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A Utah man has been arrested after slamming the head of a 4-month-old girl he was babysitting into an elevator wall, prosecutors say.
Zachary Jarred Walton, 28, was looking after the young girl, who died in hospital on Friday morning, known in official documents as "S.S.” Her mother, known as "S.R.,” was at work on August 25, according to a press release from the Salt Lake County District Attorney's office.
The statement claims the defendant had babysat S.S. on and off for around two to three weeks before the horrific incident, with the probable cause arrest affidavit alleging that S.R. told police that she had left her children in Walton's care because "he is great with kids."
He allegedly told police S.S. had slept for most of the day, but that she was awake and crying by the evening.
Having decided to take her to the roof of the Road Home Shelter in Midvale, where he and the girl's mother lived separately, in an effort to calm her down, police claim he told officials he accidentally hit her head against the wall of the elevator twice.
Walton subsequently changed his version of events, according to the affidavit, telling police he thought to himself: “How do I get her to shut up.”
Officials claim Walton said he “he saw the corner of the elevator and while cradling S.S. in his left arm, he smashed her head into the metal corner of the elevator.”
The affidavit details that this only made the baby cry harder, fanning the flames of Walton’s “frustration,” so he “consciously decided to hit S.S.’s head against the metal corner of the elevator” again.
The document goes on to claim he explained to officials how he used “significant force and even used his upper body weight to force S.S.’s head onto the corner of the elevator.”
He allegedly said he asked himself “what had I done” when S.S. stopped crying and “looked at him.”
"Video surveillance shows when the defendant got off the elevator at the roof, the infant’s head went limp, and he tried blowing in her face for around 17 minutes, as if he was trying to wake her up," the release said. "He took her down to the lobby, where she started to get medical attention and was eventually transported to the hospital."
Examinations of S.S. at Primary Children's Hospital allegedly showed she had skull fractures, intracranial hemorrhage, and rib fractures.
The affidavit called this level of injury "far outside the scope of what is seen in accidental falls or drops."
The release goes on to say that some of the rib fractures were in the process of healing, and were approximately two to three weeks old, "indicating the baby had been maltreated on more than one occasion."
When questioned on this particular detail, Walton allegedly claimed he squeezed her out of excitement and that he “forced air out of her lungs,” but “didn’t hear a crack.”
S.S. was at some point put on life support while at the hospital, but was taken off and died on Friday morning.
Officials found a babysitting log at the shelter showing Walton had taken care of S.S. and her siblings a few times for around three weeks before the horrific incident, confirmed by the baby girl's mother according to the release.
The Independent has contacted the Road Home Shelter for comment.
Walton has been charged with one count of first-degree felony murder and two counts of second-degree felony aggravated child abuse.
Salt Lake District Attorney Sim Gill urged people struggling to care for children to “please ask for help.”
“This infant death is a tragedy that could have been avoided. We are committed to seeking justice and accountability for this young child and her family,” he continued.
“We appreciate the tireless work of Unified Police Detectives that helped put this case together and lead to these charges. All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”
