A preliminary hearing for three adults charged with the Oct. 21 beating death of a 3-year-old Canadian girl has been moved up on the 3rd District Court calendar.
Andrew Fedorowicz, Suzanne Fedorowicz and Ferosa Bluff, will now appear for their preliminary hearing Jan. 4.Originally slated for Jan. 27, the hearing was rescheduled Wednesday at the request of attorneys, who cited scheduling conflicts with the late January date.
The Fedorwiczes and Bluff face charges of murder, a first-degree felony, child abuse and sexual abuse of a child, second-degree felonies, for alleged actions that resulted in the death of Bluff's daughter, Rebecca.
Prosecutors allege the three adults sexually and physically assaulted the child repeatedly over at least a 72-hour period, which resulted in her death from internal bleeding. Court documents state the beatings were so severe they could be equated with "torture."
Judge Frank Noel also granted a request from attorney Frank Metos, who represented Andrew Fedorowicz, to withdraw from the case. No reason was given for the withdrawal. Fedorowicz has retained Salt Lake attorney Gilbert Athay as his new legal counsel.