http://dastardlydads.blogspot.com/2010/10/custodial-dad-pleads-not-guilty-in_18.html
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705374075/Kearns-man-pleads-guilty-in-connection-with-daughters-death.html
Kearns man pleads guilty in connection with daughter's death
SALT LAKE CITY — A Kearns man accused in connection with the death of his 4-year-old daughter has pleaded guilty to reduced charges.
Clinton Joseph Hart, 22, pleaded guilty Monday to child abuse homicide and three counts of child abuse, all second-degree felonies, before 3rd District Judge Robert Faust. When he is sentenced July 18, Hart faces one to 15 years in prison on each count.
Vanessa Hart died June 13, 2010, from what doctors at Primary Children's Medical Center described as "multiple severe injuries, including massive trauma to (her) head, massive swelling of (her) brain" and neurological damage possibly caused by several impacts to the head, according to court documents.
Hart left for work around 8:30 a.m. that day and returned home after receiving a text message from his then-girlfriend, Marina Navarro, saying that Vanessa had fallen down the stairs, was lethargic and was having a hard time breathing.
When Hart arrived home around 11:30 a.m., he found Vanessa unconscious, charging documents state.
Doctors told police Vanessa's head injuries could not have been caused by falling down a flight of carpeted stairs, and older injuries were discovered during an autopsy, including bruising on the girl's chest.
Hart gave doctors several explanations for the girl's bruises, ranging from falling against a table, falling off a bicycle, falling in the tub, climbing a brick wall and being hit in the eye by a toy thrown by her 2-year-old brother, according to court documents.
Hart was initially charged with murder, a first-degree felony; two counts of child abuse and one count of obstructing justice, all second-degree felonies. But his attorney, Steven Shapiro, was adamant that the murder charge was too hefty for a man who wasn't home at the time the fatal injuries occurred.
At multiple hearings, Shapiro argued Hart was overcharged, and said after Hart pleaded that he felt the child abuse homicide charge better fit the facts of the case.
"I think charging him with murder was something of a stretch given that he was clearly not the person who inflicted the injuries," Shapiro said in an interview Tuesday.
He said that while Hart may not have taken the steps he should have to protect his daughter from abuse, he certainly didn't take part in the abuse that proved fatal.
"The thing that may get lost in the whole thing that he was charged in the abuse and then pleaded guilty to it, was that he was a father who loved his daughter and his daughter was murdered," Shapiro said.
He said his client, who had no criminal history, is still a "somewhat sympathetic" figure as a young father who made some mistakes and lost a child.
"Even if his behavior wasn't completely appropriate, he didn't do anything to deserve being the father of a murdered child."
Navarro is charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and three counts of child abuse, a second-degree felony. A scheduling conference in her case has been set for Aug. 22.
Vanessa Hart died June 13, 2010, from what doctors at Primary Children's Medical Center described as "multiple severe injuries, including massive trauma to (her) head, massive swelling of (her) brain" and neurological damage possibly caused by several impacts to the head, according to court documents.
Hart left for work around 8:30 a.m. that day and returned home after receiving a text message from his then-girlfriend, Marina Navarro, saying that Vanessa had fallen down the stairs, was lethargic and was having a hard time breathing.
When Hart arrived home around 11:30 a.m., he found Vanessa unconscious, charging documents state.
Doctors told police Vanessa's head injuries could not have been caused by falling down a flight of carpeted stairs, and older injuries were discovered during an autopsy, including bruising on the girl's chest.
Hart gave doctors several explanations for the girl's bruises, ranging from falling against a table, falling off a bicycle, falling in the tub, climbing a brick wall and being hit in the eye by a toy thrown by her 2-year-old brother, according to court documents.
Hart was initially charged with murder, a first-degree felony; two counts of child abuse and one count of obstructing justice, all second-degree felonies. But his attorney, Steven Shapiro, was adamant that the murder charge was too hefty for a man who wasn't home at the time the fatal injuries occurred.
At multiple hearings, Shapiro argued Hart was overcharged, and said after Hart pleaded that he felt the child abuse homicide charge better fit the facts of the case.
"I think charging him with murder was something of a stretch given that he was clearly not the person who inflicted the injuries," Shapiro said in an interview Tuesday.
He said that while Hart may not have taken the steps he should have to protect his daughter from abuse, he certainly didn't take part in the abuse that proved fatal.
"The thing that may get lost in the whole thing that he was charged in the abuse and then pleaded guilty to it, was that he was a father who loved his daughter and his daughter was murdered," Shapiro said.
He said his client, who had no criminal history, is still a "somewhat sympathetic" figure as a young father who made some mistakes and lost a child.
"Even if his behavior wasn't completely appropriate, he didn't do anything to deserve being the father of a murdered child."
Navarro is charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and three counts of child abuse, a second-degree felony. A scheduling conference in her case has been set for Aug. 22.
