ROY, Utah — A man previously accused of abusing and killing a Roy toddler pleaded guilty to multiple charges Tuesday, including aggravated murder.
Jonathan Dunn was arrested after a 2-year-old boy was found not breathing on the front porch of a home in December. The child was taken to the hospital, where he later died, while his twin sister was also hospitalized with a brain bleed.
Dunn was considered to be a close friend of the family of the children. He pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and one count of aggravated child abuse.
He will be sentenced August 21. As part of a plea deal, Dunn faces the possibility of life in prison without parole in exchange for the death penalty not being an option.
When police were called to the home at 4450 South Street near Sand Ridge Park before Christmas, they found the boy on the ground "with several visible injuries to his face and body."
During a police interview after the boy's death, Dunn said he had been "playing a game with the kids and he began to punch the male and female child repeatedly in the back and sides and chest," also admitting that "he was hitting them harder than he should have."
Dunn, who had been convicted and sentenced to prison for child abuse in 2017, also said he had thrown the children on a bed while they cried.
