MILO DOXEY - 9 months (2009) - Sandy UT

A Sandy child care provider is accused of killing a 9-month-old baby by causing what one
doctor called "the worst case of an inflicted brain trauma" he'd ever seen in a child.
Jared Daniel Billette, 23, was charged in 3rd District Court Friday
with first-degree felony murder in connection with the death of Milo Doxey earlier this week.


According to charging documents, Doxey's mother dropped her son off
at Billette's apartment on the 1000 East block of Promontory Way (7880
South) around 3:30 a.m Wednesday. The mother had been leaving the baby
with Billette and his girlfriend Brianna Cottrell, 21, on occasion when
she needed baby-sitting services, charges state.
Cottrell and Billette woke up at 8:30 a.m. when a 2-year-old girl
was dropped off for them to baby-sit. Cottrell then left for work,
leaving care of both children to Billette, charges state.
Cottrell called Billette around 11:15 a.m. to check in on him.
That's when he told her that Milo was unresponsive, according to charges.
Cottrell left work and returned to the couple's apartment, where
she observed Milo on the couch. The baby was not breathing and Cottrell
called 911 and the boy's mother.
The child was flown by helicopter to Primary Children's Medical Center where he underwent emergency surgery.
Physician Lori Frasier, an expert in abusive head trauma in
infants, examined the baby and found he suffered a "massive, global
brain injury," charges state.
The injury was likely caused
by "a combination of severe rotational forces and massive impact to the
head," Frasier found. She said the baby's trauma could only have been
carried out by a person with "adult strength" and couldn't have been
caused by an accident.
A pediatric neurosurgeon operated on part of Milo's skull to
relieve swelling his brain with hopes the baby would survive. The
neurosurgeon called Milo's injuries "the worst case of an inflicted
brain trauma in a child" he had ever seen.
Milo died from head injuries on Thursday.
Billette told police he put Milo on the floor of the apartment
around 8:30 a.m. when Cottrell left for work. He said the baby -- who
can roll and sit up but could not yet crawl or walk --was in the living
room watching TV when Cottrell called Billette at 11:15 a.m., charges state.
Billette told police he left the room to speak to Cottrell on the
phone, but when he returned to the room the baby was unresponsive.
Billette said the baby's eyes were rolled in the back of his head and
that he tried to awaken the child, who was gasping for breath, by
splashing cold water on his face.
Billette denied that any accident or abuse happened with the baby, according to charges.
Billette is from Washington state and has been living in Utah with
Cottrell, his girlfriend, for about a month, Sandy Police Sgt. Justin
Chapman said Friday. Cottrell was friends with the baby's mother and
trusted the couple to care for her child, Chapman said.
The two recently started babysitting to bring in some extra money, but weren't formal daycare providers, he said.
Billette faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted of murder.
His initial appearance is scheduled before Judge Mark Kouris on Oct.14.

He is being held in the Salt Lake County jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

From Deseret News archives:
Sandy sitter admits guilt in baby's death
Published: Friday, Dec. 25, 2009 12:00 a.m. MST
SALT LAKE CITY — A Sandy man charged in the October death of a 9-month-old boy he was baby-sitting has pleaded guilty to first-degree felony child-abuse homicide.

Sentencing for 24-year-old Jared Daniel Billette is set for Feb. 1. He pleaded guilty Monday.

Prosecutors say the baby, Milo Doxey, was dropped off at a Sandy apartment where Billette and his girlfriend live. The girlfriend left in the morning and prosecutors say when she called Billette a few hours later, he told her the baby wasn't breathing.

The girlfriend called 911.

The young infant was taken to the hospital and later died.

Charges said an expert in abusive head trauma in infants found the baby suffered a massive global brain injury likely caused by massive impact to the head.

— Associated Press

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705354089/Sandy-sitter-admits-guilt-in-babys-death.html

From Deseret News archives:
Tears flow as judge issues sentence in baby death in Sandy
Published: Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 12:00 a.m. MST
By Linda Thomson, Deseret News

WEST JORDAN — Even the defense attorney cried as the circumstances surrounding the death of 9-month-old Milo Doxey were discussed in court Wednesday.

The baby died at the hands of Jared Daniel Billette, 24, who was baby-sitting Milo as well as another parent's 2-year-old girl at his Sandy apartment on Oct. 7, 2009.
Billette's girlfriend was best friends with Milo's mother, a single mom who was working, going to school and who previously had trusted Billette to tend Milo.
Billette was sentenced to five years to life in prison. He was originally charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to child abuse homicide, a first-degree felony.
Defense attorney Michael Masse choked up as he told 3rd District Judge Mark Kouris how deeply this tragic event has affected his client, but clearly has also broken the heart of Milo's mother.
"This case is difficult for me, too, because I am the father of a young boy," Masse said, tearfully. "The mother's statement (in a pre-sentence report) was one of the saddest things I've ever read. I don't say this as a lawyer, but as a person: I hope (the woman) can heal. I hope she can salvage a life and make a life for herself."
Masse said Billette seemed to be carrying a terrible burden when they first met and, in time, Billette did take responsibility for what he had done. He entered into a plea bargain, which spared everyone the sad details of what happened, Masse said.
But it appeared that the child's mother and her family, who packed one side of the courtroom to capacity, wanted to know those details.
Prosecutor Kimberly Crandall read a letter from Milo's mother, who was too upset to do it herself.
"My son, Milo, was my everything. He was amazing," the letter said. "Now, I feel like my life has ended. I feel broken and completely alone."
The woman wrote that she cries herself to sleep every night and longs for the time when she can hold his hand again.
"Milo didn't even have his first Halloween — he was going to be a baby lobster. I spent Christmas with an entirely broken heart standing at Milo's grave," she wrote. "My family sang 'Happy Birthday' to Milo in a snowy cemetery."
The woman also expressed outrage that Billette did not tell her the truth about what happened and did not admit any culpability until 75 days after the boy's death. "He said it was an accident. If so, why wait 75 days?"
Prosecutor Rob Parrish said Billette stated he was playing with the child by holding him by the legs and swinging, or flipping, the boy, who Billette insisted was laughing. Parrish said Billette told authorities that the child slipped out of his grasp accidentally and fell.
However, the medical examiner said the injuries to the child's head appeared to come from violent shaking and a massive impact on a soft surface, comparable to a car going 142 mph and then coming to an abrupt halt.
The injuries were so bad they ripped a key vein that goes from the brain to the heart. Milo lost two liters of blood and his entire brain swelled to the point that it put pressure on the areas that control breathing and circulation.
"This was not just a tragic accident," Parrish said.
A weeping Billette told Kouris he never intended to hurt Milo. "Looking back on it now, I was a little more forceful than need be," Billette said.
"A little?" the judge asked.
Billette said Milo was the youngest child he had ever taken care of and he didn't know playing in this fashion would hurt the boy. "He was not crying. I was just trying to interact with him."
Billette also apologized to the mother for the pain she has suffered and said he did not speak up sooner because the days after the child's death "seemed a fuzzy haze."
Kouris spoke crisply as he pronounced the sentence.
"I know if you could go back in time and do things differently, you would," Kouris told Billette.
But the judge added, "I don't believe a word you're saying today."

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700006891/Tears-flow-as-judge-issues-sentence-in-baby-death-in-Sandy.html?pg=2

Emphasis mine - I like the judge!!

Thanks for the updates Banditbird. We've had lots of cases where blokes swing the babies by the legs and bash their heads in and call it a game. 5 years isn't enough IMO.