Bob Basham and his 2-year-old son, Devin, were "best buddies" that neighbors say were rarely more than a few feet apart.
So residents living along his street in this West Valley City subdivision were startled from their homes Monday afternoon when they heard the child's terrified screams go unanswered - setting off a bizarre chain of events."There was some whimpering so I looked over my neighbors' fence into their back yard and saw Devin all bloody and naked on the ground," said Stephanie Spor. "Their dog was just standing over him kind of licking his lips."
Spor yelled for her cousin, Jamie Knowlden, to help.
A few moments later the child's mother, 20-year-old Tammy Yates, walked into Bob Basham's home at 5732 W. 3980 South, four doors down from where her son was being attacked. She found her estranged boyfriend dead in his bed.
Meanwhile, Knowlden and a group of friends had scaled the backyard fence to rescue Devin from the 80-pound Alaskan Malamute named Caleb.
"When I first saw what was going on the dog was carrying (Devin) by his right thigh. I yelled at it and banged on the fence and the dog set him down," said Knowlden.
Armed with a large wooden stick, Knowlden spooked the dog away and pulled the child to safety.
"Devin looked like he was in shock. He was shaking and kept saying `daddy, daddy' over and over again," he said.
Paramedics arrived a short time later and flew Devin to Primary Children's Medical Center. He was listed early Tuesday in stable condition after undergoing plastic surgery to treat several puncture wounds on his head and
body. "I can't understand what happened and why it happened," said a tearful Yates after spending the night at her son's side. Bandaged and in pain, the boy was nonetheless talkative Tuesday and repeatedly called out for his mother as she recounted the incident.
"He's doing a little better," she said.
Basham and Yates had argued Sunday night and the man left with Devin, she said. Yates, who lives in Grantsville, had taken the couple's second child to a doctor's appointment Monday, then stopped off to pick up Devin when she found Basham dead.
After caring for the injured boy, West Valley police faced the dual task of determining how the child got in with the two dogs in the fenced pen - and how his father died. Both dogs were taken to the West Valley City animal control shelter, where they remained Tuesday.
Two boards were apparently missing from the fenced back yard at 5702 W. 3980 South, leaving some neighbors to speculate the child may have climbed in. The dogs owners were reportedly not home at the time of the attack.
"(Devin) can open the door and he likes playing outside," Yates said.
Bob Basham's unattended death is being called "suspicious," said West Valley Police Lt. Ed Spann, but he added there were no visible wounds or signs of trauma on the 23-year-old man's body. An autopsy is slated for Tuesday. Yates said the man had complained of chest pains frequently in the two months before they broke up.
Basham had likely been dead for several hours when his son was attacked, say investigators. Friends recall seeing Basham late Sunday night looking healthy and in good spirits.
"Bob was really close with Devin, really protective," said Knowlden. "He was always picking up his son, bouncing him on his knee and having fun."