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 Jail booking statements detail abuse leading to Ethan Stacy's death

FARMINGTON, Utah - A pair of probable cause statements obtained by Fox 13 detail an extensive pattern of child abuse that Layton police detectives allege led up to the death of 4-year-old Ethan Stacy. They accuse his stepfather, Nathan Sloop, of murder and accuse him of burying the body in a shallow grave near Powder Mountain, using a hammer to destroy the boy's face to prevent identification.

The statements were part of what a judge in Farmington's 2nd District Court used to deny bail to Nathan Sloop, accused of murdering his stepson. The documents were given to Fox 13 and other news media under a government records request.

The graphic statements detail a pattern of abuse that officers discovered when investigating Ethan's disappearance. Detectives found photos of a bruised and swollen boy on Stephanie Sloop's cell phone, police wrote in the documents. When confronted, police said she revealed that her son had been beaten by Nathan Sloop.

"On 05/05/10 Nate became angry with Ethan and took him into his bedroom to be disciplined and closed the door. Stephanie stated that she could hear Nate slapping Ethan in the bedroom, and that when Nate left the bedroom, she entered the bedroom and found Ethan badly beaten about the head area and that Ethan's face was already beginning to swell," Layton police detective B. Plotnick wrote in the probable cause statement.

"Stephanie told us that she never got medical attention for Ethan, even though she knew that medical attention was needed."

The probable cause statements allege that the next day, Ethan was locked in his bedroom and left alone while Stephanie and Nathan went to the Farmington courthouse to be married.

"Stephanie stated that they locked Ethan in his bedroom by taking off the inside door knob," Plotnick wrote. "Stephanie further stated that they left Ethan locked in his bedroom due to the swelling and bruising on his face, and they felt that if Ethan was with them, someone might call the police."

Over the next several days, Ethan got progressively ill, police said Stephanie Sloop told detectives. He was vomiting, running a fever and would not eat. The couple forced the boy to drink two 16 oz. bottles of water, a bottle of KoolAid and orange juice in a two-hour period, police wrote in the jail statement.

On May 7, police said the boy was burned in the bathtub.

"Stephanie told us that she did not believe that Ethan had turned the hot water up, and that Nate had intentionally burned Ethan," Plotnick wrote, adding that Stephanie Sloop discovered feces in her son's mouth.

"Stephanie told us that she did not get medical attention for Ethan because Nate would harm her if she tried to do so," Plotnick wrote.

On May 9, police wrote that Stephanie Sloop checked on her son about 3 a.m., and found him asleep. When she returned from getting a prescription for her husband, Nate, about 5:30 a.m., police wrote that he informed her the boy was dead.

"Stephanie claimed that she attempted CPR, but that Ethan did not respond," police wrote. "Stephanie stated that she knew that Ethan was dead due to the fact that his arms were stiff, his body was cold to the touch and he had no pulse. Stephanie stated that she did not call the police because Nate told her that she would go to prison because of the bruising on Ethan from the prior abuse that week."

A probable cause statement filed when Nathan Sloop was booked into jail alleges the couple plotted to dispose of the body.

"This plan involved placing Ethan's body into plastic garbage bags and taping them up. He then put Ethan in a plastic bin," Layton police detective J. Roderick wrote. "Mr. and Mrs. Sloop drove Ethan to the Powder Mountain area where Mr. Sloop buried Ethan."

One of the statements says Stephanie Sloop purchased lighter fluid so they could burn the body, but another says only other evidence was burned. One of the jail statements also suggests a man named "Frank" was called to help bury the body. Layton police have not said they are seeking someone else in the killing.

Nathan Sloop led police to the grave at Powder Mountain, Fox 13 has learned.

"I find it probable to believe that Mr. Sloop engaged in a pattern of progressively more violent and injurious behavior towards Ethan," Roderick wrote.

Police wrote that Nathan Sloop took a hammer to the boy's face, disfiguring it and knocking out teeth "in an effort to defeat or delay identification."

A judge denied Nathan Sloop bail. He did set bail at $100,000 cash only for Stephanie Sloop, the Davis County Sheriff's Office said. The couple is due in court on Friday where they are expected to be formally charged.