ROY, Utah (Scripps News Salt Lake City) — A family friend referred to as an “uncle” is in custody for murder and sexual child abuse charges after a 2-year-old boy died while his twin was found badly injured.
Jonathan Dunn, who had previously been convicted of child abuse, was considered an “adopted uncle” and had custody of the children. He was arrested on two counts of aggravated sexual abuse, two counts of aggravated child abuse and one count of aggravated murder.
According to court documents, officers responded to a home in Roy, about 30 minutes north of Salt Lake City, near Sand Ridge Park, just before 10 a.m. after receiving a report of a patient not breathing. When they arrived, they found the boy lying on the front porch “with several visible injuries to his face and body.”
Inside the home, officers saw the boy’s 2-year-old twin sister with bruises on her face.
The boy was transported to the hospital, where he later died of his injuries, while the girl remains hospitalized.
A GoFundMe account has been established for the little boy who was killed.
During a police interview, Dunn claimed the night before, he was “playing a game with the kids, and he began to punch the male and female child repeatedly in the back and sides and chest” while admitting that “he was hitting them harder than he should have.”
Dunn told detectives that he picked up the children and began throwing them on the bed while they cried. He also said he had pinched the genitals of both children.
In 2017, Dunn was convicted and sentenced to prison for child abuse.
“… As we attempt to put our lives back together after this unbelievable tragedy, we are choosing to honor Aleister’s life & memory as we process our grief,” the family partially said in a statement Friday.
Police believe there was a total of nine children in the house, but it’s unknown if the other children were harmed. Investigators say they are currently working on ensuring the remaining children are safe and out of harm’s way.
*** Police previously said Dunn was a family relative before amending the information to a friend of the family ***
This story was originally published by Scripps News Salt Lake City, an E.W. Scripps Company.
