Tremonton parents arrested, accused of killing child through torture

TREMONTON — A Tremonton couple was arrested Wednesday and accused of torturing their children through punishments that led to one child's death.

Brigham Young Merrell, 35, is accused of child abuse homicide and child torture. His wife, Melinda Marie Merrell, 36, was arrested for investigation of child torture.

The arrests stem from Sept. 21, 2025, when Brigham Merrell called 911, saying he had found his "minor child hanging by a coaxial cable," the police booking affidavit states.

During the call, he said he was giving the child CPR, but when Tremonton-Garland police officers arrived, "Brigham was kneeling by the child, but was not performing CPR," police said.

Emergency responders started treating the child, who was transported to a hospital but later declared deceased. While the victim was receiving medical attention, Brigham Merrell left the room to change his clothes. No other adults were home at the time of the incident.

Within a week following the incident, several items were discarded from the house, surfaces were painted and rooms were altered, police added.

"This conduct is consistent with an attempt to destroy or conceal physical evidence," the police booking affidavit states.

During a months-long investigation following the child's death, police discovered several inconsistencies in Merrell's story of what occurred. The father was interviewed multiple times, but his answers regarding who found the child, what position the child was in, and the circumstances leading up to the incident kept changing, police said.

Outside agencies were consulted, including a 911-call expert who determined that "the 911 call placed by Brigham was overwhelmingly flagging on the guilty indicators scale," police said.

In-home camera footage showed the father had carried the child from a different room into the upstairs bedroom, police said. Police used the footage to create a timeline of events that did not match Merrell's version.

"The suspect carried the lifeless child past emergency responders who were actively knocking on the door and continued to carry him up to the room where the hanging is alleged to have occurred," the affidavit says. "He has since never given the same reasoning or justification of why the body was moved to a different location."

The child's injuries in a forensic examination were also deemed inconsistent and "directly contradicting Brigham's account."

A cluster of bruising was located on the child's back that didn't appear to be related to the hanging but likely occurred "immediately prior, or during, death," police said. Both parents claimed to the police they didn't know what caused the bruising, but the father said it "could be from a belt," the booking affidavit states.

"Other inconsistencies with the ligature markings were also present, that due to my training and experience, I do not believe are the result of a hanging but are from another force," police said in the booking affidavit.

Other children who were in the home during the incident were interviewed, including one who "alleged to have seen the victim die after receiving a whooping from Brigham," police said.

Police interviewed friends, neighbors, teachers and school officials about the child and found no evidence at the scene, or in any interview, that the child was suicidal. Police also discovered a "years-long" pattern of child abuse and child torture with the parents "intentionally inflicting physical pain, injury and cruel treatment upon the children."

Melinda Merrell told police she and her husband have used multiple instruments to beat their children, resulting in bruises, used food restriction as punishment, and forced their children to stay in an outside dog kennel when they were in trouble, her police booking affidavit states.

Melinda Merrell would check for bruises on the children two days after they had been whipped to "adjust their methods," including switching to using pans because spoons were leaving marks, according to the affidavit.

Both parents "admitted to the abuse and stated they should have looked into the laws in Utah before they moved here. Melinda, specifically, stated she was not taught that leaving marks on her children was not acceptable," the affidavit said.

Video footage obtained showed Melinda Merrell "directly participated in the beatings or stood and watched as her husband participated in them."

Tremonton-Garland police said the decision to arrest them was made after an "exhaustive multiagency investigation," and it is "committed to ensuring this case is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law on behalf of the victim and surviving children."

The rest of the children in the home have been taken to child welfare agencies, police said.

The Tremonton Police Department said it would not be releasing the identity of the child "out of respect for the victim's dignity and to protect the privacy and safety of the surviving family members and other children connected to this case."

A GoFundMe posted just a day after the child's death said Melinda and Brigham Merrell experienced the "unexpected passing" of their son Moroni Merrell, 11.

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