Father accused of recklessly causing the death of his infant daughter

MURRAY — A 42-year-old Salt Lake City man is accused of recklessly causing the death of his infant daughter in 2025.

Neal English Colby was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with child abuse homicide and child endangerment resulting in death, first-degree felonies.

Murray police were called to a residence on Jan. 17, 2025 on a report of a 7-month-old girl in full arrest. The girl was found on a mattress in an unfinished basement that police described as "very dirty with a lot of garbage and property around the room," according to charging documents.

The girl died on her way to the hospital. She was identified in her obituary as Celia Aurora Colby.

Colby and Celia's mother were separated but living in the same residence with Colby in the basement and the mother living upstairs, the charges state.

The mother told investigators that she and her young son "had been sick with the flu" and that Celia was showing the same symptoms, according to the charges. The mother gave Celia children's Tylenol early that morning and had an appointment to see a pediatrician later that day, according to the charges.

About 2:30 a.m., the mother took Celia to Colby to watch, saying she needed to sleep.

"She awoke this morning to Colby yelling for her. (She) stated she went downstairs and found (Celia) lying face up on Colby's bed….and that (Celia) had red fluid coming out of her. (She) stated she immediately began performing CPR and had to call 911 at the same time because Colby would not call," according to charging documents.

Police noted that when officers were called to Colby's residence, "Body cam footage from responding officers shows that (Colby) shows no remorse and is vaping when officers are not looking at him. When officers make direct eye contact and speak with (him), he immediately begins wailing and howling, stating he doesn't know what happened," according to the charges.

Detectives "located reddish color fluid on a dark colored blanket on the mattress downstairs, along with bottles of urine near the bed" and drugs and drug paraphernalia, the charges state.

Police also discovered, by reviewing data from Colby's cell phone, that he had left the residence at 3:21 a.m.

"The location report shows that Colby left (Celia) alone without supervision and left the residence for 43 minutes. GPS tracking shows that the area Colby's phone remained is a known drug area for Murray police," according to the charges.

The Utah State Medical Examiner's Office found Celia had "abrasions along her nasal alae, right cheek, and round her chin" and that "there was no explanation provided for them, and they do present the possibility of airway obstruction by external forces. The manner of death was certified as could not be determined," the charges state.

A child abuse pediatrician was asked to review the case and determined, "Based on the information reviewed, I have substantial concerns about the events that preceded (Celia's) death, as well as the circumstances related to her death. The conditions that (she) was found in were harmful and potentially dangerous including human waste, animal waste and illicit drugs. This type of environment could have contributed to her death, but even if it did not, from a pediatric perspective, this environment would be considered unhealthy and dangerous for a child who is developing mobility to be in, even if supervised," the doctor reported, according to the charges.

"The abrasions to her nostrils are highly concerning to me. This pattern of injury can be seen when a caregiver pinches the nose shut, causing injury to the skin. An asphyxia death may not be identifiable at autopsy. It cannot be ruled out that her airway was manually obstructed by an adult."

Prosecutors have requested that Colby not be allowed to post bail pending trial.

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