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MARYSVALE, Piute County — A southern Utah man is facing a criminal charge accusing him of causing extensive injuries to his girlfriend's young daughter.
Colton Lee Grange, 28, was charged Thursday in Piute County's 6th District Court with aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony.
On Nov. 20, a 20-month-old girl was flown by medical helicopter to Primary Children's Hospital. Doctors determined the toddler was suffering a brain bleed, linear skull fracture, sternum fracture and multiple broken ribs, according to charging documents.
Investigators learned that Grange had moved in with the girl's mother in October. By the end of October, the toddler "seemed sick and was pulling on her ears along with being fussy" and by Nov. 20, the mother noticed bruising on her daughter, the charges state.
On Nov. 21, the mother went to work and Grange took the girl to Salina with him to get hay. When Grange returned home, the mother found her daughter in a car seat "lethargic, unresponsive and ice cold," the charges allege. That night, the toddler was "limp and unresponsive" and the mother told Grange that she needed to go to the hospital.
"(The mother) said that was when Colton became very angry and told her that (the girl) did not need to go to the ER. (The mother) said it was as if someone had flipped on a light switch, Colton was calm and then he became extremely angry," the charging documents say.
She took the girl to a hospital in Richfield where doctors determined she "was hypothermic with poor circulation and poor tone" and was flown shortly after to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.
After being diagnosed by doctors there, the mother confronted Grange on the phone.
"She told him that (her daughter) had shaken baby syndrome and he replied, 'What is that?' She then told him the extent of her injuries and that (the Division of Child and Family Services) and law enforcement are now involved and Colton replied, 'I'm going to prison,'" according to the charges.
Piute County sheriff's deputies then questioned Grange. He allegedly described the girl as being "hell on wheels," to which a deputy replied, "Toddlers don't get 19 broken ribs in various stages of healing by being hell on wheels."
The deputy explained the ribs were broken at different times and some were healing stages while some of the fractures were new and the injuries were all believed to have occurred within the past 30 days, the charges state.
After being informed of the extent of the injuries, deputies say Grange responded by saying, "Hmmm," at least twice, and commented that "I didn't know we had 19 ribs," the court documents say.
A warrant was issued for Grange's arrest on Thursday.
