Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MIDVALE — A Midvale mother has been arrested after police say she beat her children because she was upset with their father. She said the kids were the only people around she could take her anger out on, according to police.
The woman was originally arrested on Saturday. But after interviewing the children and learning that the alleged abuse was worse than originally thought, police said they altered their investigation. The 32-year-old woman is now being held in the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of three counts of aggravated child abuse.
Police say the woman kept calling her husband at work on Saturday. But when he didn't answer, "she began sending him pictures of his clothing which she had cut up with a pair of scissors. Along with the pictures, she sent him audio recordings of her beating his children. In the audio recording you could hear her hitting the children with an object and could hear them crying," according to a police booking affidavit.
The woman then made a video call with her husband and when he answered the phone, she used a hanger to hit their children, all under the age of 10, according to the affidavit.
The father then went home and called police.
When officers questioned her, she said she was upset with her husband and "her children were the only ones around to take her anger out on," the affidavit states.
After her arrest, police were able to talk with two of the children who disclosed additional incidents of abuse, another arrest report says. Police also noted injuries on the children that were in multiple stages of healing, including "lots of bruising," said Unified Police Sgt. Melody Cutler.
Detectives then questioned the woman again with this additional information.
"(She) stated the reason for hitting the victims was to make (her husband) upset," the affidavit states. "(She) also admitted the three victims did not do anything to provoke the abuse. (She) admitted to other incidents of abuse and referred to the abuse as 'training the victims.'"
Cutler further explained the woman told investigators she was "training" her children on how to behave better when they acted up.
