PROVO, Utah — A Utah County judge ruled Monday that a man charged with murder in the deaths of two toddlers in 2022 will stand trial.
After a 4-day preliminary hearing in February and March, Judge Robert Lund ruled that there was enough evidence for the case of 27-year-old Kent Cody Barlow to be taken to trial.
Barlow is charged with two counts of 1st-degree felony murder in the deaths of Hunter Jackson and Odin Ratliff, who were both three years old in May 2022. Police say the two boys were playing in a corral in Eagle Mountain when Barlow crashed his car through the fence on the property, then hit the corral. The structure collapsed on top of the boys, which caused their death, according to the state medical examiner.
In Monday's ruling, Judge Lund wrote that the evidence showed a "reasonable belief" that Barlow had a "depraved indifference to human life," "knowingly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to another," and "thereby caused the death of another."
Barlow is also charged with possession of methamphetamine after he was allegedly found with the drug in his possession, both in his vehicle and in his system.
A trial date has not yet been scheduled.
