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OGDEN, Utah (AP) — A young northern Utah man accused of brutally beating his girlfriend's 14-month-old daughter to death is facing life in prison after prosecutors slapped him with a more serious charge this week.
Adam Joseph Barney, 23, is now charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. He was initially charged with child-abuse homicide.
The charges were changed after investigators received more information about the events, and autopsy results that showed the baby died from blunt-force trauma to her stomach and suffered internal hemorrhaging, Ogden Police Lt. Danielle Croyle said.
The baby girl was found dead Monday at the Western Colony Inn in Ogden.
Police said Barney acknowledged throwing the girl on a bed, dropping her, punching her in the face and stomach and then squeezing her. He told officers he was frustrated by the dirty living conditions and the girl's crying.
He left the motel with the baby, and two other kids noticed the baby was lethargic and out of breath. He returned to the hotel and realized the baby was dying. He called his live-in girlfriend, who told him to call 911, court documents show.
By the time first-responders arrived to the hotel, the baby was beyond medical help and pronounced dead, documents show.
"Cases like these are very horrific and very traumatic," Croyle said.
A 3-year-old and a 5-year-old who were also with Barney were removed by the Division of Child and Family Services. The mother was at work when it happened, Croyle said.
Barney made his initial court appearance this week, and he is in Weber County Jail on $100,000 bail. He is due back in court on Sept. 3.
His attorney, Michael Bouwhuis, didn't return phone calls for comment.
In April, Barney pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct stemming from an incident in which police were called to his family's house on a disturbance. Barney was accused of punching a hole in the bathroom door, according to a police report obtained by the Standard-Examiner (http://bit.ly/1rESDyy ).
A warrant was issued five days before his arrest Monday for not complying with the terms of his probation related to the April offense, court records show. The warrant was issued in part because Barney failed to complete anger-management classes he was ordered to take after the April conviction, court records show.
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