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NEPHI — A Payson couple has been charged in connection with the alleged abuse of a young boy.
Makayla KD Tanner, 18, and Jorgan Brandon Giles, 25, were each charged Friday in Juab County's 4th District Court with child abuse, a second-degree felony.
On Jan. 5, about 4 a.m., Giles took a young boy, described in court documents as being less than 3-months-old, into the bathroom allegedly to give him a bath because he wouldn't stop crying, according to charging documents. He then alerted Tanner — the infant's mother and his girlfriend — to come into the bathroom because the child was not breathing, the charges state.
"The child had several apneic episodes with one being 27 seconds in length, his eyes were rolled back, and he was limp," according to charging documents.
The child was treated and eventually returned to the home. But the crying continued, and Giles was overheard yelling obscenities at the baby and calling him "stupid," the charges state. Tanner later claimed she had witnessed Giles squeeze the boy hard and throw him on the couch on prior occasions.
On Jan. 11, while Tanner was making a bottle and Giles was watching the child, Tanner said she heard a "blood curling scream" come from the boy, according to charging documents. Giles claimed the boy hit his head on the bar of the bed, the charges state.
The next day, Tanner's grandmother made a plan to get the child out of the house and away from Giles, the charges state. Giles told Tanner "to not talk to doctors without him," according to the charges.
The infant was taken to Primary Children's Hospital where two CT scans were completed. Doctors concluded the injuries the boy sustained were consistent with child abuse, the charges state.
