Police say interviews with surviving children described food restriction, beatings and punishments before an 11-year-old’s death.
TREMONTON, Utah — Statements from children in a Tremonton home helped police build a child torture case against two parents after their 11-year-old son died in an incident first reported as a hanging.
Investigators say the children’s accounts pointed to a broader pattern of alleged abuse involving Moroni Merrell and other children before his death on Sept. 21, 2025. Brigham Young Merrell, 35, is accused of child abuse homicide and child torture, while Melinda Marie Merrell, 36, is accused of child torture. Police arrested the couple in May after a multiagency investigation that examined the emergency call, injuries, surveillance video and allegations from inside the household.
The children told investigators about punishments that police described as abuse and torture. According to the arrest affidavit, the allegations included food restriction, corporal punishment and beatings with belts, pans and other items. Children allegedly said they were sent outside to stay in a dog run when they were in trouble. One child said they were no longer made to stay in the dog kennel at night because they would get scared. Another child alleged seeing Moroni die after receiving a whipping from Brigham Merrell. Police said those interviews were supported by video footage and other evidence gathered after Moroni’s death.
Melinda Merrell’s alleged statements to investigators also focused on the children’s treatment. Police said she told them she would check for bruises two days after a whipping so the parents could adjust their methods. Investigators said she described switching to pans because spoons were leaving marks. The affidavit said video showed her either directly participating in beatings or standing by while Brigham Merrell participated. Police also wrote that both parents admitted to abuse and said they should have looked into Utah law before moving there. Melinda Merrell allegedly stated she had not been taught that leaving marks on children was not acceptable.
Those allegations became part of a case that had begun as a 911 call about an unresponsive child. Brigham Merrell told dispatchers he had found a minor child hanging by a coaxial cable and said he was performing CPR, according to police. Officers who arrived at the house wrote that he was kneeling by the child but was not performing CPR. First responders provided life-saving care and took Moroni to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No other adults were home at the time of the incident, according to the affidavit described in local reports.
Police said the account given in the emergency call did not match what investigators later found. Surveillance footage from inside the home showed Brigham Merrell carrying the child from a different room to the upstairs bedroom where the hanging was alleged to have occurred, according to the affidavit. Investigators said the footage also showed him carrying Moroni past emergency responders who were knocking at the door. The affidavit said Brigham Merrell has not given a consistent reason for moving the child. Police used the footage to build a timeline that they said did not match his version of events.
The medical evidence raised additional questions. Investigators said Moroni’s injuries were inconsistent with hanging by a coaxial cable and directly contradicted Brigham Merrell’s account. Police described ligature marks that they believed came from another force. They also cited a cluster of bruising on the child’s back that appeared to have occurred immediately before or during death. Brigham Merrell allegedly said the marks could have come from a belt. Police said both parents told investigators they did not know what caused the bruising. The findings helped shift the case from a death investigation to a homicide accusation.
After Moroni’s death, detectives also examined changes made inside the home. The affidavit alleged that within a week, multiple items were discarded, surfaces were painted over and rooms were altered. Investigators said the changes were part of a broader review of what happened before and after the 911 call. They also said Brigham Merrell gave inconsistent answers during several interviews about who found the child, what position the child was in and the circumstances leading up to the incident. Those inconsistencies were cited alongside the video and physical evidence.
The Tremonton Garland Police Department has said it will not release more information about the surviving children out of respect for their privacy. The remaining children from the home were referred to appropriate child welfare agencies after the arrests. The department also declined to release some details about Moroni, though public reports identified him through a fundraising page that was later removed. Police have described the case as an exhaustive investigation conducted with multiple agencies and forensic experts before the decision was made to arrest both parents.
The charges against Brigham Merrell and Melinda Merrell do not resolve the case. Prosecutors would still have to prove the allegations in court, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted. Public reports after the arrests did not establish whether either had entered a plea or had legal counsel available for comment. The case now places the children’s interviews, home video, forensic findings and alleged admissions before the legal system. The child welfare matters involving the surviving children are expected to move on a separate track from the criminal case.
Police say the investigation found evidence of abuse that reached beyond one day and one emergency call. The case now moves forward in Box Elder County with Moroni’s death at its center and the surviving children under agency supervision.
Author note: Last updated May 28, 2026.