Przybycien reportedly returned to the scene while officers were still investigating and confessed to his involvement.
He was taken into custody at Utah County Jail, where is being held on $20,000 bail.
via: http://nypost.com/2017/05/08/teen-arrested-for-recording-girl-hanging-herself-from-tree/
Utah Principal Placed on Leave After Student Forced to Sit Naked as Punishment
The Salt Lake City School District has placed Edison Elementary Principal Laurie Lacy on leave, and police have launched an investigation, following an incident that police said ended with a Utah department of children and family services getting involved.
The Salt Lake City Police Department and the school district would not give exact details of the incident, but a source close to the situation told KTLA sister station KSTU in Salt Lake City that Lacy told a student to pull his pants down in her office as a punishment.
Detective Greg Wilking with Salt Lake City Police said the incident took place on April 7.
The source told KSTU that a teacher brought the student, a refugee they thought to be in the first grade, to Lacy’s office after the student kept pulling his pants down during school.
Lacy told the student to take his pants off in her office, the source said.
The student had no underwear on, the source explained, and Lacy forced him to sit half-naked in a chair in the corner of her office.
At least a few teachers were in the office during the situation and witnessed it happen, said the source. The person wasn’t sure how long the student sat in the chair without pants on.
Det. Wilking said the school district and DCFS reported the incident to police on April 12. He said Special Victims Unit detectives are investigating the case, because it’s somewhat sexual in nature and involves a young boy.
Because the case is in such an early stage, he wouldn’t comment further.
Jason Olsen from the Salt Lake School District, sent KSTU this statement:
“The district was made aware of the allegations involving the principal at Edison Elementary several days ago and immediately started a comprehensive investigation, including placing the principal on leave. We are also fully cooperating with police in their investigation.”
2-Year-Old Utah Boy Beaten to Death Over Dirty Diaper; Mother Sentenced
A Utah mother was sentenced to prison Monday in connection with the death of her 2-year-old son, who died last year after allegedly being beaten over a potty training incident, KTLA sister station KSTU reported.
Jasmine Ruth Bridgeman was sentenced to serve up to 15 years in prison, according to the Salt Lake City-area television station. She pleaded guilty to a charge of obstruction of justice, a second degree felony, on March 14.
Two-year-old James Sieger Jr. was found unresponsive and covered in bruises when he arrived at Davis County hospital in May 9, 2015.
The boy, who suffered severe internal injuries, died following several surgeries, according to KSTU.
His mother, 24-year-old Jasmine Bridgeman, and her boyfriend, 35-year-old Joshua Schoenenberger, were later taken into custody on suspicion of child abuse, KSTU reported.
According to court documents, the boy had been abused by the pair at Shoenenberger’s home.
Some of the abuse was a result of attempts to potty train the toddler, the documents stated.
Citing jail documents, KUTV reported that the boy defecated in his diaper and the couple became furious, even taking the diaper off and smearing it in his face.
Documents stated Schoenenberger continued to beat the boy while Bridgeman went outside and smoked a cigarette.
“The biological mother did allow significant amount of abuse to go on without intervening, but also engaged in it herself,” said Lt. Travis Lyman of the Layton City Police Department.
Schoenenberger pleaded not guilty Monday to aggravated murder and felony child abuse, the station reported.
He was due back in court on May 9
4 Men Arrested After 9-Year-Old Is Raped, while mother smoking meth in the next room
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of raping and sodomizing a 9-year-old girl on Easter Sunday in Utah while her mother was allegedly smoking methamphetamine in another room, police and KTLA sister station KSTU reported a week after the incident.
The young girl was with her mother, who was visiting a friend, when the pair left the child alone and sleeping on a couch to go into a Utah home’s garage and smoke methamphetamine on March 27, the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release on Sunday.
When the mother returned, she noticed her daughter’s clothing was in disarray, the girl seemed upset and wanted to go home, KSTU reported.
The following day the child told her mother four men had taken her into a bedroom and took turns raping and sodomizing her, and one threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the heinous acts, the TV station reported.
Police were notified and Larson RonDeau, 36, was detained on March 29 after the victim identified him from a picture.
Josiah RonDeau, 20; Jerry Flatlip, 29; and Randall Flatlip, 26 were later arrested on March 31 and April 1, according to police, who did not say if any of the men were related.
All four were booked on suspicion of first-degree felony counts of rape and sodomy.
Evidence; including bloodstained bedding, marijuana and drug paraphernalia; were also obtained when officers executed a search warrant, KSTU reported.
The 9-year-old girl was in state custody following the incident, which was still under investigation, according to police.