COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah, Dec. 28, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Child abuse charges have been filed against a mother and her boyfriend after her baby was discovered to have a fracture to his thigh bone, bruising, and bite marks to one arm.
Marley Jordan Garcia-Earlewine, 22, of South Jordan, and Carter Michael Owens, 23, of Cottonwood Heights, each were charged on suspicion of child abuse, infliction of serious injury intentionally, a second-degree felony. Summons were issued Friday in 3rd District Court.
The probable cause statements, filed by an officer of the Cottonwood Heights Police Department, say the couple’s explanations for the baby’s injuries did not match the explanations given after the incident, said to have occurred on Sept. 8 or 9 of this year. Police were informed after the baby was taken to Primary Children’s Hospital.
The child is described in charging documents as a “baby.” No exact age is given.
A doctor found the child had “a spiral fracture of the left femur, bruising on both ears, bruising on the right hand, and a bite mark on his left arm.”
Carter and Garcia-Earlewine were caring for the child prior to his injuries, they told police.
“Both informed the officers that (the baby) fell off the bed earlier in the day, and slipped and fell that evening while taking a shower with them,” the probable cause statements say. “Owens also stated that he was sitting on the bed when the child fell.”
The attending doctor told officers that “the spiral fracture and the bruising cannot be explained by the reported fall from the bed or a slip in the shower,” and said there was no evidence of an underlying medical condition that could have contributed to the injuries.
“The injuries should be considered consistent with inflicted trauma, i.e., child physical abuse,” the probable cause statement says.
Gephardt Daily will have updates as this story develops.
