Ethan Stacy -- Found Deceased 5/11/10

This is really sad.
-----
Police: Utah man beat, disfigured slain boy
Prosecutors expect to file charges against mom, stepfather on Friday

By JENNIFER DOBNER, PAUL FOY
Associated Press Writers
updated 1 hour, 57 minutes ago

SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah stepfather held in the slaying of a 4-year-old child beat him for days before the boy died, then used a hammer to disfigure his face and teeth before burying the body in the mountains, according to police records released late Wednesday.

The body of Ethan Stacy, wrapped in plastic, was unearthed by police on Tuesday.

Interview summaries filed by Layton police detectives documented a pattern of increasingly harsh treatment of the boy, who was sent by a Virginia judge to Utah for a summer visit with his mother.

Investigators said they obtained photographs and video images of the boy's progressively worse condition from the mother's cell phone, starting more than a week ago.

Read more here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37120003/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Oh, how awful! It appears the father had custody and was forced to send Ethan to Utah for the summer with his mother. Just heartbreaking, what could a 4 year old do to possibly make someone this mad and hate them for no reason?.....

Ethan Stacy Murdered: Nathan Sloop and Stephanie Sloop Murder Charge

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 at 8:12 pm



Ethan Stacy, 4

Ethan Stacy, murdered and then buried in the Utah mountains was only four years old at the time of his death. The Nathan Sloop and Stephanie Sloop murder charge is made all the more horrific when you learn that Stephanie Sloop was Ethan Stacy’s mother, and Nathan Sloop was his step-father. Ethan Stacy went to Utah after a judge in Virginia ordered that the boy be sent to Utah for summer parent-time with his mother. Ethan’s parents were fighting over custody in Virgina, and after a hearing he came to Utah. He was murdered sometime in the last 10 days.

Read more about the details of the murder of Ethan Stacy, the allegations of abuse against his mother and step-father, and see a video about the story below.


Nathan Sloop has been charged with aggravated homicide (which brings the possibility of the death penalty being sought), felony child abuse, obstruction of justice, desecration of a corpse, and damaging his holding cell. Stephanie Sloop has been charged with felony child abuse, obstruction of justice and desecration of a corpse. Formal charges will be filed Friday, and the Sloops will make their initial appearance in Court at that time.

Nathan and Stephanie Sloop were married six days ago a the Davis County Courthouse, the same Courthouse where they will be facing murder charges for killing Ethan Stacy. While the couple was getting married little Ethan was locked in his bedroom suffering from head injuries that were inflicted at the hands of his step-father Nathan. It is alleged that Nathan began beating Ethan almost immediately after arriving in Utah, but his mother refused to seek medical attention because she was afraid she would be arrested for abuse.

The night of May 10th Stephanie Sloop reported to policethat her son was missing from his bed and that he had frequently wandered away from the apartment, but had always returned. Police began searching the area, and after interviewing the parents the next day the search lead to Ogden Canyon near Powder Mountain Ski Resort. It is in that area that police found the buried, desecrated body of Ethan Stacy.

So, Ethan Stacy, murdered at only age four, was the tragic end to the search for this missing child. The Nathan Sloop and Stephanie Sloop murder charge could lead to the death penalty for Nathan Sloop and life behind bars for Stephanie Sloop. I would be pleased with both results. It disturbs me to no end to read stories about the murder of such small and innocent victims. Ethan Stacy did nothing to deserve his fate. I’m sure that there will be those who criticize the judge for ordering visitation with Stephanie Sloop, but honestly there is no way that the judge could have known of this result, and would not have ordered the visit if such a result were even likely.

http://law.rightpundits.com/?p=1603


Stephanie Sloop - Mother


Nathanial Sloop - Stepfather

Nathan's mother did nothing to defend Nathan, so she deserves to be charged in his death along with the abusive man she hastily married.

Poor little boy. He couldn't fight back, and was beaten to death, with no one to protect him.

Another case where a mother stood by and allowed abuse. Why?

Missing boy found dead; mother, stepfather arrested
Crime » Layton police say mom and stepdad's stories 'changed' as they tried to 'cover their tracks' as police discover body in Weber County.

By Sheena McFarland, Bob Mims And Erin Alberty
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 05/12/2010 01:53:31 PM MDT



The body of a missing 4-year-old boy has been found, and his parents have been arrested in his death.

Ethan Stacy's body was found Tuesday, buried next to a trail near the Powder Mountain ski resort. Ethan's stepfather, Nathan Sloop, was arrested on suspicion of homicide. Nathan Sloop and Ethan's mother, Stephanie Sloop, both were arrested on suspicion of child abuse, obstruction of justice and desecration of a corpse, Layton police said.

Investigators would not say how they think Ethan died or how his body was desecrated.

Ethan, who lived in Virginia, arrived in Layton about two weeks ago to spend the summer with the Sloops, said Layton police Lt. Garret Atkin.

Stephanie and Nathan Sloop married May 1, he said.

Late Monday night, Stephanie Sloop called police to report Ethan was missing, Atkin said. She claimed she had put Ethan to bed about 9 p.m., but he was gone when she checked on him later. She also said he had wandered off several times before but always returned.

Throughout the night and Tuesday morning, police searched the area surrounding the Sloops' apartment complex, near 500 West and 1400 North in Layton, questioning a dozen registered sex offenders in the area, sweeping neighboring apartments and interviewing "persons of interest," Atkin said.

During those interviews, police learned of the "burial site" near Powder Mountain, Atkin said.

Crews searched near the Wolf Canyon trailhead on State Road 158 in Weber County. Canopies were erected over two separate sites less than a quarter mile up the trail.

Investigators could be seen carrying shovels to and from the scene, where muddy conditions complicated the search, Atkin said.

The body of a boy matching Ethan's description was found at 5 p.m. Atkins said he would not "go into the gory details" as to the body's condition.

Investigators do not know how long the body had been buried.

It is not clear whether the boy was killed at the trail or if his body was brought there from another place, Atkin said.

Police would not say who pointed investigators to Wolf Canyon or whether the Sloops confessed outright to killing Ethan. Atkin said only that "their stories changed during the process."

"They were trying to cover their tracks," he said.

Police do not yet know whether Ethan actually had a history of wandering away from home.

His biological father has been contacted, Atkin said. Police would not release the father's name, and Atkin said he did not know the city in Virginia where Ethan lived.

Police are investigating no other potential suspects, Atkin said.

Nathan Sloop has a history of drug convictions and other crimes dating back to 2000. Most recently, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance in 2003.

Stephanie Sloop has no criminal history in Utah under her married name; Atkin said he did not know her maiden name or previous married names.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_15060682?source=pkg

Documents detail Ethan Stacy's horrific final days
Layton Police » Beaten and burned 4-year-old was left alone while couple went to wed.

By Sheena McFarland
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 05/13/2010 02:39:28 PM MDT

As Ethan Stacy suffered from serious injuries sustained during a beating and needed medical attention, his mother and her boyfriend locked the 4-year-old boy in a room and went to get married.

Police documents released Wednesday detail the last days in the life of the boy whose body was found Tuesday buried near Powder Mountain.

On May 5, Ethan's eventual stepfather, Nathan Sloop, took the boy into a bedroom, closed the door and began slapping him and beating him around the head and face, according to an interview with the boy's mother, Stephanie Sloop, in police documents. When she walked in afterward, she saw Ethan's face was swelling and he needed medical attention, but she did not seek help, according to the probable cause statement filed by arresting Layton police officers.

The next day, the couple locked the boy in a bedroom by removing the inside doorknob and left to wed at the Davis County Memorial Courthouse in Farmington. They did not take Ethan with them because they worried someone would call police because of his injuries, Stephanie Sloop told officers.

During the next three days, Ethan would not eat, was lethargic, had a fever and was vomiting. The couple forced the boy to drink water, Kool-Aid and orange juice. They gave him Benadryl and Motrin to take down the swelling and subdue him, but did not seek medical attention, Stephanie Sloop said.

On Friday, Stephanie Sloop returned to their Layton apartment after shopping at Wal-Mart to find the boy was badly burned on his feet and legs from an overly hot bath. Nathan Sloop told her it was an accident. She said she did not believe him but still did not seek medical help because her husband would hurt her, the documents state.

She said Ethan was asleep in bed when she checked on him at 3 a.m. Sunday. She went to the pharmacy for a prescription for her husband, and when she returned at 5:30 a.m. that Mother's Day, he told her Ethan was dead. She said she did not call police then because her husband told her he would go to prison because of the bruises on the boy's body.

Instead, they took his body to an area near Powder Mountain and made efforts to disfigure the body in an apparent attempt to delay identification. After Nathan Sloop buried Ethan, he guided Stephanie Sloop to the grave to say her last goodbyes.

Monday night, Stephanie Sloop called police, saying her son had been wandering off for the past several nights and that she could not find him. After 40 officers spent 12 hours scouring the area, the Sloops' story unraveled and the investigation turned to Powder Mountain. Nathan Sloop led police to Ethan's makeshift grave, where they recovered his body at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

That night, officers arrested Nathan Sloop on suspicion of aggravated homicide, and both he and Stephanie Sloop on suspicion of child abuse, obstruction of justice and desecration of a body. The Davis County Attorney's Office plans to file charges against the couple Friday morning.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_15074629?source=pkg

Slain boy's dad: 'I just wanted him to grow up ... where it was safe'

Murder » A court order forced father to send Ethan Stacy, 4, to spend the summer with his mother.

By Sheena McFarland
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 05/13/2010 10:05:33 AM MDT



Joe Stacy didn't want to send his son to Utah for a summer-long visit with his mother. He worried she was too unstable to care for him, but a court order in their divorce left him no choice.

"I just wanted him to grow up where his daddy grew up, in a small town in the mountains," he said Wednesday from Virginia. "Where it was safe."

Instead, 4-year-old Ethan Stacy will return to the town of Richlands for his burial, just more than two weeks after Joe Stacy watched his ex-wife walk away with the boy to whom he had dedicated his life.

Ethan's body was found Tuesday buried in a shallow grave off a muddy trailhead near Powder Mountain ski resort. Layton police suspect his stepfather, Nathan Sloop, killed him and his mother, Stephanie Sloop, tried to cover it up.

"He was the best little boy that you'd ever meet; he really was. He was a very lovable child, and that's all he wanted, was to love on people all the time," Joe Stacy said through tears. "He was a great boy, and even if he was a bad boy, he didn't deserve this, nobody deserves this, but he was just a good, sweet boy."

---

'I didn't have any choice' » Ethan's parents finalized their divorce April 28 in Florida, where they lived during their five-year marriage.

After signing the papers, Joe Stacy, 35, went to Virginia, his childhood home he had returned to in December. Ethan and Stephanie Stacy, 27, boarded a plane bound for Utah, where she had moved to after a brief stay in Las Vegas.

"I did not want him to go, and he didn't want to go at all. He kept telling me he didn't want to go," Stacy said. "I didn't have any choice, I had to send him. The type of person she was, had I kept him and didn't send him out there, she would have turned around and filed contempt of court charges against me."

But that doesn't make it any easier to grapple with the fact he won't be going to the park every day or playing Spider-Man on the PlayStation 3 with a boy who was "way, way ahead" of his peers and able to pick up on new skills after being shown just once.

Stacy had called his son every day since he came to Utah, and Stephanie Sloop often would call her ex-husband to complain about the boy's behavior, Stacy said. But starting May 5 -- the day charging documents say Nathan Sloop, 31, began abusing Ethan -- his ex-wife kept coming up with reasons the boy couldn't talk to his father. The last call Stacy made was Monday, when Nathan Sloop gave another reason why the boy couldn't talk to his father, Stacy said.

"I never did get a call back," he said.

--

Parting ways » Stacy said he wanted to keep Ethan away from his mother, whom he called a "pathological liar," but while the court made the oil-rig worker the custodial parent, it also granted summer visitation to Stephanie Sloop.

As part of their divorce, Stacy retained custody as long as he paid her half of a settlement from a pending injury lawsuit he had filed about 18 months ago.

"I would have given her all of it if it meant I was able to keep my son with me," he said.

In the months since their separation, Stacy said Nathan Sloop would send him text messages, some violent.

"I had been threatened over the past six months by him," Stacy said.

Freida Stacy, Ethan's grandmother, said Stephanie Sloop tried to "stir up trouble" several times for her stepson.

"The only reason she wanted [Ethan] was she thought, 'This is how I'm going to get back at Joe,'" Freida Stacy said. "It was like Ethan was just a pawn."

Nathan Sloop has a history of drug convictions and other crimes dating back to 2000. Most recently, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance in 2003.

Joe Stacy had met the man face-to-face only once, for about 30 minutes when Stacy flew to Utah to pick up a vehicle from his ex-wife.

"I had really mixed feelings about him," Stacy said. "I didn't know what to believe with him."

--

Newlyweds » The Sloops planned to wed July 4 in Colorado, according to their wedding website and gift registries, but instead they married Thursday at the Farmington Courthouse. The Sloops had met when they were both in their early teens, but they didn't really connect until October.

"Instead of provoking my Bad Boy side, she respects it," Nathan Sloop wrote on the site. "She doesn't try and provoke me to protect her, but rather she loves me in ways I couldn't even ask her to do."

Stephanie Sloop wrote of losing twins she was pregnant with in December, and that Nathan Sloop had saved her life twice during that time.

"Even though I lost the babies we planned to have, it saved my life," she wrote. "You can always have more children, but Nathan couldn't replace me."

Calls to the couple's family were not returned Wednesday.

--

Unraveling the ruse » Stephanie Sloop called police just before midnight Monday, saying her son had wandered off and she couldn't find him. More than 40 officers scoured the area around their apartment at 1425 N. 500 West in Layton before the couple's stories had enough discrepancies that they were brought in for further questioning. Eventually, Stephanie Sloop told investigators Ethan died Sunday. Soon after, they learned the location of a makeshift burial site near Powder Mountain, said Lt. Garret Atkin of the Layton Police Department.

Officers walked the trail, digging in the mud as snow and rain fell, and recovered Ethan's body about 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The Davis County Attorney's Office plans to announce charges against the couple Friday morning. Both are expected to face charges of child abuse, obstruction of justice and abuse or desecration of a human body. Nathan Sloop also may be charged with aggravated murder and damaging a jail.

The Medical Examiner's Office is performing an autopsy to determine Ethan Stacy's cause of death. After that, his body will be flown to Virginia for his funeral.

"They are going to send him back home and I'm getting his funeral arrangements ready here," his father said. "I know things are going to get even tougher when he comes home."

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_15074193?source=pkg

Florida judge: 'Sorry for loss' of Ethan

Custody » Arguments child would be in danger not heard in court.

By Sheena McFarland
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 05/13/2010 07:40:57 PM MDT

A Florida judge who oversaw the divorce proceedings between Joe and Stephanie Stacy -- including the custody rights involving their 4-year-old son, Ethan -- says she never heard arguments that the child would be in danger with his mother.

"Sometimes both parties come to court to get their agreement approved and to get the divorce decree that incorporates the marital agreement," Judge Maura T. Smith of the 9th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida said. "But there was no discussion about what was in the agreement other than some of the financial aspects, and usually these cases last less than 10 minutes."

In divorce papers filed last year, Ethan Stacy's father outlined his fears about leaving the 4-year-old boy with his mother.

"The mother has abandoned the child and I'm afraid the mother will come and take him and I'll never see him again," Joe Stacy wrote in an emergency petition for temporary custody of Ethan, calling her "unstable."

But his ex-wife did end up with visitation rights for the boy. And this week, police say, Stephanie Sloop's new husband, Nathan Sloop, beat the child to death while his mother attempted to cover up the crime.

However, the Stacys went through mediation to hash out the details of the divorce, including custody of Ethan. In it, they agreed that Joe Stacy would be the custodial parent while Stephanie Stacy would get the 4-year-old boy every summer, spring break and every other major holiday.

Neither parent had attorneys present, Smith said, and Joe Stacy said he felt like he had to make the concession in order to maintain custody of his son for the majority of the year, he said.

The divorce case is still open and under Smith's jurisdiction, she said, adding that many times divorced couples will amend their agreements as circumstances change.

"We're just very sorry for their loss," Smith said.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_15079390?source=pkg

Thousands mourn Ethan Stacy's death

Crime » Well-wishers gather at memorial at apartments where 4-year-old was allegedly killed.

By Lindsay Whitehurst
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 05/15/2010 11:03:00 PM MDT

Layton > > Sherry Durst didn't know Ethan Stacy -- few in Utah did. But Saturday, she felt drawn to his memorial near the apartment where his short life brutally ended.

"I come out here every day, just to see," Durst, 44, of Syracuse, said. "You have to feel it. If you have a heart, you have to feel this."

Davis County prosecutors claim the 4-year-old boy died May 9 following four days of abuse by his stepfather and mother. He had recently arrived in Utah to spend the summer with his mother as part of a child custody agreement.

His death has struck a chord in thousands of people. By Saturday, three Facebook pages dedicated to his case had a combined total of nearly 32,000 fans. Davis

County attorneys have been flooded with e-mails offering both sympathy for Ethan's family and demanding swift justice for the crime.

The abuse started May 5, when 31-year-old Nathan Sloop dealt a brutal beating to the boy's head and face, according to police documents. Ethan's 27-year-old mother Stephanie Sloop did nothing to stop the beating, and might have had a substantial hand in the abuse, prosecutors said Friday. The couple married one day after the beating, locking the injured boy in a bedroom and going to the Davis County Memorial Courthouse.

Ethan got no medical attention and suffered further abuse, including burns to his feet and legs, before his death, police said. After he died, the couple allegedly disfigured his face and buried him near Powder Mountain ski resort. They reported him missing Monday, but their story unraveled about 12 hours later.

Both are now being held in the Davis County jail without bail. If prosecutors file anticipated aggravated murder charges against them later this month, they could both face the death penalty.

Several days after Ethan's death, strangers continue to pay their respects at a memorial a few feet from the apartment where he died.

They have left candles, flowers and handwritten letters along with dozens of stuffed animals and balloons. An elementary school group signed two large posters and pasted them next to pictures of the blond, bespectacled little boy. There are kites and water guns with the image of his favorite superhero, Spider-Man, and notes to Ethan's father, Joe Stacy, who lives in Virginia.

Hundreds gathered at the site Saturday night for a candlelight memorial.

Many mourners said they have never been so affected by a news story.

"There's a picture of him sitting in a pool, and he just looks completely vulnerable ... he was helpless," Chris Gagnier, 42, said through tears. "I just can't imagine laying hands on my child the way they did."

Courtney Fulmer, 20, heard about the crime from her boyfriend's parents. For her, it's a reminder that a tranquil city is not necessarily immune to shocking crime.

"We always think that we're kind of a safe haven, especially in Layton, but we're not," she said from behind the counter at the coffee shop The Daily Rise.

For others, Ethan's death is a call to action. Valleri Lyngle, general manager at the Iceberg ice cream shop in Syracuse, has been a foster parent to six children and adopted one boy who had been abused.

She is organizing a Teddy Bear Drive, slated for May 29, to collect stuffed animals for firefighters and police officers to give to children in traumatic situations.

"I really want people to stop and think about [Ethan's death]," she said. She hopes it increases awareness about child abuse. "People need to take action."

http://www.sltrib.com/D=g/ci_15094513

This is another sad case where a mother puts a man above the safety of her own child. When will it end?

I will never ever be able to understand how a woman could stand by and watch her child being beaten. It's just horrific, then she comes home and he's been scalded in hot water, my god, that poor child. This man is pure evil, and the mother is an ignorant POS, to say the least. I could just cry, my sincerest sympathy goes out to Ethan's father and the ones that loved him. BTW, there is another thread on Ethan in the Daily News section.

Thanks Piper. See what happens when I miss a couple days. I will merge the threads. I thought there might be a thread on this already, but it didn't come up when I did a search for Ethan Stacy. I should have known to go into advanced search and use the Google option instead of using the default search which only seems to work if the terms you are searching for are in the thread title.

J4A - Thanks for all the updated reports. This is such a horrific case, and I feel so bad for the bio Dad.

Mother of slain Utah boy may face murder charge

JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writers, PAUL FOY, Associated Press Writers
Published: 01:45 p.m., Friday, May 14, 2010

FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) — Prosecutors in Utah said Friday they may file murder charges against the mother of a 4-year-old boy whose body was found in a canyon earlier this week.

Searchers dug up Ethan Stacy's badly beaten and disfigured body Tuesday, about 10 days after he arrived in Utah for a summer visit with his mother, Stephanie Sloop, 27.

Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said Sloop and her husband, Nathanael Sloop, 31, will likely be charged with aggravated murder in the boy's death. Before Friday, the possibility of murder charges had only been discussed for Nathanael Sloop.

"We're looking at aggravated murder — both defendants are suspects at this point," Rawlings said.

Police said Stephanie Sloop initially told officers her son had wandered away from her Layton apartment.

But probable cause statements said Nathanael Sloop acknowledged beating the boy for days before his death on Sunday and Stephanie Sloop did nothing to stop it. After the boy died, Nathanael Stoop used a hammer to disfigure the boy's face and teeth to keep him from being identified, then buried the body in a canyon, according to the documents.

The Sloops may also be charged with felony child abuse, obstruction of justice and desecration of a corpse, Rawlings said.

At a court hearing Friday, both separately agreed to waive their right to be bailed out of jail until at least their next court appearance on May 28.

Nathanael Sloop kept his head low and wept softly during his court appearance. Stephanie Sloop appeared withdrawn and showed no visible emotion during the twin hearings that together lasted less than 15 minutes.

Earlier, Nathanael Sloop's court-appointed attorney, Todd Utzinger, would not discuss specifics of the case or possible charges. He said he met with both Sloops Friday morning at the Davis County Jail and advised them to stop talking to detectives.

Attorney Julie George, who was appointed to represent Stephanie Sloop, said her client "is very emotional and having a difficult time."

Prosecutors are waiting to file charges because there is the potential for the death penalty.

"We're not going to file charges before all of our ducks are in a row and we're ready to go, but we intend to get there," Rawlings said.

The 2nd District Court hearing in Farmington drew about two dozen members of the advocacy group Bikers Against Child Abuse and many other people unconnected to the case.

"That boy didn't get mercy. They shouldn't get mercy," said August Teuscher, 32, a mother of four from Clinton, who stood in the courthouse holding a hand-drawn sign condemning the Sloops. "They should be tortured."

Public defenders for the Sloops said the couple had received hundreds of requests for visits from reporters and strangers while in jail. Judge David M. Connors signed an order prohibiting anyone from trying to visit the Sloops.

Utah State Courts records show that between 2000 and 2003, Nathanael Sloop had several convictions, including for criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and drug possession. No criminal history was found for Stephanie Sloop.

Ethan's biological father, Joe G. Stacy of Tazewell, Va., agreed to share custody of the boy on April 28 so he would spend the school year with his father and summers with his mother.

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Mother-of-slain-Utah-boy-may-face-murder-charge-488906.php#photo-2

Quote from Ethan's father:

"The mother has abandoned the child and I'm afraid the mother will come and take him and I'll never see him again," Joe Stacy wrote in an emergency petition for temporary custody of Ethan, calling her "unstable."

It's unfortunate the courts will not listen to the concerned parents in these cases. They have their dockets, apparently tired of the he said - she said and just move on.

snipped from above:

"I just wanted him to grow up where his daddy grew up, in a small town in the mountains," he said Wednesday from Virginia. "Where it was safe."

Friend says Ethan Stacy's mom 'completely changed'
Murder » 'Ripples of despair' have washed over friends of the Stacys in Georgia.

By Lindsay Whitehurst
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 05/17/2010 12:46:51 PM MDT



Amber Navarre Llewellyn can hardly recognize Stephanie Sloop, a woman she once knew as a friend.

"I knew her very well, and I never thought something like this would come from her. She doesn't even look like the same person I knew," said Llewellyn, of Fort Benning, Ga. "It kills me to look at pictures. I'm angry. I'm hurt. I'm heartbroken."

She spent barbecues and vacations with 4-year-old Ethan Stacy, and baby-sat him when he was an infant. On Thursday night, she heard the terrible news that Ethan was dead after four days of abuse by his mother, Stephanie, 27, and her new husband, Nathan Sloop, 31.

"I thought, 'This is fake, this is not for real,'" Llewellyn said. "I remember talking to her before she went and picked him up about how excited she was to get him."

When Llewellyn met Stephanie Sloop in 2005, she was pregnant with Ethan and married to Joe Stacy. Both of their husbands were stationed at Hunter Army Airfield outside Savannah, Ga. and they became close friends.

Ethan was a sweet, talkative boy, Llewellyn said, remembering how he made funny faces by pushing in the top and bottom of his ears.

"Ethan was very loving, he loved hugs, and he was a funny kid. He would make you laugh just being himself," she said. "He was always happy, and he loved his daddy."

Ethan's mother seemed to love him, too, she said.

"She took care of him. He loved her. I thought that he was her pride and joy, I really did," she said. "I never saw her spank Ethan, never saw her raise her voice at Ethan."

Still, Stephanie Stacy had another side. She could be vindictive when she felt wronged and always want more money, and was a "compulsive liar." Stephanie Sloop told her she planned on keeping Ethan "for good" after taking him back to Utah.

The Stacys moved from Georgia to Florida about a year and half ago, and she lost touch with Stephanie. Then, last year, Stephanie left Joe and Ethan and moved to Las Vegas, according to Llewellyn and divorce papers. In October, Stephanie reconnected with Nathan Sloop, with whom she had gone to high school, the couple wrote on a wedding page on theknot.com. The posting has since been removed.

Stephanie reconnected with Llewellyn on Facebook after Nathan and Stephanie got together.

"I think she completely changed when she got with Nathan," she said. They seemed "obsessed" with each other, she said. Stephanie often wrote online that she had found her soul mate, that her life was complete. They planned their wedding for July 4, and she had an expensive dress from Nathan's mother, Llewellyn said.

Then, on May 6, her relationship status on Facebook suddenly changed to "married," Llewellyn said.

According to police, Nathan and Stephanie Sloop went to the old Davis County Memorial Courthouse to wed the day after Nathan dealt Ethan a brutal beating. They locked him in a bedroom, according to arrest documents, so people would not see his injuries.

"The day she got married to Nathan, she put on her updated status 'married,' and something to the effect of being so happy she was finally Mrs. Nathan Sloop," Llewellyn said. "She seemed excited. In the midst of this, while I was writing 'congratulations,' he was in a bedroom dying. It just makes me sick to my stomach."

The Sloops allegedly disfigured the boy's face before burying him near Power Mountain ski resort. They reported him missing, but later admitted the location of his body, police said. Both are now being held without bail on suspicion of aggravated murder, and could face the death penalty.

The alleged crime has sent ripples of despair through the group who knew the family in Georgia, Llewellyn said. She finds herself thinking about Ethan and the abuse he suffered, and wishing Joe Stacy will find some kind of comfort for his loss.

She remembered a night she and her husband watched Ethan, just before she became pregnant with her own daughter.

"I remember my husband standing over the bassinet, because [Ethan] looked so sweet," she said. "I just wonder if I'll ever be able to go through a day without thinking about this."

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_15099438?source%253Dmost_viewed.20F88DA3D7D369F5BB70F372987EAE1F.html

Ethan Stacy to be buried Wednesday in Virginia

By Scott Sherman
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 05/17/2010 06:13:34 PM MDT

Joe Stacy will lay his 4-year-old son, Ethan, to rest Wednesday in the small mountain town where he wanted to boy to grow up.

Ethan will be buried in Richlands, Va., less than three weeks after he arrived in Utah to spend the summer with his mother, Stephanie Sloop, who along with her new husband is a suspect in the boy's death.

A public service will be Tuesday at the Grundy Funeral Home in Grundy, Va., with a funeral to follow Wednesday. He will be buried in Clinch Valley Memorial Cemetery in Richlands.

Ethan had been in Utah for one week when, police say, on May 5 Nathan Sloop severely beat the child on the head and face.

Nathan and Stephanie Sloop married at the old memorial courthouse in Farmington the day after the beating, leaving the boy locked in a bedroom without medical attention, according to a police probable cause statement. Investigators say Ethan was also badly burned by Nathan Sloop before his death four days later.

The Sloops allegedly disfigured his body and buried him off a trail near Powder Mountain Ski Resort, then reported him missing. Authorities say the couple admitted to the location of his body after a 12-hour search.

Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said his office is waiting autopsy results and testing of other key evidence before filing charges against the Sloops.

Rawlings has urged the public "not to treat the probable cause statement like the Bible" because dozens of pieces of new evidence have since surfaced. The involvement of Ethan's mother, initially told police she was scared of her husband, could be enough to justify aggravated murder charges against her in addition to her husband, Rawlings said.

In Utah, aggravated murder charges can carry three penalties: the death penalty, life in prison without parole, or 25 years to life in prison with the option of parole. Prosecutors now have 60 days to decide which option to pursue.

Second District Court Judge David Connors on Friday ordered the couple held without bail until May 28, by which time charges should be filed.

http://www.sltrib.com/D=g/ci_15104195

Police staff find ways to cope with Ethan Stacy case

By Loretta Park (Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau)
Last Edit: May 17 2010 - 4:12pm

LAYTON -- One week ago, officers from Layton and Weber County dug up the body of 4-year-old Ethan Stacy.

Critical incident stress debriefing sessions will be held later this week to help officers, investigators, dispatchers and other police staff cope with what they saw and heard during the search and investigation, officials said.

Layton police Lt. Garret Atkin said the death of Ethan Stacy has been difficult on officers, dispatchers and the support staff at the department.

"We consider our police department as a family," Atkin said. "We went through this together and hopefully we will heal together."

Atkin said the debriefing sessions are not mandatory, but it helps to get together with peers to discuss what they are feeling.

Officers cannot or do not want to always discuss with family members what they have gone through in cases like Ethan Stacy's, Atkin said.

Cases involving children can be extra hard not only on officers but on dispatchers and support personnel who are behind the scenes and do not always know what is going on during the investigation, he said.

Dispatchers are the ones who receive the 911 calls of a missing child, Atkin said. Then, as the investigation goes on, they are the ones who handle the hundreds of calls from people who want to help or to complain.

"They also see the officers who come in and are struggling a little bit with what is going on," Atkin said.

Layton City, like other agencies, offer employee assistance, where an officer or other employee struggling with the incident can receive counseling one-on-one without a report going to city officials, he said.

Law enforcement "officers do not see the horrors of war, but they see a lot of cruelty imposed on humanity and it takes its toll," said Jack Rickards, director of the Weber State University Law Enforcement Academy.

Rickards said he knows military personnel go through a lot, but law enforcement does to and it is rarely recognized.

Public-trained safety personnel, communications officials, medical officials and mental health workers will be on hand during the debriefing sessions to help those involved discuss the feelings and emotions they are going through.

Weber County Sheriff's Capt. Klint Anderson said if officers do not get help they can become like a pressure cooker with emotions and images they do not know what to do with.

"Everyone copes differently, so we let them know it's OK to vent," Anderson said.

Also, officers keep an eye on each other in case someone is not coping well, officials said.

Davis County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Bob Yeaman said supervisors at the jail where Stephanie and Nathan Sloop are booked are watching corrections officers to make sure they are coping well.

The Sloops are accused of the murder of the 4-year-old boy. Formal charges have not been filed yet.

It's not the first time the jail has housed defendants accused of killing a child, he said.

The jail has two professionals from Davis Behavioral Health, Inc., on hand who talk, when requested, to deputies who are in charge of the Sloop case about what they are going through emotionally and mentally, Yeaman said.

Also, deputies who work in the jail are told during their briefing sessions, before their shift begins, to remember to be professional, Yeaman said.

"Sometimes it's hard to be professional, but we force ourselves to do it," Yeaman said. "We talk about thinking about what you're going to say and what you do before you do it. And, if you need guidance to talk to your supervisor, we'll get you help."

Officers receive basic training either at WSU's law enforcement academy or at the state's Police Officer Standards Training on how to cope with stress.

Staying physically fit is one way to cope with stress instead of grabbing "a fifth of Jack Daniels" said Lt. Wade Breur with POST.

Those going into law enforcement know they will see their share of mangled body and horrific crime scenes, but nothing really prepares them for reality, Breur said.

"So when you're stressed out, it's good to hit the gym," Breur said.

http://www.standard.net/topics/ethan-stacy/2010/05/17/police-staff-find-ways-cope-ethan-stacy-case

Coping with an ordeal such as this, a murdered child, would be extremely difficult. I would think LE would need support to deal with it. I honestly don't know how they can stay professional and keep from "accidentally" offing the Sloops, or at least beat the living daylights out of them.