Parents arrested, accused of ‘severe pattern of neglect’ after child’s death
By Jacob Freeman
Click here for updates on this story
SALT LAKE CITY (KSL, KSL TV) — A man and woman were arrested in Cache County after their 18-month-old child died of malnutrition and dehydration in March, authorities announced on Thursday.
The Cache County Sheriff’s Office identified the parents as Mitchell and Carrie Murray and said their child died at a residence in Nibley on March 19. The sheriff’s office said the investigation began immediately afterward.
“Follow-up investigative steps conducted by the Cache County Sheriff’s Office identified a severe pattern of neglect leading up to the infant’s death,” the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities were able to use data from baby monitors and surveillance cameras to reconstruct a timeline of the four days leading up to the child’s death. The sheriff’s office said for those 96 hours, “the total time another human being was identified as being present with the child was 49 minutes and 15 seconds.”
Investigators also found that the child was out of the crib for a combined six hours and 15 minutes, and had only six diaper changes during that time.
“The findings of the medical examiner confirmed that the infant died due to complications arising from malnutrition and dehydration,” the sheriff’s office said. “Based on these facts and the medical findings, Mitchell and Carrie Murray were taken into custody.”
Police documents say Carrie Murray works as a nurse, and Mitchell Murray said he works from home and takes care of the children during the day — there was also a 4-year-old child in the home.
Lt. Mikelshan Bartschi with the Cache County Sheriff’s Office said the Murrays cooperated with the investigation. He said the video of the child’s room was difficult for detectives to watch.
“Watching the video was a very tough task for the detective who was charged with that. It carries a burden, right? To watch a child sit there and be zipped back into its crib for that extensive amount of time,” Bartschi said.
The lieutenant said it was difficult for investigators to understand why the child was left in those conditions.
“My job is to be that impartial fact finder, and that’s our role, and this is one of those that I think a lot of us are going to struggle with ‘why’ for a long time,” Bartschi said. “And all we have to say to that is what the parents had said, and they didn’t view what they had done as necessarily wrong, or as a problem.”
Police documents said the child was primarily fed waffles, and Carrie Murray reportedly told investigators that the child “had only eaten baby food once or twice.”
The documents also said that when investigators asked Carrie Murray why she thought the child had died, she guessed SIDS, although that typically only affects infants under a year old. Then, according to the documents, she said “it was just her time, I guess.”
The Murrays were both booked into the Cache County Jail on accusations of child abuse and homicide.
Contributing: Adam Small, KSL NewsRadio
This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.