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SALT LAKE CITY — A Monroe man whose young daughter died of dehydration and neglect was sentenced to prison Tuesday.
David Lewis Anderson, 38, was ordered to serve at least one year and up to 15 years in prison for child abuse homicide, a second-degree felony, in the death of his daughter.
As he handed down the sentence, 6th District Judge Marvin Bagley rejected requests to leave Anderson an option to have his conviction reduced in the future.
Siri Alexis Anderson died of dehydration and neglect on June 7, 2016, just one day short of her first birthday, according to a medical examiner.
Anderson, who was Siri's sole guardian in the weeks before her death, was arrested and charged more than two months later.
According to the charges, Anderson had stopped giving his daughter fluids, claiming he was transitioning her off of fluids to solid foods. The deprivation was combined with high June temperatures in the week leading up to her death, further dehydrating the girl, charges state.
Court documents describe Anderson's home, 1080 N. Meadow Lark Lane, as unsanitary and neglected, with temperatures reaching between 90 and 95 degrees.
"The home (reeked) of the smell of urine and of cigarette smoke. … It was dirty and unkept," the charges state. "Unwashed dishes with food remnants and flies occupied the kitchen. A child's card table was located in the dining area and still had the dried remnants of meals past stuck to it."
After pleading guilty in the case in June, Anderson allegedly fled the state before he could be sentenced. He was arrested days later in Wilmington, North Carolina, after attempting to check into a homeless shelter where a staff member searched his name and found news reports about the case.
No charges have been filed against Anderson in connection with his alleged attempt to avoid sentencing.
