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LAYTON, Utah (AP) -- Police have arrested the mother of a 2-year-old boy allegedly beaten to death by her boyfriend.
Rachel Susan Burns, 22, was arrested Wednesday and is charged with second-degree child abuse in the death of her son, Jackson.
Her boyfriend, Clinton L. Rosenbaum, 24, of Clearfield, is charged with first-degree felony murder and two counts of second-degree child abuse.
Rosenbaum appeared in 2nd District Court Wednesday. The judge declined to set bail after prosecutors said Rosenbaum is a flight risk and is already on probation for a felony.
Prosecutors said before the hearing that Rosenbaum has been convicted of burglary.
Charging documents allege that late June 1 and early the next day, Rosenbaum, "a martial arts practitioner, violently punched a 2-year-old child in the head with extreme force" because the toddler had hit Rosenbaum's dog with a toy.
"The blow to the young child's head was delivered in such an aggressive manner as to cause the child's subsequent death," according to the documents.
Rosenbaum then "tossed the child's limp body into a bedroom and the child's head struck the wooden portion of the bed, causing further injury," the documents allege.
Several hours later, Rosenbaum persuaded Burns to allow him "to burn one of the child's small fingers with a cigarette in an effort to revive him. The burn was so serious as to remove the tip of the child's finger," according to the documents.
The autopsy revealed that the boy previously had been "kicked or hit in the abdomen with such force that it injured him internally, making him sick and causing him to vomit for several days," the documents allege.
Davis County Attorney Mel Wilson said Burns is charged because she allegedly gave Rosenbaum permission to burn the child's finger.
Police were called to a domestic disturbance at Burns' residence June 2. Burns and Rosenbaum were outside fighting when officers arrived. Burns told police she wanted Rosenbaum to leave and he would not.
While investigating the fight, officers found the child unconscious inside the apartment. He was taken to Primary Children's Medical Center, where he died.
Burns told officers during the initial investigation that the boy had fallen out of bed. Rosenbaum said the child had fallen off a slide at a nearby playground several days earlier, police said.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
