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SALT LAKE CITY — A second person has been arrested in connection with the beating of a boy that was recorded on video and posted on social media.
On Tuesday, officers received a report that a woman had "murdered someone." Detectives then learned of several videos on social media accounts of Mael Metzli Keith, 18, showing her and several others assaulting a victim, according to a police booking affidavit. The attack happened Sunday at a home in West Valley City, police determined.
"In the video, Mael is seen striking a juvenile male," the affidavit states. "(He) is struck several times in the head and face by Mael. Another video shows (the boy) backed into a corner having what appears to be a scared look on his face."
The videos also show the boy "holding up a trash can in defense as he is in the fetal position on the floor" while trying to defend himself from the flames of an aerosol can which is being sprayed into a lighter in his direction, the affidavit alleges. Police say it appears the boy's hair catches fire in the videos.
"Another video shows (the boy) unconscious and awakened by beer being poured onto his face. When the juvenile male wakes up, he is kicked in the face by an unknown male. All videos were posted through Mael's social media accounts which indicates she actively was participating in the incidents," police wrote in the arrest report.
Police were able to determine the boy was taken to St. Mark's Hospital and tracked him down to question him. The documents don't indicate the boy's age.
"(The boy) stated he was too high to recall what occurred but believed he was beat up by three males. (He) received injuries to both his eyes that caused his eyes to become so swollen that he could barely see out of them. (He) also has bruises, minor cuts and abrasions over his entire torso, cuts and abrasions on his forearms and hands, bruising on his left arm and abrasions on his right leg," the affidavit states.
Keith was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated child abuse and aggravated kidnapping.
Early Friday, Christian Thomas Hekking, 21, was arrested for investigation of aggravated child abuse. Detectives say in one of the videos, Hekking is seen punching the boy in the back of the head several times while telling him, "We've all been jumped in, you can take this all right?" a police booking affidavit states.
Hekking is also seen pushing down the boy's hands, which he was holding in a defensive posture, and then hitting the boy on the side of his face, according to the affidavit.
