Utah woman allegedly admits to smothering her 3-year-old stepdaughter, police say

A Vernal woman who allegedly smothered her 3-year-old stepdaughter to death has been arrested.

McKenley Jordan Yadon, 24, was booked into the Uintah County Jail on Thursday for investigation of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; and child abuse, a second-degree felony.

According to Vernal City Police, they responded to a report of a choking child at 1536 W. 300 South on March 14 and discovered the 3-year-old was not breathing, cold to the touch and had “dark purple and black bruising in front, on top, inside and around her left ear.” An autopsy later ruled the child’s cause of death was homicide; she died of “asphyxia due to smothering.”

According to a probable cause statement, when Yadon was arrested on Thursday she “admitted to smothering” the 3-year-old using her hands and a blanket. And, she added, she “had been planning and thinking about doing this act for two or three days.”

The statement went on to say that Yadon “provided a detailed account” of killing the child, including how the child struggled as Yadon smothered her “for what she believed to be 4-5 minutes.”

And, she told police, Yadon waited 10-15 minutes before calling a friend, who then called 911.