This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Cache County woman whose 2-year-old son was found dead in their River Heights home in 2013 admitted this week that she caused the boy's death.
Heidi Marie Rutchey, 46, pleaded guilty but mentally ill Monday to second-degree felony child abuse homicide in the August 2014 death of her son, Eli.
She faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison for the crime when she is sentenced on Aug. 14 in 1st District Court.
Rutchey's case was delayed for several years after a judge found that she was incompetent to stand trial for the crime, but Utah State Hospital officials reported last November that she is now competent to proceed. The decision meant that officials believed Rutchey could understand and appreciate the charges against her and could participate in her own defense.
Rutchey was initially charged with first-degree felony murder, but prosecutors reduced the charge as part of a plea deal.
The mother told police after she was arrested that she had suffocated her son by placing her hand over his mouth and nose, according to a probable cause statement. She then tried to kill herself by overdosing on medication and went to a local hospital seeking treatment on Sept. 4, 2013.
When hospital staff learned that she had a child, they were concerned for his well-being and sent law enforcement officers to check on him.
Forensic tests determined that Eli had already been dead a week or more when law enforcement found his body. Court documents say the boy died as early as Aug. 27, 2013.
While at the hospital, Rutchey was distraught, court documents state. She called herself a "baby killer" and told hospital personnel that "something terrible has happened" and "he suffocated in the tub."