VINEYARD, Utah County, July 29, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Parents of a 4-month-old child were jailed after an autopsy Thursday revealed blunt force trauma as the cause of the infant’s death.”
“A 4-month-old child died after she was physically abused by her father,” the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said just before 7 p.m. Friday in a statement online. “The child’s mother failed to act to stop or report the abuse. The father and mother are in jail, both facing multiple felony charges.”
Wednesday just after 2 p.m. sheriff’s deputies and Orem Fire Department paramedics responded to a report of a 4-month-old infant at a home in Vineyard who was not conscious and not breathing, according to the press release. Paramedics immediately transported her to Timpanogos Hospital in Orem. “The child was briefly treated there before being pronounced dead.”
An autopsy Thursday by the State Medical Examiner’s Office found that the infant sustained severe blunt force trauma injuries to the side of her head, the sheriff said. “This trauma fractured her skull and caused large amounts of bleeding around the infant’s brain.
“Preliminary indications are that this injury caused the death of the infant. Doctors at the Medical Examiner’s Office also found evidence that the infant suffered multiple bruises that happened prior to the injuries she sustained the day she died.”
The little girl’s father has allegedly confessed to the fatal abuse, according to the sheriff’s office.
“The father of the infant, Alexzander Sean Berry, age 29, of Vineyard, told investigators he struck the infant in the head with his fist, choked her, held her around her abdomen and struck her head on a crib rail, wrapped her in a blanket, then threw her into the crib where the infant’s head hit the wall,” the press release reads.
“The mother of the infant, Myra Jane Megan, age 24, also of Vineyard, was in another room when she said she heard the infant scream. When she ran to the room she saw Berry had wrapped the infant in a blanket and saw him throw the infant into the crib.”
Berry was arrested and booked into the Utah County jail on the following charges: child abuse homicide, first degree felony; aggravated child abuse – two counts, second degree felony.
“Because Megan took no action to stop the abuse, and didn’t report what she saw to police, she was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail on the following charges: aggravated child abuse – two counts, second degree felony.”
A judge ordered Berry held without bail. The judge also ordered that Megan be held on $10,000 bail.
