Bluffdale couple released from jail as prosecutors seek more evidence in infant's death

BLUFFDALE — The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office has asked Bluffdale police to complete additional investigative work before the case of an infant's death is submitted again for a charging decision, and the two people arrested in the case were released from jail Wednesday 12.

Bluffdale police arrested the couple Oct. 7 on suspicion of child abuse homicide after officers were called to a residence on a report of an unresponsive infant 23. The infant was pronounced dead after life-saving measures 3. The Ledger is not naming the couple, the infant or the address of the home, under its standards on private individuals in crime coverage and on minors 34.

The district attorney's office said Bluffdale police submitted the case Monday for prosecutors to review, and that prosecutors determined additional work was needed and asked detectives to complete it before resubmitting the case 2. "In the interim, we asked the judge to impose conditions of release in anticipation of those further screening efforts," the office said in a statement 2. It said the investigation remains open and active and that anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty 2.

District Attorney Sim Gill told FOX 13 that the investigation was open and active and that prosecutors had determined additional follow-up investigative work needed to be done 1. Gill said he has asked Bluffdale Police Department detectives to rescreen the case with his office when their investigation is complete, and FOX 13 reported Wednesday that neither person was booked in the Salt Lake County Jail 1.

An autopsy was performed, and an official cause of death has not been released. Prosecutors have not announced when the case could be resubmitted for review or whether charges will be filed 2.

Police said the couple's infant daughter died in October 2024 in what investigators described as a similar incident, and that the earlier death is part of a separate pending investigation 23. Booking affidavits state that both parents told investigators they had been drinking before going to sleep with the infant in their adult bed rather than in a separate infant sleep space, and that officers reported empty alcohol containers on or near the bedside table and items believed to be drug paraphernalia in the home 3. Investigators alleged the alcohol and substance use combined with the sleeping conditions created a substantial danger to the child, according to KUTV 2.

The Ledger reported Oct. 8 that police were investigating the death and had released few details, and reported Oct. 9 that the two had been booked and that police described it as the second infant death in the household in about two years 45.

Sources: 1 FOX 13 Utah, "Bluffdale parents released from jail after arrest in child's death," Oct. 14, 2026 https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/northern-utah/bluffdale-parents-released-from-jail-after-arrest-in-childs-death 2 KUTV, "Bluffdale parents released from jail as prosecutors seek more evidence in infant's death," by Jared Turner, Oct. 14, 2026 https://kutv.com/news/local/bluffdale-parents-released-from-jail-as-prosecutors-seek-more-evidence-in-infants-death 3 KSL.com, "Bluffdale couple recklessly caused infant's death, police say," Oct. 7, 2026 https://www.ksl.com/article/51633674/bluffdale-police-investigating-infant-death 4 South Valley Ledger, "Two arrested in Bluffdale infant's death, the household's second in about two years," Oct. 9, 2026 https://southvalleyledger.com/articles/two-arrested-in-bluffdale-infant-s-death-the-household-s-second-in-abo-c2d9fe/ 5 South Valley Ledger, "Bluffdale police investigate the death of an infant," Oct. 8, 2026 https://southvalleyledger.com/articles/bluffdale-police-investigate-the-death-of-an-infant-81fcc2/