Utah Toddler Beaten To Death Over Dirty Diaper: Parents Face Child Abuse Charges

A Utah toddler was beaten to death over having a dirty diaper, and now his parents are facing child abuse charges.

According to Fox13, the 2-year-old, who has been identified as James Sieger Jr. (JJ), was fatally injured during a potty training incident.

Layton police, who were notified of the alleged abuse after JJ was taken to the Davis County hospital, call the details of the abuse “disturbing.”

According to police documents, Jasmine Bridgeman, 23, and her boyfriend, Joshua Schoenenberger, 34, became furious with JJ after he pooped in his diaper, something all toddlers do, and even smeared the diaper in his face. Schoenenberger then continued to beat JJ while Bridgeman went outside to smoke a cigarette.

“It’s just horrible,” said Lt. Travis Lyman with Layton Police Department. “The biological mother did allow significant amount of abuse to go on without intervening, but also engaged in it herself.”

According to Fox2Now, the couple brought JJ to the hospital and claimed he had almost drowned in the bathtub. However, the doctors quickly realized that was not the case. JJ was said to have been unresponsive and covered in bruises on his legs, groin, arms, and head. He also suffered severe internal injuries.

“There are no words. There are no words what this baby went through and the pain he suffered,” said his Aunt Nicole Sieger.

JJ was then flown to the Primary Children’s Hospital in extremely critical condition.

“Certainly the Injuries looked like the result of abuse and the biological mother and her boyfriend were the ones who brought the child in and their stories were not matching up or making sense with what we were seeing,” said Layton police Lt. Travis Lyman.

Despite undergoing several emergency surgeries, JJ did not make it.

Now his family is saying that the whole situation could have been avoided. His grandmother Krista Sieger said he saw JJ and his mom at the store last month and recalled he had a large bruise on his face.

“He had a bruise on his cheek, a pretty big one,” she said.

Krista said she called the Layton police department to report it, and his father contacted the Department of Child and Family Services, but nothing came of it.

“We could have stopped this whole thing,” said Krista.

“Very upset we have been trying for a long time to get those kids out of that situation,” said James Sieger Sr., JJ’s father.

Lyman said that they did receive a call from the grandmother on April 16 and tried to contact her back, but they were unable to reach her. The Department of Child and Family Services were not able to locate the mother.

Schoenenberger and Bridgeman are being held at the Davis County Jail and are expected to face child abuse and homicide charges.

What do you think their punishment should be? Leave your comments below.

[All photos via video screenshot]