Tremonton parents accused of torture in boy's death won't face charges, county says

TREMONTON — The Box Elder County Attorney's Office has declined to file felony charges against a Tremonton couple who were initially arrested and accused of child torture that led to the death of their 11-year-old son, but they may still face reduced charges of child abuse.

Brigham Young Merrell, 35, was booked into the Box Elder County Jail on May 6 for investigation of child abuse homicide and child torture. His wife, Melinda Marie Merrell, 36, was arrested for investigation of child torture.

The Tremonton-Garland Police Department started investigating the Merrells after their son, Moroni, died on Sept. 21, 2025. Brigham Merrell had called 911, saying he found his child "hanging by a coaxial cable." The father was the only adult present when the child died.

Police reported discovering several inconsistencies and allegedly suspicious conduct in what happened the night of the child's death. Tremonton-Garland police said it conducted a "thorough, monthslong investigation with the assistance of multiple outside law enforcement agencies" before submitting a comprehensive case and investigative file to the Box Elder County Attorney's Office.

But the decision of whether to file charges rests with the Box Elder County Attorney's Office, which said Tremonton police had "largely ceased communicating" with them and arrested the parents "against the advice of the county attorney's office and despite not having the medical examiner's report which had not been completed."

The missing examiner's report was "a major impediment" to the county attorney's office on making an informed decision of filing charges, the office said. The parents were thus released from jail a week after their arrest as there was not enough evidence to charge them within the legally required timeframe.

On Friday, the county attorney announced its official decision not to file charges against the Merrells after "an extensive review" involving five attorneys, three victim advocates, an investigator, meetings with Tremonton police, review of body camera recordings, home surveillance video, forensic interviews, suspect interviews, autopsy photographs, medical records, physical evidence and independent reviewers.

"This decision is based on a lack of sufficient evidence to prove those charges beyond a reasonable doubt. All reviewing parties independently and unanimously concluded that the available evidence does not support findings of child homicide or child torture," the county attorney's office said.

The prosecution's case against the Merrells was also hindered by the original memory cards of video footage inside the home getting lost when a patrol vehicle was burglarized, the county said.

Inaccurate assertions?

The "comprehensive, collaborative review" led the county attorney's office to "disagree with many of the statements contained in the probable cause affidavit supporting the arrests." Several of the assertions police made did not actually imply a crime as police suggested, the attorney's office said in a statement.

In the arrest reports, police said gaps in video footage from the night, including an approximate seven-minute period when the boy was discovered, contradicted Brigham Merrell's version of events to police. No footage from inside the child's bedroom was available as the cameras were installed in common areas and only recorded when motion was detected, the case review said.

The footage available showed the children doing chores just prior to the boy being found, then the dad leaving his bedroom in the basement with the child in his arms while on the phone with dispatch and taking the child upstairs.

"The absence of recorded footage does not itself establish criminal conduct," the county attorney's office said.

In the arrest report, police said Brigham Merrell carried the child "past emergency responders who were actively knocking on the door," but the county said, "Within seconds, he yelled to his children to let the officer in. There is no evidence that Brigham was intentionally ignoring or delaying emergency responders."

Police also claimed Merrell's conduct was consistent with concealing physical evidence, citing that he changed his clothing while first responders were doing CPR on the child. But the county attorney's office said video evidence showed Merrell went to his bedroom to put a T-shirt on over his undershirt, and there is "no reason" to believe it was an attempt to destroy or conceal evidence.

The child's injuries were considered inconsistent with being caused by a coaxial cable, police said in the affidavits. The county attorney's office received the medical examiner's report on May 20, which disagreed, stating the immediate cause of death was ligature asphyxia, consistent with autopsy photos of the child's injuries.

The child also had bruising on his back, which police said "was indicative of bruising that occurred immediately prior, or during death," the affidavit states. But medical experts the county consulted determined the bruising could have resulted from CPR on the hard floor or an unknown and unrelated prior event, the county said.

Throughout the investigation, friends, teachers and school officials who were interviewed told police there was no evidence the child was suicidal or had expressed suicidal ideation, according to the arrest reports.

But the county's case review said, "One of the other children disclosed in an interview that the deceased sibling previously stated: 'I want to kill myself, I'm tired of cleaning.'"

Alleged pattern of child abuse

The Merrells continually cooperated with the investigation and denied any wrongdoing throughout several police interviews, the county said.

The police booking affidavit stated one child alleged to have seen the victim die "after receiving a whooping from Brigham." The county attorney's office said no child ever made statements implicating their father in forensic interviews, but it had been reported by a therapist that a child said her sibling was "whooped and died."

"A forensic interview at the Children's Justice Center was conducted and the child did not make this same disclosure. Brigham and Melinda and all of the children mentioned that the children often received 'whoopings' for discipline and it is not clear whether the child's statement to the therapist was merely stating two separate, unconnected events: there were 'whoopings' and the sibling 'died.' In any event, in the numerous interviews conducted, none of the children ever reported their sibling dying from a whooping. Additionally, there is no video or evidence of any child receiving physical discipline the day of the incident."

Police claim they found "yearslong allegations of child abuse and child torture, which included food restriction, admittance of corporal punishment that resulted in bruising when belts, pans and other items were used to whip, as well as allegations that the children are sent out to stay in an outside dog run when they are in trouble," the affidavits state.

Melinda Merrell told investigators she would check for bruises two days after a whipping to "adjust their methods," including switching to using pans because spoons were leaving marks, according to a separate police booking affidavit.

Both parents "admitted to the abuse and stated they should have looked into the laws in Utah before they moved here. Melinda, specifically, stated she was not taught that leaving marks on her children was not acceptable," police wrote in the court documents.

While the evidence is insufficient to support the charges of child torture or child homicide, the case is being referred to the Tremonton Justice Court prosecutor for consideration of lesser charges such as child abuse, the county said in its announcement.

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