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FARMINGTON — When 2-year-old James "JJ" Sieger Jr. was brought to Primary Children's Hospital, Dr. Brooks Keeshin thought the child's injuries looked like those he might see in a violent car accident.
But the tearing in the toddler's colon, damage in his abdomen, deep bruising, head trauma and injuries to his rectum and genitalia all pointed to abuse rather than any kind of reported mishap at home, the pediatric doctor testified Thursday, describing efforts made to try to save the young boy.
The internal injuries would have immediately caused the boy great distress that his caretakers couldn't have missed, Keeshin said.
Following graphic testimony from him and others Thursday, 2nd District Judge John Morris ordered Joshua Schoenenberger to stand trial for aggravated murder in the shocking death of JJ, his girlfriend's son.
Initially, doctors monitoring the boy hoped the damage to his brain might be survivable, Keeshin said. It soon became clear that it wasn't, and JJ was taken off life support two days later on May 11, 2015.
After reviewing JJ's extensive injuries in an autopsy, state medical examiner Todd Grey said he ruled the death a homicide, the cause being blunt-force trauma to the abdomen.
Schoenenberger, straight-faced and shackled in a striped jail uniform, did not avert his eyes as photos of the injured toddler were brought up on a screen during Thursday's preliminary hearing. The display was kept turned away from the court gallery.
Schoenenberger, 35, of Layton, and JJ's mother, 23-year-old Jasmine Bridgeman, took an unresponsive JJ to Davis Hospital and Medical Center May 9 claiming he had been found face down in the bathtub after being left unattended. Contrary to their initial account, no water was found in the boy's lungs, Grey testified.
As JJ was taken by medical helicopter to Primary Children's Hospital, police began interviewing Schoenenberger and Bridgeman.
Layton police detective Ryan Jeppson said the couple's stories were different, including explanations of how long JJ had been left alone in the tub and who had found him. Asked about the bruising on JJ's head, back and thighs, Schoenenberger explained the boy had recently hurt himself slipping in the bathtub, falling off a jungle gym, running into a coffee table and wearing a diaper too long.
Since he was not the boy's biological father, Schoenenberger told police he didn't discipline the boy, saying it wasn't his place, Jeppson said.
However, over the course of about 12 hours and several interviews at Layton police headquarters, Schoenenberger went from telling investigators JJ had been hurt in an accident to blaming Bridgeman to finally explaining his frustration that the toddler didn't listen to him and was struggling with potty training, according to Jeppson.
Schoenenberger had been left alone in a holding cell when officers realized he was lying on the floor, the detective testified. They went to check on him, and this time he gave them a different story: He was the one who had hurt JJ.
The boy would defecate in his diaper, remove it, and then smear feces on the walls and carpets, Jeppson said Schoenenberger told him.
"He essentially felt that JJ was ruining his house," Jeppson testified.
When JJ soiled his diaper that night, Schoenenberger told police he held the diaper up to the boy's face and explained he needed to use the toilet. After JJ sat on the toilet for about 20 minutes but didn't go to the bathroom, Schoenenberger got into the shower with the boy and scolded him again, spanking him.
The boy laughed, Schoenenberger told police, and he became upset. Jeppson said Schoenenberger squeezed the boy's stomach, then dropped him outside of the bathtub and stepped on him. The detective pressed Schoenenberger on whether he stepped on the boy deliberately — he answered yes, he testified.
When the interviews had concluded, Schoenenberger was returned to the holding cell to await transport to the Davis County Jail. It was then when officers said they heard him shouting to Bridgeman, who was in a nearby holding cell, apologizing.
Schoenenberger is facing a capital offense. An arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 22. Prosecutors will have 60 days after the arraignment to decide whether they'll seek the death penalty.
Bridgeman waived a preliminary hearing this week on a charge of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, and a disposition hearing is set for Jan. 25.
Police said Bridgeman lied several times about what had happened at the Layton home, 224 E. 1450 North, before telling detectives that Schoenenberger had become upset with JJ. Bridgeman told police that, as they drove to the hospital, her boyfriend asked her to lie to investigators about what happened, a police report states.
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