Ethan Stacy (4) R.I.P.

History of abuse emerges in Ethan Stacy case~
LAYTON -- Divorce documents and protective orders from the newlywed Layton couple accused in the death of 4-year-old Ethan Stacy show a disturbing history of abuse and fear.

Both of the former spouses of Nathan and Stephanie Sloop were also fearful for the safety of their children because of the unstable behavior of their exes.

The biological father of Ethan Stacy described his ex-wife, Stephanie Sloop, as "unstable" and said he feared she would take their son and he'd never see him again.

The former wife of Nathan Sloop described him as mentally unstable, violent and having multiple personalities -- including one personality who becomes extremely angry when criticized. She said she feared for her life and for her daughter's life.

The documents include transcripts of profanity-laced tirades that Nathan Sloop -- who prosecutors plan to charge today with the murder of his stepson -- left in a series of voice mail messages for his former wife, Jennifer Freeman, one day in September.

"I only wish now that I could (expletive) take you out of (their daughter's) life. I am going to do every (expletive) thing possible within my power to take you the (expletive) out of her life (expletive). I don't give a (expletive) if I gotta spend the rest of my (expletive) life in prison. (Expletive) you. I'm coming after your (expletive) throat," he said in one voice mail message.

In another, Nathan Sloop threatened to kill Freeman's boyfriend, "Mike," and then added, "You'll be next in line," according to the transcripts.

Nathan Sloop left five voice mail messages in less than 20 minutes and six within 90 minutes, according to the court documents.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20100514/ai_n53592683/?tag=content;col1

Sloops appointed attorneys, make appearance in Ethan Stacy murder case~
Published: Monday, June 14, 2010
ARMINGTON — Husband and wife Nathan and Stephanie Sloop have been appointed two Salt Lake City-based attorneys experienced in capital murder cases.

The Sloops have been charged with capital homicide in connection with the death of 4-year-old Ethan Stacy, Stephanie Sloop's son. Prosecutors have yet to formally file a motion showing that they will seek the death penalty in the case but have indicated "that is the direction this case is headed."

A 2nd District judge has appointed Mary Corporon, who has represented death row inmate Ralph Menzies, to take the case of Stephanie Sloop, 27, and Richard Mauro will handle Nathan Sloop's defense. Mauro, who also worked on the Menzies case, has also represented death row inmate Von Lester Taylor.

The two attorneys indicated in a hearing Monday that they need time to go over the information and reports in the Sloop case and are working to appoint co-counsel.

In addition to the capital murder charges, each of the Sloops was charged with child abuse and obstructing justice, both second-degree felonies, and abuse or desecration of a body, a third-degree felony.

Nathan Sloop, 31, received an additional charge of damaging a jail, a third-degree felony.

he couple is accused of killing Ethan and burying his body near Powder Mountain in Weber County on or around Mother's Day. Court documents list "severe abuse" as the cause of death.

Investigators say Ethan was abused between April 29 and May 8.

After Ethan was killed, the Sloops took his body to a rural area in the mountains and buried him in a shallow grave, police say. Police documents indicate the couple attempted to disfigure Ethan's body with a hammer to make it harder for police to identify him.

Stephanie Sloop at first told police her son had wandered off in the middle of the night, but after several hours of searching and questioning, investigators say there were inconsistencies in the Sloops' stories, which eventually unraveled, leading to their arrest.

A hearing has been scheduled for July 14. It was continued once before after the court was notified that the Sloops needed attorneys who are qualified under the state law to represent defendants in death penalty cases.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700040287/Sloops-appointed-attorneys-make-appearance-in-Ethan-Stacy-murder-case.html

Attorneys appointed in Ethan Stacy case-
June 16, 2010
FARMINGTON, Utah — Attorneys were appointed Tuesday for a man and woman who could face Utah’s death penalty in the case of a 4-year-old boy who died last May after severe abuse.

Nathaniel Sloop, 31, and Stephanie Sloop, 27, of Layton, Utah have been charged with aggravated murder, child abuse, obstruction of justice and abuse or desecration of a body. The charges are in relation to the death of Stephanie Sloop’s son, 4-year-old Ethan Stacy, whose body was found May 11 in a hidden grave.

The child was visiting the Sloops as part of a divorce settlement made in Florida with Joe G. Stacy of Richlands, Va., his biological father.

Investigators allege that Nathaniel Sloop repeatedly abused Ethan Stacy, and that Stephanie Sloop did not seek to stop the assaults or seek medical attention for her son. The Sloops reported the boy missing May 10, but after an exhaustive search and questioning, investigators were led to a burial site near Powder Mountain in Eden, Utah. Nathaniel Sloop allegedly disfigured the child’s face and teeth with a hammer in order to hinder identification.

On Tuesday, Salt Lake City attorney Richard Mauro was assigned to defend Nathaniel Sloop, and another Salt Lake attorney, Mary Corporon, was appointed to handle Stephanie Sloop’s case, according to information at the Second District Court in Farmington, Utah.

The Sloop’s next court date is July 14 to appoint back-up attorneys. Under Utah law, two teams of attorneys are appointed to defendants who may face the death penalty. If convicted, the Sloops could face the death penalty, life in prison without parole, or an indeterminate sentence of 25 years to life.

Both the Sloops are being held without bond in the Davis County Jail.
http://bdtonline.com/local/x93717371/Attorneys-appointed-in-Ethan-Stacy-case

Stephanie Sloop leaves the courtroom after appearing before Judge Michael Allphin at the Daivs County Justice Center in Farmington, Utah July 14, 2010. Stephanie and her husband Nathan Sloop have been charged with the murder of Stephanie's 4 year old son Ethan Stacy.

Accused child killers get more defense attorneys-
Updated Jul 15, 2010

A judge on Wednesday appointed additional attorneys to represent Nathan and Stephanie Sloop.

Lawyers Scott C. Williams and Heather Harris will assist Richard Mauro in defending Nathan Sloop. Attorney Mark Flores will assist Stephanie Sloop’s lawyer, Mary Corporon.

The Sloops each are facing aggravated murder charges for the early May beating death of Stephanie Sloop’s 4-year-old son, Ethan Stacy. The two could each face the death penalty.

The Sloops were scheduled to appear back in 2nd District Court on Sept. 10. Nathan Sloop could be heard yelling “I love you Stephanie” in the holding area just before his court appearance.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49928241-76/sloop-nathan-stephanie-attorneys.html.csp

Ethan Stacy, from the Facebook group "Justice for Ethan."

Who are Stephanie and Nathan?

By Kristen Moulton and Sheena McFarland

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated Jul 23, 2010

Orlando, Fla. • Stephanie Stacy and Nathan Sloop saw themselves as soul mates, inscribing the invitations to their July 4 wedding with a quote from Aristotle: “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” ¶ That verse now chills former friends, neighbors and family of the couple, who connected last year in cyberspace. ¶ For when two volatile, unraveling souls unite, there is no voice of reason. ¶ It’s just a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

From the combustible union of Stephanie and Nathan, that someone was Ethan Stacy, her towheaded 4-year-old, a spunky, skinny boy with glasses who arrived in Utah for a summer visit at the end of April.

Within two weeks, his mother reported Ethan missing from the Layton apartment they shared with Nathan. Ensnared by their conflicting stories the next day, police say, the couple admitted killing Ethan and led officers to his body, buried off a trail near Powder Mountain Ski Resort.

Stephanie told police the beatings began May 5, and said the next day they locked the battered boy in his room while she and Nathan went to the old memorial courthouse in Farmington to get married.

After Ethan died, the new Mrs. Sloop went to nearby stores for provisions to conceal his death: lighter fluid for Ethan; slushy drinks for Stephanie and Nathan.

They chose not to burn his body, instead taking a hammer to Ethan’s face to make him less recognizable.

As Stephanie tells it, they buried him on Mother’s Day, a fine spring day.

A perfect storm » Stephanie, 27, and Nathan, 31, had been together just seven months when they were arrested May 11 in Ethan’s death.

On Friday, they were charged with aggravated murder, child abuse, obstructing justice and abuse or desecration of a human body. Under those charges, the prosecutor could seek the death penalty.

It’s difficult to find people who will speak up for Stephanie and Nathan; most former friends and neighbors already at odds with the pair are even more angry; their parents declined interview requests.

Others, however, describe the two as the worst possible combination: An impatient, narcissistic mother indifferent to her only child, and an unstable, violent man increasingly desperate over limited access to his own 6-year-old daughter, who lives in Florida with his ex-wife.

Michelle Rodriguez of Mount Carmel, Ill. — an ex-wife of Ethan’s dad, Joe Stacy — says a couple of months ago she phoned Stephanie to tell her to stop calling. When Nathan answered, she warned him that he should never let Stephanie near his daughter.

But Rodriguez had no idea the child in danger would be Ethan, the little boy she often took for weekends and even longer vacations to Los Angeles and New Jersey with her own children, 14-year-old Destrian Stacy and 11-year-old Alisa Stacy, Ethan’s half-brother and half-sister.

Nathan “blew up” when Rodriguez suggested Stephanie was unfit.

“I said, ‘The two of you are just alike,’” recalls Rodriguez. “He sounded like a controlling freak. ... He called her ‘my woman.’ ”

Ethan Stacy's bedroom is surrounded by flowers at his home in Richlands, Virginia

Nathan and Stephanie Sloop both charged with murder in the death of 4-year-old Ethan Stacy

• May 28th, 2010
  

Nathan Sloop, 31, and Stephanie Sloop, 27
Photo: Davis County Sheriff's Office



The Davis County Attorney's Office filed aggravated murder charges today against Nathan and Stephanie Sloop in the death of her 4-year-old son, Ethan Stacy. Both may face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
The Sloops were also charged with child abuse, a second-degree felony; obstructing justice, a second-degree felony; and desecration of a human body, a third-degree felony. Nathan Sloop has also been charged with one count of damaging a jail, a third-degree felony.
The Sloops were arrested on May 11 and are being held in the Davis County Jail with no bail. They are expected to be arraigned in court Friday afternoon.
The couple allegedly abused and murdered Ethan nearly three weeks ago in Layton, Utah. Police found the young boy's body buried near Powder Mountain Ski Resort in Ogden Canyon on May 11.
Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings, lead prosecutor in the case, had said they weren't filing charges against the couple until they received conclusive information from the State Medical Examiner regarding the exact cause of the little boy's death.
Stephanie Sloop responded to a letter sent from local news media earlier this week. She wrote a note on the back of the letter and mailed it in the self-addressed envelope provided by ABC4 news. To read more on that story, click here.
Joe Stacy has been patient with prosecutors' lengthy delay in filing charges against his ex-wife and her husband. During a press conference two weeks ago, Rawlings said he spoke to Stacy and that he was supportive of prosecutors' decision to not file charges too soon. "My interest is that you get it right so there are no mistakes and things can't come back on appeal and there's problems with the case if you pursue it," Stacy said, according to Rawlings.
Prosecutors will likely ask for the death penalty according to Shelby's Law which was passed in 2007. Child abuse is considered a capital offense if reckless indifference is a factor in the case.
Hundreds of people have participated in marches in Utah, showing their support for a little boy they never met. They want the State of Utah to seek justice for Ethan and his family in Virginia.
Over 56,000 people have joined the "Justice for Ethan Stacy" Facebook page. Members post comments continuously about the tragic loss. Randi Nelson posted a message to Ethan this morning, "Today is going to be tough…but justice will be done! We are in AZ…so we cannot be there in person…but we are all there in spirit! We got this one!! You go play kiddo…have fun…so many people are here to take care of daddy. We love him…and you SO MUCH!"

http://www.examiner.com/page-one-in-salt-lake-city/nathan-and-stephanie-sloop-both-charged-with-murder-the-death-of-4-year-old-ethan-stacy

Gone too soon ~
http://ethan-stacy.gonetoosoon.org/

In Memory of Ethan~
http://ethan-stacy.memory-of.com/About.aspx