This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Duchesne man is accused of fracturing the skull of his girlfriend's 1-year-old son.
The man, 23, was to care for the boy March 8 while his girlfriend was at work, deputies wrote in charges filed Wednesday in 8th District Court.
Instead the man left the child's aunt in charge and spent most of the day drinking at his girlfriend's brother's house, investigators wrote. The man went home to put the child to bed, deputies wrote. The man later told investigators he spilled beer on the toddler, so he drew a bath in the tub even though it was late at night, deputies wrote.
The man claimed he slipped while holding the child and they hit toys and other items as they fell, the man landing on the toddler, police wrote. The child was crying and bleeding, the man told investigators. Blood was visible in the crib, along with evidence someone had tried to clean it up, detectives wrote.
The man "stated that he was panicking and he was drunk and he didn't know what to do," deputies wrote.
The man went back to his girlfriend's brother's house and said he had fallen with the baby "again," the brother allegedly told detectives.
The child was taken to Primary Children's Hospital, where doctors found he had a skull fracture and a broken leg, deputies wrote. Doctors said the child's injuries were not consistent with a fall.
The man was charged with second-degree felony child abuse.