'I just, lost control,' Utah man convicted of child abuse homicide tells parole board

SALT LAKE CITY — A St. George man convicted of killing his fiancée's 4-month-old son 18 years ago went before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole for the first time on Tuesday.

Gregory Todd Fullerton was convicted of killing Nicholas Lee "Nicky" Long on July 23, 2008. He was found guilty of child abuse homicide on Dec. 2, 2016 and sentenced the following month to up to life in the Utah State Prison.

On Tuesday, Fullerton, now 49, went before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole for the first time. Some of Fullerton's family members attended the hearing as well as Samantha, the mother of Nicky, and members of her family.

Fullerton gave short answers to the questions the board asked him.

"I took Nicholas' life in a fit of rage," was the extent of his answer when asked to recount to the board what happened that day.

In a recording of the hearing, Fullerton said he had been watching Nicholas since the boy was born. But Fullerton claims he wasn't in a healthy environment and should have asked for help when he became overwhelmed and frustrated with the infant's crying.

"I was in an environment that wasn't stable or supportive to raising children in. I wasn't mature enough and didn't have parenting knowledge to have been raising a baby. My anger took me to killing Nicholas," he stated in a written description of the events submitted to the board.

"I pushed on his back too much. I just, (long pause) lost control," Fullerton told the board.

When pressed as to what was different about that day than the other days Nicky cried, Fullerton simply replied, "I don't know. I just lost my temper."

Nicholas' mother, Samantha, told the board that she is still "sad" and "heartbroken" over the loss of her child and believes she will suffer the grief from his loss for the rest of her life.

"The pain that I have in my heart and that you have caused will never stop," she said.

Samantha told the board she didn't believe it would be fair for Fullerton to get out of prison and feel love from his family when she can only visit her son's grave.

"I'd like to apologize to Samantha and her family for hurting her and her family. I'm truly sorry," Fullerton said in response.

Fullerton told the board that anger management and parenting classes he has taken while incarcerated have helped him. And the board noted that his disciplinary record in prison has been good and he only has had one write-up in the past six years for a minor offense.

Fullerton also told the board he is not able to work while incarcerated because of an undisclosed health condition, only stating that he has "a lot of health issues" that he's taking "a lot of medications for."

The full five member board will now vote on whether to grant parole or set another hearing date.

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