The Utah County attorney's office charged a Salt Lake couple with manslaughter Tuesday in conjunction with the death of their 4-week-old baby.
After working on the case until late Monday night, the County Attorney's Office decided to charge Robert G. Herron, 33, and Iris Herron, 21, with manslaughter, a second-degree felony. The charge deals with recklessly causing the death of another, said Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson.The charges were filed in 4th District Court, and bail was set at $25,000.
Described as transients by prosecutors, the couple has stayed with friends in Salt Lake City, Moab and Tooele during the past three years. The baby, Bobby Herron, was born in Salt Lake City, and the family was staying at Hotel Roberts at the time of the child's death. Both the parents are unemployed.
A waiver hearing has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30. Phil Hadfield, deputy county attorney, said Tuesday that prosecutors will file a petition then for a competency hearing for the Herrons.
The county attorney's office still wants to talk to the state medical examiner's office about results of an autopsy it conducted Sunday. The autopsy ruled out shaken baby syndrome and other obvious signs of child abuse.
But the medical examiner found fluid in the baby boy's lungs consistent with pneumonia, Bryson said. Toxicology and other test results that may determine whether the infant had pneumonia or some other problem won't be available for two weeks.
The infant's mother, 21, called 911 from a pay phone on University Avenue Saturday morning and told dispatchers she was concerned about her baby.
Paramedics took the baby boy, who weighed slightly more than 3 lbs., to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
Police arrested the mother and the father after they gave inconsistent accounts of the circumstances surrounding the baby's death.
Bryson said there are some concerns about the mental capacity of the parents.