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SALT LAKE CITY — Police are investigating the suspicious death of a 14-year-old disabled boy in July.
The boy, who had cerebral palsy, was taken to Primary Children's Hospital at 2:40 a.m. on July 11 with "suspicious significant brain injuries," according to a search warrant affidavit recently unsealed in 3rd District Court.
In addition to bleeding in the brain, doctors discovered "multiple bruises on the victim’s body (head, arms, abdominal and legs) with different stages of evolution," the report states.
The boy is identified only as "the victim" in court documents.
The boy's mother and her significant other told doctors that the boy "had propelled himself off the bed and struck the back side of his head on the wood floor," and that he also had "a (recent) history of harming himself," according to the warrant.
But a doctor from University Hospital's Center for Safe and Healthy Families told police "the head injury on the victim was not caused from falling off the bed," the warrant states. The injuries on the boy's neck, abdomen and back also "were not self-harm injuries and/or accidental injuries," the warrant states.
Salt Lake police noted in the warrant that "it is probable that the victim will not survive his head injuries and the herniation of the brain."
On Tuesday, Salt Lake police detective Greg Wilking confirmed the boy died a few days after being taken to the hospital.
The death is being called "suspicious" and remains under investigation, Wilking said. No arrests have been made.
