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A West Valley City police officer who responded to a call last year of a 13-month boy who had stopped breathing testified Tuesday that the child's mother appeared upset.
"She was crying," Sgt. Justin Wyckoff said of Kim Hawkins.
But Nathan Ungricht, a firefighter and emergency medical technician, said he did not see Hawkins crying and described her as "aloof and standoffish."
Ungricht said the medical crew performed CPR but the child did not resume breathing.
Wyckoff and Ungricht were testifying at a preliminary hearing held in 3rd District Court to determine if there is enough evidence to try Hawkins on a charge of first-degree felony murder. The mother is accused of smothering her son, Billy, on Jan. 23, 2014, at her West Valley City apartment.
The hearing continued on Wednesday, but because of the unavailability this week of some witnesses, was set to conclude on Aug. 18.
Police say Hawkins has admitted to being the only adult with the boy when he stopped breathing and told detectives that her boyfriend did not kill him.
Also testifying was Lamont Anderson, who said he is Hawkins' boyfriend/fiance. He said he met Hawkins at a homeless shelter in downtown Salt Lake City when Billy was just a few months old and had been like a father to the boy.
Billy was standing up in his crib when he left the apartment on the day the child died, Anderson said. He later got a call from Hawkins saying the boy was not breathing and he told her to call 911 and do CPR, he testified.
When he arrived at the apartment a few minutes later, Anderson said, Hawkins had a 911 dispatcher on speaker phone and was performing CPR. He said the child was not breathing and he took over for Hawkins until emergency personnel arrived.
When asked by the prosecution if he had done anything before he left the apartment to stop Billy from breathing, Anderson replied, "No."
And under cross-examination, Anderson testified he does not think Hawkins was ever capable of killing Billy. He also said he had never seen Hawkins hurt her son.
According to charges, doctors could not determine an exact cause of death but did not rule out a deliberate smothering, especially after finding teeth marks in the boy's upper lip and small bruises underneath his chin.
Utah Assistant Medical Examiner Joseph White testified that he certified the manner and cause of death as undetermined. He said a culture for influenza was positive but in his opinion, that did not cause the death.
In addition, White said he does not believe the boy died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).