Inset: Moroni Merrell (GoFundMe). Background: The Tremonton Garland Police Department in Utah (Google Maps).
A husband and wife in Utah are accused of killing their 11-year-old son, allegedly torturing him to death before carrying his body upstairs and attempting to make it look like he was hanged with a coaxial cable.
Brigham Young Merrell, 35, is charged with child abuse homicide and child torture. His wife, Melinda Marie Merrell, 36, faces one count of child torture in the slaying of Moroni Merrell.
According to a Tremonton Garland Police Department news release, the investigation began on Sept. 21, 2025, when officers responded to a 911 call regarding an unresponsive child. Despite life-saving efforts, the boy was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities later determined the death was not accidental and uncovered evidence of a “pattern of ongoing physical abuse” involving several children in the household. Police noted that the decision to arrest was made only after a multi-agency probe involving forensic experts concluded that the parents were responsible for the 11-year-old”s death.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by Salt Lake City NBC affiliate KSL provides a grim timeline of the day the boy died.
According to the affidavit, Brigham Merrell called 911 and told an emergency dispatcher he found his “minor child hanging by a coaxial cable.”
During the call, Brigham Merrell reportedly told dispatchers he was performing CPR on the boy. However, when officers arrived, “Brigham was kneeling by the child, but was not performing CPR,” the affidavit states.
Officers noted that while paramedics were treating his son, Brigham Merrell reportedly left the room to change his clothes. Police described the act as being “consistent with an attempt to destroy or conceal physical evidence.”
Home surveillance footage further contradicted the father’s account.
“A clip was also found that showed the suspect carried the lifeless child past emergency responders who were actively knocking on the door and continued to carry him up to the room where the hanging is alleged to have occurred,” the affidavit reportedly states. “He has since never given the same reasoning or justification of why the body was moved to a different location.”
Within a week of the boy’s death, police allege that “multiple items were discarded from the residence, surfaces were painted over and rooms altered.”
Medical examiners noted that the child’s injuries were “directly contradicting Brigham’s account.” Ligature marks on the boy’s neck appeared to be the result of “another force” rather than a hanging, according to the arrest report. Additionally, a cluster of bruising on the child’s back was “indicative of bruising that occurred immediately prior, or during death.” When questioned about the marks, Brigham allegedly stated they “could be from a belt.”
Interviews with the couple’s surviving children uncovered a history of extreme disciplinary measures. One child reportedly claimed, “to have seen the victim die after receiving a whooping from Brigham.”
The siblings described a yearslong environment of torture that included intentional starvation and “corporal punishment that resulted in bruising when belts, pans and other items were used to whip.”
The children also alleged they were frequently forced to stay outside overnight, according to the Gephardt Daily.
“One child indicated that they were no longer made to stay in the dog kennel at night because they would get scared,” the paper reported, citing the affidavit. “We were also able to locate video footage that supported several of those allegations, and found that Melinda either directly participated in the beatings or stood and watched as her husband participated in them.”
In separate interviews with detectives, the couple allegedly admitted to the abuse. Melinda Merrell reportedly told investigators she would check the children for bruises two days after a whipping to “adjust their methods.” She allegedly admitted to switching from spoons to kitchen pans because the spoons were leaving marks.
“Both parents admitted to the abuse and stated they should have looked into the laws in Utah before they moved here,” police wrote in the affidavit.
Melinda Merrell specifically claimed she was “not taught that leaving marks on her children was not acceptable.”
While Brigham Merrell is accused of murdering his son, Melinda Merrell is alleged to have “directly participated in the beatings or stood and watched as her husband participated in them.”
The surviving children have been placed with welfare agencies. The Box Elder County Attorney’s Office is handling the prosecution, and the investigation remains active as authorities review additional digital evidence.
Both defendants were booked into the Box Elder County Jail on Wednesday, May 7, following an eight-month investigation. It was not immediately clear when the Merrells were scheduled to appear in court.
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