Man pleads guilty to attempted murder of 3-year-old; Girl's mother asks to speak at sentencing

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tyrel Scott Belone pleaded guilty to attempted murder of a 3-year-old girl as part of a deal that dismissed other charges.
Amber Leary, the child's mother, faces the same charges and asked permission during a hearing on Monday to speak at his sentencing.
Attorneys said Leary no longer has parental rights or is considered family, but the judge said she could be transported from jail to speak.

WEST JORDAN — A girl's mother asked to speak at her boyfriend's sentencing for the girl's attempted murder, even though she was charged along with him and attorneys said she no longer has parental rights.

In July 2025, Amber Leary and Tyrel Scott Belone of Sandy were each charged with attempted aggravated murder, aggravated child abuse and child torture, all first-degree felonies, after Leary's 3-year-old was flown unconscious to Primary Children's Hospital, where doctors found a skull fracture and bruises on her entire body, according to charging documents.

Leary had a hearing on Monday where the judge granted her request to speak at Belone's sentencing on Dec. 2, even though she no longer has the right to because she is no longer a family member.

Belone, 29, pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated murder on Sept. 24 as part of a plea deal that dismissed charges for aggravated child abuse and child torture.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2 at 3:00 p.m. The statutory sentence is 15 years to life in prison, but Utah law allows a judge to impose a lower limit of six or 10 years instead of 15 if they find that is appropriate for the situation. Attorneys did not agree to recommend any particular sentence as part of the plea deal.

Leary, 30, has not yet entered a plea in her case. She will be transported from the jail to the courthouse for the sentencing and will have a hearing herself immediately after.

According to court documents, Belone was frustrated with the potty training process of Leary's toddler. The child was not Belone's, but police said he took care of her.

Charges state that Belone had recently sent Leary messages saying about her daughter, saying, "I am going to murder her," "I am going to crack her skull," and "I'm finished with her."

He told officers after they responded to reports that she was unconscious on June 28, 2025, that he had "knocked" the girl a couple times with a closed fist, had spanked her, and had given her one "open hand strike" on her cheekbone." He said he worked as a traveling nurse.

Belone said he had cleaned up several messes the night before police responded, and that she had been biting and scratching him.

He said he picked her up, threw her onto a bed, and her head hit the wall after she bounced off the mattress, according to charges.

Prosecutors said that although Belone was the violent one, Leary "made the choice to watch the abuse happen, made the choice to allow the abuse to happen, made the choice not to seek medical care when needed, and made the choice not to seek help from professionals or law enforcement despite the victim's extreme visible injuries."

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