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CEDAR CITY — A Cedar City couple were arrested Thursday in Washington state for their alleged role in the homicide of a 2-year-old boy.

Brittany Juanita Hall, 25, and Gavin Michael Haar, 25, were picked up at around 5:30 p.m. by law enforcement authorities in Snohomish County, Washington, just 24 hours after 5th District judges issued warrants for their arrest. They were booked into Snohomish County Jail in Everett, Washington.

Haar was arrested for a first-degree felony charge of murder and two counts of child abuse, both second-degree felonies.

Hall was arrested for two counts of child abuse, one was a second-degree felony and the other a third-degree felony, and a second-degree felony for obstruction of justice.

While it was widely reported Wednesday the couple had already been charged in this case, Cedar City Police detective David Evans said the arrest warrants weren’t signed until late Wednesday.

Haar and Hall allegedly fled Utah jurisdiction in June following the execution of six search warrants for information surrounding the death of Hall’s 2-year-old son, “C.L.,” who died June 12.

According to the charging documents filed in 5th District Court with the warrants for arrest, the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide due to internal bleeding caused by blunt force trauma to the abdomen.

C.L. was allegedly in Haar’s care the night he died while his mother, employed at a local grocery store, was at work. The couple were living together at the time.

At around 12:30 a.m., Haar texted Hall “Get home now. Emergency (C.L.) not breathing.” About one minute later he texted again, “Anyone ask about the bruises we got them four-wheeling,” according to court records. Hall then threatened to call police.

The boy was transported to Cedar City Hospital and was pronounced dead at 1:49 a.m. C.L.’s body was covered with bruises on his forehead, eyes, ears, mouth and several circular bruises on the chest and abdomen.

The couple told detectives C.L. had been sick since the previous Saturday after he had allegedly been thrown off an ATV and pinned underneath it. Haar and Hall detailed for authorities how they found the boy minutes later with the gas tank on his chest and the handlebars across his face.

“Haar reported that he lifted the four-wheeler off of C.L. and that he and Hall checked him for injuries. They determined C.L. was fine and did not take him to the doctor,” court documents state.

In addition, Hall and Haar claimed the child had fallen about three feet Sunday morning while on a small rock-climbing wall at the park, hitting his face and hurting his mouth.

Hall told police she had witnessed the ATV accident, but police said they found “stark inconsistencies between Hall’s version of events and Haar’s version as to the time of day of the crash and the details of the camping trip.”

During the course of the investigation, detectives learned that Hall could not have been with Haar and her son at the time of the accident as she had been working. The couple’s roommate also confirmed that the couple and the child were all home Saturday night.

Hall later admitted to police that she had not been with Haar camping, saying she only told the story, “Because that is what he tells me and that’s all I have to go off of.”

Police learned through their investigation that Haar had previously been kicked out of a family member’s home the couple was living with at the time, “due to his bad temper and the abusive manner in which he treated both Hall and C.L.,” court records state.

During the investigation, detectives discovered text messages from Haar to Hall that were sent about 6 ½ hours before the child was taken to the hospital. In the message, Haar appears to be upset with Hall about something she did: “I’m (expletive) livid. And your son is about to get an ass beating.”

The couple will remain in jail in Washington without bail until they are extradited back to Utah to face charges here, Deputy Iron County Attorney Chad Dotson said.

Email: tsullivan@stgnews.com

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