ST. GEORGE — A Beaver woman has been charged with aggravated murder in the death of her newborn infant.
The arrest stems from an investigation that was set in motion on Sept. 19, following a 911 call to emergency dispatch reporting that a 23-day-old infant was not breathing and that CPR was in progress.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, officers and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to an apartment complex on North Main in Beaver and transported the infant to Beaver Valley Hospital where the child was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
The remains were then sent to the Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death and detectives were called in to conduct an investigation.
An initial interview with the infant’s father was conducted at the Beaver County Sherriff’s Office.
While speaking to detectives, the report states, the infant’s father said it was he and his fiance, the baby’s mother, who cared for the infant since birth and said there were possibly two instances when the infant was being cared for by another, but otherwise, the infant had remained with the parents.
Police say he also said he had never done anything to hurt the baby and had never witnessed his fiance, or anyone else hurting the infant.
The child’s mother, 32-year-old Tawna Steed, was also interviewed and reportedly confirmed it was only she and her fiance who were taking care of the infant, other than a 10-minute shopping trip when the baby was in the care of another.
Three weeks later, detectives were contacted by the pathologist, who performed the autopsy on the infant on Oct. 12, who said he was ruling the child’s death a homicide, the report states. In the autopsy were found multiple rib fractures that were determined as happening on two separate occasions based on the bones that appeared to be in different stages of healing.
The pathologist said he also found two separate brain hemorrhages, which were consistent with injuries caused by shaking the baby, or by “some other type of blunt force trauma causing death,” according to the report.
During a second interview with the child’s father that took place Oct. 18, detectives went over the pathologist’s findings and told the father it had to have been either him or his fiance that caused the injuries since they were the only ones who were with the child.
Authorities say the father, who became very emotional at times as he put his head in his hands, denied ever “hurting or killing his child.”
Later that same day, the child’s mother met with detectives for a second time. During the interview, investigators went over the autopsy results, telling her it was either her or her fiance who “had not only hurt the child, but one or both of them had killed their child,” investigators noted in the report.
Steed reportedly told detectives she had never hurt her baby, nor had her fiance, who she said had a wonderful relationship with his infant son, adding he would never hurt their child.
Investigators noted that Steed “never cried or became upset during the interview.” Shortly thereafter, the suspect asked for an attorney and the interview was terminated. The suspect was then booked into the Beaver County Jail.
When detectives spoke to Steed’s fiance following her arrest, the officer noted he became very emotional again as they detailed the infant’s injuries for a second time and asked him if he had ever seen the baby’s mother shake their child.
According to the report, it was at that point the fiance said he had witnessed Steed shake their child on two separate occasions and provided further details to investigators.
The first time, he said, took place when he heard the baby crying for a while. When he walked into the apartment, he said he saw his fiance sitting on the bed holding their child out in front of her, with the baby facing away from her “shaking the baby vigorously and grabbing it tightly across the chest with her two hands,” adding that she was yelling for the “stupid baby to stop crying,” according to the report.
He reportedly told detectives he yelled at Steed and took the child away from her, adding that the infant appeared to be “stunned,” but the child’s condition improved once he took the baby outside, he said.
During the second incident, he said he walked in on Steed who was standing with her back to him and “shaking their child again,” the report states. Again, he said he took the child from the suspect’s arms. In both instances, he said he took the baby from the apartment and went to his parent’s home.
Two days after the suspect’s arrest, the Beaver County Attorney’s Office filed a first-degree felony aggravated murder against Steed. The defendant made an initial appearance on the charge later that same day.
St. George News reached out to Beaver County Sheriff Noel, who said with the ongoing investigation, he would be unable to comment any further on the case.
Steed appeared Monday for a status of counsel hearing, which was scheduled due to the nature of the offense. A conviction would be eligible for the death penalty, the court record states, should the state elect to pursue it at some point.
As such, the court found that Douglas Terry, a defense attorney who has practiced for more than 38 years, five of which have included death penalty cases, would be appointed to serve as Steed’s lead defense attorney, and a second attorney will also be appointed to serve as co-counsel.
Steed is being held in the Beaver County Jail without bail.
Ed. Note: A new Utah law generally prohibits the release of arrest booking photos until after a conviction is obtained.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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