The mother of a 13-day-old infant boy and the woman’s boyfriend have both been arrested and charged with murder after the infant was found unresponsive on the couple’s bedroom floor with a fractured spine and a broken rib.
On Friday, $1 million arrest warrants were issued for both the boyfriend, Dylan James Kitzmiller, 21, and the infant's mother, Maria Elena Sullivan, 26, after prosecutors charged each with murder, a first-degree felony, and three counts of child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony, in 3rd District Court.
Kitzmiller was found by Police, in Utah County on Friday night and arrested without incident, according to West Jordan police. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail early Saturday.
Sullivan's newborn child died on Sept. 17 of severe brain injury, according to charging documents. The boy was dehydrated and had lost weight since birth in addition to suffering a number of other injuries, according to the Utah State Medical Examiner, including a fractured arm that appeared to be a "fresh" injury, a broken rib and an injured spinal cord.
The infant who was born Sept. 4 was without any medical problem. Sullivan was living with Kitzmiller at the time in the basement of one of Kitzmiller's relatives.
On Sept. 17, emergency crews were called to the house because the infant was in full arrest, the charges state.
Sullivan,was arrested in Cherokee County, Georgia, on Sunday, a sheriff’s spokesperson tells said. She was seeking medical care at a local hospital when she allegedly made statements that alarmed staff, who immediately notified a police officer.
Sullivan told Police that when Kitzmiller became angry, he would grab the infant "by the shoulder, causing his head to flip, and throw the newborn baby up in the air". Once, she told police, Kitzmiller allegedly slapped the child’s face and bit his hands.
Despite the abuse, Sullivan "continued to leave the baby in Kitzmiller's care" and "never sought medical care" for him despite being aware of the bruises and marks.
On the day of her son’s death, Sullivan said she found Kitzmiller moving the child’s legs in “a rough weird bicycle thing,” according to the warrant.
Later that evening, Sullivan told police, the baby was “making grunting noises and at some point was gasping for air,” the warrant states. He stopped breathing soon after.
When authorities arrived, the baby had obvious bruising and abrasions on his face and body. The infant was prounced dead at the scene.
Source: PEOPLE magazine
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