'Lethal selfishness': Man sent to prison for murder of 2 Eagle Mountain children in tragic crash

PROVO — Brooke Jackson said her son and his friend, both 3 years old, often raced across the barn at Cedar Valley Stables in Eagle Mountain.

"Ready, set, fast," they would say each time.

She said it didn't matter to the boys who won, but that they both reached the end. Her son would go back to grab his 1-year-old brother, helping him across the finish line, too. They were racing, and flying — and it was magic, she said, adding that they were more than best friends; they were like brothers, dreaming and laughing together.

And all of that was taken away "in an instant" when a car crashed into the stable property, killing Odin Ratliff and Hunter Jackson.

Now, Brooke Jackson said her family has been in and out of the emergency room to deal with their trauma, and have spent thousands of dollars on therapy and medication in addition to taking time off work for court hearings.

"Our son and his best friend were murdered. We didn't get to say goodbye. We didn't get one more hug. We didn't get one more smile or one more day. We still wake up hoping it was all a mistake. We turn towards the door, waiting for Hunter to come home. We still wait to see Odin at the barn bringing out his tractors — even though we know they won't, we still wait for them," she said.

No sentence can reflect the boys' values

Jackson spoke Monday in Provo's 4th District Court at the sentencing for the man who was driving the car that crashed into the stables, causing the deaths of both children. She said his actions were not a mistake but "an act of lethal selfishness," driving with such disregard that "it only can be described as evil." She said he destroyed a place of comfort and peace, and nothing has been the same since that date.

Kent Cody Barlow, 28, will spend at least the next 30 years in prison — and possibly the rest of his life — after a jury found him guilty of killing the two toddlers playing near a horse corral at 2333 N. 16000 West on May 2, 2022. Evidence at trial showed that Barlow was on methamphetamine at the time and had been showing off his car to his friends, going as fast as 120 mph.

Barlow was sentenced to two terms of 15 years to life in prison for murder, a first-degree felony — one count for each of the 3-year-old boys who died. He was also sentenced to one year in jail for possession or use of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor, but the judge closed that case with credit for the time he had already served.

Fourth District Judge Derek Pullan ordered the sentences to run consecutively.

"No sentence that the court imposes today can restore life. No sentence can adequately reflect the value of these two children," Pullan said, telling families their healing will need to come from other sources.

The judge told Barlow that he had created not ripples but waves, changing many lives irreparably and causing devastating losses to so many people. "Your conduct was the equivalent of dropping a giant boulder from 10,000 feet into a lake," Pullan said.

Barlow's sentences will begin after a sentence he is currently serving for convictions he was on parole for at the time of the crash. The judge told Barlow that being on parole for similar conduct "should have placed you in a state of hypervigilance and care."

Pullan told the boys' parents, "I am so sorry about the loss of your boys," adding that he hopes the sentence brings hope not just to them but also to Barlow's family, who he said lost their son to the criminal justice system.

Theresa Ratliff, Odin's mother, spoke about how her son would be 6 years old now and would still love barns, horses and playing in the sand with trucks with Hunter. She said her son was everything to her.

"It has been 1,155 days since we lost our sons: 1,155 days of sorrow, grief, anger, guilt and thoughts of how things could have been different," she said. "My life has forever been changed, and I am not the same person I was."

She spoke about finding the boys after the crash under a fallen roof, holding them and screaming for an "ounce of hope." Ratliff said she would not wish that on her worst enemy, even Barlow.

Shattered lives

After attending his trial dressed in a suit with handcuffs taken off each time the jury was present, Barlow arrived at his sentencing on Monday in a white jumpsuit marked "UDC inmate," with a chain around his waist and his hands cuffed behind his back. Rather than having guards dressed as if they were part of his team of attorneys, two correctional officers in black uniforms sat behind him.

Barlow told the court he made several decisions that day that "shattered the lives of two families and dozens of people."

"I want the families to know that I am terribly and truly sorry. Every day, for the last three years, I have spent hoping and wishing that I could go back to take back my actions or trade those two little boys places," he said.

Barlow said he hopes to one day make amends with those families, the community and his family.

His mother, Wendy Barlow, said her son has always been a loving and caring individual and would take care of his siblings. She said what happened was a "grievous accident" and argued that he could be rehabilitated and do what he needs to do to reenter society.

"I truly want to apologize to the parents. Being a parent myself and having your child fall away has been very hard … and to know that he has done what he did is very hard for me to take," Wendy Barlow said.

She said this has been hard for her and her family, as well. She said Barlow had always wanted children, but that is unlikely to be a possibility due to the consequences of his actions.

'Not much time'

Barlow's attorney, Justin Morrison, argued that the verdict ensures his client is held accountable and asked for concurrent sentences. He argued that both lives that were lost were individual tragedies, but they stem from the same "sequence of depraved indifference." He said that the murder charges were filed using Utah statute "in a rather novel way," so the state's Board of Pardons and Parole should have more of an ability to decide the final outcome of the case.

In contrast, deputy Utah County attorney Michael Starrs argued for the consecutive sentences, meaning a minimum of 30 years in prison for the murder charges, and for them to be run consecutively with the other conviction for which Barlow is currently in prison. Barlow led police on a high-speed chase, beginning on a stolen motorcycle and later in a stolen police car.

Thirty years is "not much time, your honor, for Mr. Barlow to serve compared to the immeasurable amount of loss that he has put on this community," Starrs said, noting that by the time Barlow is eligable for parole, the children he killed would have been in their mid-30s, getting started on families and careers.

The jury was given the option to find Barlow guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, which Barlow's attorneys argued in favor of, but they found Barlow instead guilty of murder.

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