Utah mom pleads guilty, gets 20-to-life in son's death

FARMINGTON, Utah -- A judge on Monday sentenced a Utah mother to serve at least 20 years in prison for her role in the killing of her 4-year-old son, who was malnourished, beaten and disfigured before he was buried in the mountains.

Stephanie Sloop, 31, sobbed as she apologized in court for Ethan Stacy's 2010 death.

"My selfish behavior is the reason I am standing here today, pleading guilty to these charges. Ethan is an innocent child, and I will carry his death with me as long as I live," she said, according to CBS affiliate KUTV. "I am entirely responsible because I am his mommy. I failed to take care of him properly because I couldn't even take care of myself."

Sloop was scheduled to appear in court in the city of Farmington for an evidence hearing but instead pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and obstructing justice as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Second District Court Judge Thomas Kay then sentenced Sloop to serve 20-years-to-life behind bars.

Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings agreed with Sloop's statement, saying that prosecutors would have argued the same way, according to the CBS affiliate. The plea deal also allows the boy's biological father, Joe Stacy, to heal and avoid witnessing a trial and possible appeals, he told the The Standard-Examiner.

"Our theory would have been exactly what she said, that it was her selfishness as a mother that allowed and enabled the abuse of her son that ended up killing him," Rawlings told KUTV. "So I think actually the defendant in her own words probably said better than anybody else today what happened."

Sloop failed to stop her husband and Ethan's stepfather, Nathanael Sloop, from abusing her son and didn't call for medical help, the prosecutor said. She helped hide the boy's body and lied to police, Rawlings said.

However, Layton Police Chief Terry Keefe was skeptical of Sloop's statement.

"There were many opportunities for Ethan's life to be saved, and she did not take one of them," Keefe told reporters. "She just perpetrated and participated actively in the murder and disposal of little Ethan. It's unforgivable."

A medical examiner testified in his case last year that that Ethan died from a combination of too many over-the-counter medications, severe burns and pneumonia.

Nathanael Sloop, 35, then used a hammer to disfigure the boy's face before burying his body in the northern Utah mountains, authorities said. He is serving 25 years to life in prison for killing his stepson after he pleaded "guilty and mentally ill" to aggravated murder in February.

Stacy, the biological father who lives in Virginia, was in court Monday but declined to make a statement during the hearing, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

He had sent Ethan to live with his mother as part of a divorce agreement. The boy died 10 days after arriving in Utah.

Whenever he called to talk with his son, Stacy said Stephanie and Nathanael Sloop told him Ethan was asleep or playing outside.