PROVO — A Spanish Fork man pleaded no contest Friday to a charge that came as a result of the scalding death of his 1-year-old nephew in 1997.
The plea means Brian Lynn Smith, 29, could be sentenced to a year in jail by a judge.
Smith, who has a history of mental illness, entered a plea of no contest but mentally ill to one class A misdemeanor count of negligent homicide.
Prosecutors reduced the charges from a second-degree felony as part of a plea deal.
Deputy Utah County Attorney Sherry Ragan said at issue is whether Smith burned the child by accident or on purpose.
According to investigators, Smith was at an Orem apartment visiting his nephew on Oct. 26, 1997, when he drew a bath for the infant.
At the time, the child's father was asleep and the mother was not home.
Ragan said Smith had been previously warned by the parents to make sure the water wasn't too hot. Prosecutors estimated the temperature of the bath water reached 140 degrees.
The child, Braxton Smith, suffered severe burns. He died later at a local hospital.
Charges were not filed until 2001. Ragan said the reason for the delay was that family members only recently became cooperative with investigators about the incident.
They do not know, however, if the infant was placed in the tub or accidentally fell in.
"It was an accident," Smith said in court Friday. "I don't know how he got in there."
Ragan said there was no chance that the infant climbed in the tub. Most of the child's burns were below the waist.
Smith is scheduled to be sentenced July 3 in Provo's 4th District Court.
Gunda Jarvis, Smith's public-defense attorney, said she plans to file documents that detail her client's mental illness before the July hearing.
When sentenced, Smith faces a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
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