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OGDEN — Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for an Ogden couple in an abuse case involving their 3-year-old daughter, who investigators found so malnourished and neglected that they compared her to a holocaust victim.
Weber County attorneys in Tuesday court filings said they intended to pursue the penalty for Miller Eric Costello, 26, and his wife Brenda Emile, 23.
Angelina Costello experienced "extreme emaciation" and abuse in the care of both of her parents, a judge wrote when he ordered the pair to stand trial on a first-degree felony charge of aggravated murder in May.
Police responded to the couple's Ogden home on the 2800 block of Grant Avenue on July 6, 2017, finding the girl's cold body in a pink blanket and covered in a layer of makeup allegedly applied to disguise her injuries.
Two Ogden officers compared the 13-pound skeletal figure with sunken eyes, thinning hair and little to no muscle to a Holocaust victim.
Prosecutors in a February hearing presented photos and videos from the couple's phones that showed Angelina appearing increasingly bruised and injured as her two siblings remained healthy, with her mother apparently taunting her with food and her father asking if she is "evil."
The two reportedly have ties to a gypsy community and have alternative names and addresses in multiple states, prosecutors allege.
The couple is next due in court on July 19.
