ETHAN STACY - 4 yo - (2010) Layton (N of Salt Lake City) UT

FARMINGTON -- Evidentary hearings for the man accused of
murdering 4-year-old Ethan Stacy were set to get underway Wednesday in
2nd District Court.

Layton residents Stephanie Sloop, 28, and her husband, Nathanael, 32,
are each charged with aggravated murder, second-degree felony child
abuse, second-degree felony obstruction of justice and third-degree
felony abuse or desecration of a body in the death of Ethan Stacy,
Stephanie Sloop’s son.

The boy died May 9, 2010, and investigators found his body buried near Powder Mountain on May 11, 2010.

Nathanael Sloop and Stephanie Sloop could each could face the death penalty if convicted of the aggravated murder charge.

Stephanie Sloop will be in court on Friday for an evidentiary hearing.


http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/07/27/nathanael-sloop-evidentiary-hearing-begin

FARMINGTON — Evidentiary hearings for Nathanael and Stephanie
Sloop, who are accused of murdering 4-year-old Ethan Stacy, have been
continued until late October and early November.
Defense attorneys and prosecutors met with Judge Glen C. Dawson in his chambers for about 90 minutes Wednesday morning.
Nathanael
Sloop, 32, appeared in 2nd District Court for a brief hearing.
Stephanie Sloop, 29, did not appear, but her attorney, Mary Corporon,
was in court. Stephanie Sloop was scheduled for a hearing Friday, which
also will not take place.
The Sloops, who are being held in Davis
County Jail on no bail, are each charged with aggravated murder,
second-degree felony child abuse, second-degree felony obstruction of
justice and third-degree felony abuse or desecration of a body in the
death of Ethan Stacy, Stephanie Sloop’s son.
The evidentiary
hearings will be part of the preliminary hearings set for late October
and early November. Nathanael Sloop’s preliminary hearing is set to run
from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4. Stephanie Sloop’s preliminary hearing is set to
run from Nov. 15 through Nov. 17.
Ethan died May 9, 2010, and investigators found his body buried near Powder Mountain on May 11, 2010.
Both
Nathanael Sloop and Stephanie Sloop could face the death penalty if
each is convicted of the aggravated murder charge. Prosecutors have 60
days after the Sloops enter a plea at a felony arraignment hearing to
file their intention to seek the death penalty.
A felony arraignment hearing is scheduled after a preliminary hearing is concluded.
The
evidentiary hearings that were set for this week would have heard
testimony about evidence including documents seized from Nathanael
Sloop’s jail cell, attorneys said at a previous hearing.
Attorneys on Wednesday declined to discuss what evidence would have been presented during this week’s hearings.
“We are not going to comment on the evidence,” Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings after the hearing.
Rawlings said neither side has “given up on the legal issues.”
In
court, Nathanael Sloop’s attorney, Scott C. Williams, said that after
discussing the legal issues with the judge and the prosecution, it would
be better for both sides if the evidentiary hearing is held at the same
time as the preliminary hearing.
“This is just a routine example
of a hearing being scheduled that was thought necessary, and then it was
decided it was not,” Williams said after the hearing.
Rawlings said judges typically hear motions concerning evidence during preliminary hearings, not before.
Rawlings
said holding the hearings together “makes an awful lot of sense,”
because it speeds up the case and “avoids or eliminates appeals.”
Rawlings
said if either side decides to appeal an issue, it can be done in one
appeal instead of multiple appeals, which could delay the case.


http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/07/27/nathanael-sloop-hearing-continued

FARMINGTON — Prosecutors may have evidence that could prove the innocence of Stephanie Sloop, her attorney said.

Stephanie Sloop, 28, and her husband, Nathanael Warren Sloop, 32, are
each charged with aggravated murder, second-degree felony child abuse,
second-degree felony obstruction of justice and third-degree felony
abuse or desecration of a body. The charges stem from the death of
4-year-old Ethan Stacy, Stephanie Sloop’s son, on May 9, 2010. The
murder charge carries a possible death sentence, if either Sloop is
convicted. Prosecutors have 60 days following a felony arraignment
hearing to file their intent to seek the death penalty.

Investigators found the young boy’s disfigured body buried near Powder Mountain on May 10, 2010.

The Layton couple appeared separately in 2nd District Court on
Tuesday before Judge Glen C. Dawson, asking the judge to cancel dates
set for preliminary hearings.

Mary C. Corporon, Stephanie Sloop’s attorney, filed a motion on Oct.
19, asking the judge to order prosecutors to hand over evidence that may
be “exculpatory” for Stephanie Sloop. She also filed a motion to have a
preliminary hearing set for Nov. 15 through Nov. 17 to be continued to
another date.

Corporon said during Tuesday’s hearing that prosecutors have given
her 16,480 documents and 412 disks, which have recordings and/or
photographs to examine. But in the last several weeks, new evidence has
come forward, which she has not had time to review.

According to court documents, prosecutors have “received material in
search of the cell of Mr. Nathanael Sloop, which is or may be
exculpatory” of Stephanie Sloop.

Also, the Layton Police Department has physical evidence which
Corporon wants to examine, but no agreement has been reached between the
police department and Corporon on how that will be done.

Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said he likes the new evidence.

“We like it and we want to use it,” Rawlings said.

Rawlings said some of the new evidence came about due to advances in technology.

“We looked at it a year ago, and it’s always been available,” Rawlings said.

What that evidence is, Rawlings could not comment because of court rules.

“We are ready, willing and able to do the preliminary hearings today,” Rawlings said. “We’re ready to roll.”

But it in the best interest of the victims and the public to allow
the defense attorneys time to review all the evidence so the case
against the Sloops cannot be appealed, if they are convicted, he said.

Rawlings said the Sloops are presumed innocent until a court finds them guilty of any of the charges.

A five-day preliminary hearing for Nathan Sloop that was supposed to
start on Oct. 31, but has been changed to March 19, 2012 through March
23, 2012. A preliminary hearing is when the judge hears evidence from
prosecutors and decides if the case should move forward.

The preliminary hearing dates of Nov. 15 through Nov. 17 for Stephanie Sloop were also canceled. No new dates have been set.

Anissa Martinez and Lucinda Martin both attended Tuesday’s hearings.
They came, they said, to support Ethan and his family in Virginia, who
cannot attend.

They said they would like to see the case move forward, but understand why prosecutors want to wait.

“We’d rather have the delays than have mistakes,” Martinez said.
http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/10/25/could-evidence-prove-stephanie-sloop-innocent

Accused child killer’s arraignment delayed

by Ben Winslow
Posted on: 9:15 pm, May 21, 2012
updated on: 07:43am, May 22, 2012

FARMINGTON — The man accused of killing 4-year-old Ethan Stacy will not be entering a plea to the charges on Tuesday.

Arraignment has been postponed for Nathan Sloop at the request of attorneys in the case. Court records show a series of legal motions being filed under seal in the aggravated murder case. It is now scheduled for July 10.

At his last hearing, Sloop waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Defense attorneys suggested to FOX 13 they were open to plea deal discussions, although no bargain had been offered by the Davis County Attorney.

Court records show the case against Nathan’s wife, Stephanie Sloop, has been postponed indefinitely because it is set to follow his legal proceedings.

The couple is accused of beating Ethan Stacy so badly that he died. His body was found buried in a shallow grave near Powder Mountain two years ago. Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings has said the couple is “on track” to get the death penalty, if convicted.

http://fox13now.com/2012/05/21/accused-child-killers-arraignment-delayed/

A felony arraignment hearing for Nathan Sloop, 33, of Layton,
scheduled for Tuesday, was continued until July 10. Sloop and his wife,
Stephanie Sloop, are charged with aggravated murder, second-degree
felony child abuse, second-degree felony obstruction of justice and
third-degree felony abuse or desecration of a body in connection with
the death of the boy.

The court docket also shows that a five-day preliminary hearing for Nathan Sloop is scheduled to run from July 30 to Aug. 3.

Normally, preliminary hearings are scheduled before a felony arraignment hearing is set.

Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said the preliminary hearing has
been set after the felony arraignment is because "the state wants to
expedite the case forward and it is unlikely to be resolved at the
arraignment hearing. We wanted a firm preliminary hearing date so all
parties will be ready to go."

According to the court website, several sealed motions were filed by Nathan Sloop's attorneys within the last two months.

Rawlings said the state has been ready to go forward with a
preliminary hearing for "at least the last 18 months. However, based
upon the nature of the facts, the legal issues and the potential penalty
being death, we can understand why the defense does not want to move
forward until they are fully prepared."

Rawlings said every effort is being made to avoid legitimate appeal
issues. If Nathan Sloop is convicted of aggravated murder charge and is
sentenced to either death or life without parole, by law, the case
automatically goes to the appellate court for review.

Rawlings also said that once Nathan Sloop's case makes it past the
felony arraignment, he believes it will go to trial and the time period
will be "relatively short because all of the issues will be dealt with
up front."

Those issues include mitigating factors, evidence issues and other legal issues that could be vetted.

According to the court website, no court hearings have been set for
Stephanie Sloop. At the last court hearing in March, her attorney, Mary
Corporon, said her client's case will follow Nathan Sloop's hearings.

Ethan, the son of Stephanie Sloop, came to Utah on May 1, 2010, to
spend the summer with the Sloops. His body was found buried near Powder
Mountain on May 11, 2010.

The Sloops are accused of abusing Ethan for days in their Layton apartment before he died on May 9, 2010.

Both Sloops being held in the Davis County Jail without bail and both
could receive the death penalty if they are convicted of the aggravated
murder charge.
http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/05/22/nathan-sloop-hearing-delayed-again