BLUFFDALE, Utah — Police have arrested the parents after an incident resulted in an infant death in Bluffdale Wednesday morning.
Nicholas Patrick Romero, 40, and Christina Joy Patton, 39, were arrested for child abuse homicide. They were booked into Salt Lake County Jail and are being held without bail.
At 7:13 a.m., Bluffdale officers responded to the area of 1500 West Napa Avenue for an unresponsive infant. Upon arrival, the infant was located and after attempted life-saving measures was pronounced deceased.
Police noted empty alcohol containers "on or near" the bed where the infant had reportedly been sleeping.
Both Romero and Patton admitted during interviews to have consumed alcohol during the night before, and also acknowledged they use marijuana as well.
They also admitted to unsafe infant sleeping practices took place with the infant, and that court documents showed that investigators noted that this was the second infant death involving both Patton and Romero in 2024, which also involved unsafe infant sleeping practices.
During interviews, they both acknowledged the circumstances in which they slept with the infant were considered unsafe. Patton was tested for alcohol and Romero refused a preliminary breath test.
Due to these circumstances, investigators believe they acted with "criminal negligence" by creating and disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk to the infant's life.
Overheated power strip started Riverdale home fire that killed 5 family members:
After waiting for a search warrant, detectives and the medical examiner entered the home, and it appears that police are taking photos inside an upstairs room.
Court documents show that