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VERNAL — A Vernal woman has accepted a plea deal from Uintah County prosecutors, agreeing not to contest allegations that she let her husband physically abuse their son and admitting that she lied to investigators about the abuse.
Karysa Marie Smith entered a no contest plea Tuesday in 8th District Court to child abuse, a second-degree felony, and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, a class B misdemeanor.
Police and prosecutors say Smith, 26, knowingly allowed her husband, Adam Joshua Smith, to inflict a life-threatening head injury on the couple's 7-year-old son.
The Smiths' son was treated for that injury on April 4 at Ashley Regional Medical Center. They told doctors the boy had fallen down a flight of five ceramic stairs at home, according to court records.
The boy was treated and released from the hospital, but was brought back five days later after a Division of Child and Family Services caseworker noticed more severe bruising, investigators said.
A CAT scan showed a large amount of blood under the boy's scalp, court records show. A forensic nurse who examined the boy said the injury could cause a substantial risk of death for a child and was "difficult to explain by a fall down five stairs," according to investigators.
The child also had "a very large number of bruises" on other parts of his body that led the nurse to determine he was the victim of physical abuse, according to the probable cause statement. Investigators removed the boy and his sister from their parents' custody on April 9.
During an interview, the boy told investigators his father kicked him in the face, causing his head to hit a gun safe. The child said "his father did this several times," court records state.
Related:
Vernal man accused of kicking 7-year-old son in the face
A Vernal man is accused of kicking his 7-year-old son in the face more than once, causing major bleeding under the boy's scalp.The Smiths also "beat" or "spanked" their child with a belt, according to charging documents. Investigators said when they showed Karysa Smith photos of her son's injuries, she told them she was "not aware of the bruising or injuries."
During a later interview, detectives said Karysa Smith told them she heard her son screaming and saw her husband "beating (their son) with a belt," charging documents state.
Court records show this is not the first time Karysa Smith has been accused of abusing her son.
She pleaded guilty in June 2014 to child abuse, a class B misdemeanor, admitting that she hit the boy with a vacuum cleaner. Her guilty plea was held in abeyance for 12 months and she was ordered to complete parenting classes, pay a $150 court fee and have no new criminal violations.
Smith's pleas Tuesday violated the terms of the plea in abeyance.
As part of her deal with prosecutors in the new case, Smith must testify truthfully against her husband, complete 100 hours of community service and have no new criminal violations over the next two years. If she meets those terms, the felony child abuse conviction will be dismissed.
A sentencing hearing for the 2014 misdemeanor child abuse conviction and the obstruction of justice convictions is set for Nov. 3.
Adam Smith is charged with child abuse, a second-degree felony. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing last month and is due in court Oct. 20 for a status hearing.
