Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OGDEN — A man arrested in connection with the death of a 14-month-old baby was charged Tuesday with aggravated murder.
Adam Barney, 23, was arrested Monday at the Western Colony Inn at 234 24th Street after he called 911 and told him his live-in girlfriend’s 14-month-old daughter was unresponsive. Barney was tending the baby and two other children while their mother, Kaci Rupert, was at work. The baby was pronounced dead when police arrived on the scene around 6:12 p.m.
He was arrested later that day in connection with the baby’s death.
While in custody, Barney told police he got frustrated when the baby was crying and that he “struck the child several times in the face and stomach and then squeezed her substantially,” according to court documents.
When the baby began crying, Barney told police he threw her onto a bed. He said he decided to bathe her because she was sticky from food she had eaten earlier and while bathing her, Barney said he dropped the baby, according to court documents. He then punched her twice in the face and the stomach because she was crying and told the other two children to watch her while he cleaned up, court documents say.
Barney told police he took the baby and the kids out of the hotel and the baby seemed like she was having a hard time breathing and was acting lethargic while in the stroller. When they returned to the hotel room, Barney said he left the baby in the stroller, but noticed something was wrong when he changed the baby’s diaper, according to court documents.
An autopsy was performed on Tuesday at the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office. A preliminary report determined the cause of death was homicide due to blunt force trauma to the abdominal area which caused the victim to hemorrhage internally.
Barney was charged in Weber County second district court with criminal homicide aggravated murder, a first degree felony.
