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SALT LAKE CITY — A Midvale mother whose 20-month-old son died in 2015 as a result of murder, according to prosecutors, has been charged with child abuse.
Elizabeth Stephens, 37, failed to protect her son and then tried to cover up the actions of her boyfriend, who is charged with murder in the boy's death, according to charges filed Thursday in 3rd District Court.
Stephens is charged with child abuse, a second-degree felony, and tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony.
On Nov. 1, 2015, Greysen Rodriguez died after allegedly falling down a flight of stairs while being held by Stephens' boyfriend, Colossal Teton.
Teton, 33, was originally charged in April with child abuse homicide, a second-degree felony. In July, the charges were amended to murder, a first-degree felony, and four counts of child abuse, a second-degree felony.
An autopsy revealed the cause of Greysen's death to be blunt force trauma to the head, according to court documents. The boy had several broken bones in his two forearms, a skull fracture, a jaw fracture and broken orbital bone, according to the autopsy.
He was also found to have suffered bleeding in both eyes, face and neck scratches, and bruising and swelling, among other injuries, according to investigators.
The medical examiner's office determined a fall down the stairs could not have caused all of his injuries.
According to charges filed against Stephens, Greysen's grandmother said she observed various injuries to the boy, including "multiple bruises to the head," after Teton became one of Greyeon's primary caretakers.
"The boyfriend always had a story to explain the bruises or other injuries," the grandmother told investigators, according to court documents. "The pattern of injuries to (Greysen) became worse over time leading up to the baby's death."
Related story:
Charges: Man responsible for death of toddler despite claims that boy died falling down stairs
A child abuse case filed Friday alleges a Taylorsville man is criminally responsible for the death of his girlfriend's 19-month-old son last fall, despite the man's claims that the boy died from a fall down the stairs.As one of Greysen's primary caretakers, Stephens "was aware of the escalating pattern of injuries to the toddler but did nothing to prevent or stop the injuries from occurring at the hands of Teton and continued to leave (Greysen) in Teton's care," charges state.
After the boy's fatal injuries were caused, Stephens "actively attempted to get others to say that the child's injuries were caused by the child's own behavior," according to charging documents.
While Greysen was still in the hospital, Stephens told her mother "she needed to write a statement saying that (Greysen) would always bang his head on the floor," charges state.
"You know he did it all the time," she told her mother, according to court records.
The mother, however, said she never saw that.
Stephens' initial appearance in court is scheduled for Monday. Teton is scheduled to be back in court Tuesday. Email: preavy@deseretnews.com Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam
