This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Farmington • As the shackled man accused of killing 2-year-old James "JJ" Sieger Jr. shuffled into a Farmington courtroom for his first court appearance Monday, the toddler's aunt said she looked at 34-year-old Joshua Scott Schoenenberger and thought that his was the last face her nephew ever saw.

"That was his last sight," an emotional Nicole Sieger said after the hearing was over. "It's just not right."

Schoenenberger is charged with first-degree felony aggravated murder — a potential death-penalty offense — for JJ's May 11 beating death. The child died from internal injuries due to blunt force trauma, allegedly caused by Schoenenberger after he became frustrated over failed potty training.

Charging documents state that Schoenenberger admitted that he intentionally stepped on the boy's stomach — but claimed he did not mean to hurt him — because the boy had angered him by "repeatedly urinating and defecating throughout the house."

The man is also charged with second-degree felony child abuse.

JJ's mother and Schoenenberger's girlfriend, 23-year-old Jasmine Ruth Bridgeman, also made her first appearance in 2nd District Court Monday, charged with second-degree felony obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to police who were investigating her son's death.

Nicole Sieger said her family believes Bridgeman is equally responsible for JJ's death and should face heftier charges.

"We are pleased that Joshua was charged with aggravated murder," she said. "Right now, we are just hoping that the charges against Jasmine will be more significant charges once the investigation is concluded. And we're hoping that justice will find its way to her, as well."

Both Schoenenberger and Bridgeman indicated during their individual court appearances that they were indigent and needed a public defender. Because the man could face the death penalty, the court will have to appoint a qualified attorney to represent him — a process that could take several weeks, Judge John Morris said Monday. Bridgeman was appointed a public defender Monday, and waived her right to a preliminary hearing.

The couple is expected in court again on June 22.

Schoenenberger will continued to be held in the Davis County jail without bail. While prosecutors asked for a similar bail status for Bridgeman because they believe she is a flight risk — she is from Georgia and her only tie to Utah is Schoenenberger — the judge opted to keep the woman's bail at $20,000 cash-only.

On May 9, the couple brought the unresponsive boy to the emergency room at Layton's Davis Hospital.

The boy's mother told doctors the child had been left unattended in a bathtub for approximately five minutes and was found face down in the water.

Doctors, however, found no sign of fluid in the boy's airway, charges state.

The boy was rushed to Primary Children's Hospital, where doctors determined that he had suffered "severe internal injuries" caused by "blunt force trauma" to his abdomen, charges state.

Police have said there were indications that the physical abuse of the boy had been going on for some time.

Before allegedly admitting to stepping on the boy, Schoenenberger told police he had left the child unattended in the bathtub and found him face down in the water.

Schoenenberger later made "other inconsistent statements" about what happened to JJ, according to charges, including that he was in the shower with the boy when he became upset at the child and began to squeeze the boy on his abdomen. Schoenenberger then said that he dropped JJ on the floor outside the bathtub and accidentally stepped on his stomach when he was exiting the bathtub, charges state.

Schoenenberger later admitted that he intentionally stepped on JJ's stomach, charges state.

At the time of the alleged crime, the couple had lived together for about four months, according to charges.

Schoenenberger was charged with aggravated murder under "Shelby's Law," a 2007 statute that allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty if a child dies during an act of abuse, sexual assault or kidnapping — even if the defendant does not intend to kill the victim.

Prosecutors have until 60 days after the arraignment following a preliminary hearing to declare whether they will seek the death penalty for Schoenenberger.

Since 2007, the accused killers of five Utah children have been charged under Shelby's Law, but none has gone to trial, which has left the statute unproven before a jury and untested by an appellate court.

Among those cases were those of another Layton couple, Nathan and Stephanie Sloop.

Nathan Sloop, 36, last year pleaded guilty and mentally ill to first-degree felony aggravated murder in the 2010 child-abuse death of his stepson, 4-year-old Ethan Stacy. Nathan Sloop was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

The boy's mother, Stephanie Sloop, 32, pleaded guilty to first-degree felony aggravated murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Shelby's Law is named after 10-year-old Shelby Andrews, who died in 2006 in Syracuse after a year of abuse at the hands of her parents.

In an effort to control and discipline the girl, her father and stepmother beat her, forced her to eat her own feces and shut her inside a cramped linen closet.

Ryan and Angela Andrews did not face a potential death sentence because existing law did not allow prosecutors to file aggravated murder charges unless they could prove the parents intended for the girl to die. The couple pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder and were each sentenced to spend 15 years to life in prison.

Public outrage over the case spurred Utah lawmakers to craft Shelby's Law, which was signed into law by Gov. Jon Huntsman.

Utah court records show that Schoenenberger, a California native, pleaded guilty in 2010 to a reduced charge of class A misdemeanor reckless endangerment in return for a second-degree felony count of child abuse being dismissed. The charges stemmed from an incident in which Schoenenberger, reportedly enraged over a water balloon fight, pulled a child off a bicycle, choked him and burned him with a cigarette.

In August 2011, he was sentenced to 120 days in jail, followed by 24 months of probation. He also was ordered to participate in anger counseling.

Schoenenberger also has a history of drug possession and distribution charges, the most recent involving a 2nd District Court appearance on felony heroin possession.