1-year-old dies after being hospitalized due to alleged child abuse


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SALT LAKE CITY — Charges against a man accused of abusing his girlfriend's 1-year-old son will likely be enhanced now that the baby has died, police said Thursday.

Brian Taylor, 24, was arrested for investigation of intentional child abuse after his girlfriend's son, Xander Toliver, was rushed to the hospital Friday for what was originally reported as a medical problem.

Doctors at Primary Children's Hospital called police after the boy arrived, and they reported possible child abuse when they discovered he had suffered massive head trauma.

Salt Lake City police announced Thursday that Xander had died. The baby was taken off life support on Tuesday. Dec. 24 was also his birthday, and he had just turned 1.

Carolyn Crawford, Xander's grandmother, said he was well behaved baby.

"He was a very good baby — didn't cry a lot, and very smart," Crawford said.

Crawford said Xander was alone with Taylor in the basement of a house before the emergency call was made reporting that Xander had been injured.

Executive director at The Family Support Center, Bonnie Peters, said that there are signs of child abuse — one of them being isolation.

"People in the community need to look at situations where people are maybe isolating and not going anywhere else or being out among people — that can often times be a danger signal," Peters said.

Peters operates three crisis nurseries located in Midvale, West Valley and Sugar House. She believes by giving parents a safe place for their children, the parent can then cope with whatever they're dealing with whether it's daily stress, a medical appointment, or a job search and not take the emotion out on the child.

"Parents can bring their kids there free of charge," Peters said. "We will feed them, clothe them, bathe them, take care of them for up to 72 hours."

Peters said the crisis nurseries are not daycare facilities, but they do offer up to seven days of childcare per child and unlimited crisis breaks. Counseling and parent classes are also offered. More than 3,000 children have stayed in the nurseries and Peters believes they've saved countless lives.

Taylor was booked into Salt Lake County Jail after the baby was hospitalized Friday. State court records show that Taylor has a minor criminal history in Utah, including a misdemeanor conviction earlier this year for selling tobacco products to a minor.

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