SANDY — Relatives of an infant who died after being in the care of a baby sitter are coming to the defense of the baby's mother.

Jared Billette, 23, was arrested Thursday afternoon. The baby died after Billette was taken into custody. Friday, prosecutors charged Billette with murder, a first-degree felony. Bail was set at $1 million.

Billette's girlfriend is a close friend of the mother of Milo Doxey, the 9-month-old boy who was dropped off Wednesday at the apartment where Billette and his girlfriend live. The girlfriend works at the apartment complex and was in and out of the home throughout the morning, leaving Milo and a 2-year-old girl in the sole care of Billette, according to Victor Westbrook, who is one of the mother's cousins. The 2-year-old was dropped off by another parent.

Milo was dropped off about 3:30 a.m. When the girlfriend called Billette about 11:15 a.m. to ask about lunch, prosecutors say Billette told her he had to go because the infant wasn't breathing. The girlfriend called 911 and went back to her apartment.

"She entered the apartment and observed (Milo) lying on the couch, unresponsive, with the defendant kneeling beside him," the charges state.

Milo was rushed to the hospital. He died several hours later from his injuries.

Doctors say Milo suffered severe head trauma consistent with a shaken baby, and the injuries were also consistent with the boy's head impacting "with a surface," according to jail records.

"It's not just picking up the baby and shaking him," Westbrook told the Deseret News. "The baby was shaken so hard he had ruptured arteries on the neck. He had to have done something more brutal."

"Such forces could only have been applied by a person of adult strength," according to the doctors who treated Milo, quoted in court documents.

Prosecutors said the pediatric neurosurgeon who operated on the infant indicated "this was the worst case of inflicted brain trauma in a child he had ever seen," according to the charges.

But Billette told investigators he was watching TV with the two children on the floor, the charges state. He answered the call from his girlfriend but then noticed Milo wasn't breathing.

"The defendant carried (the infant) into the kitchen and splashed water on his face while (the infant) was gasping for breath," the charges state. "The defendant denied that any accident occurred during that time frame (he was alone with the children)."

Westbrook said he has been in close contact with his sister during every step of the tragedy.

Billette's girlfriend and Milo's mother were best friends. Billette was somebody who the mother knew, Westbrook said. It was not a case of the mother acting on blind faith.

"(Critics) act like my cousin's an idiot," he said. "Anyone with common sense knows we don't just drop them off with strangers. This was a man she knew and trusted. He was at the hospital when the baby was born. She's known him since she's had her baby."

Billette had watched the infant before, Westbrook said. Billette told investigators he watched the infant on a daily basis, according to court documents.

The mother — who is going to school, has a job, is unmarried and living with her sister who is also a single mom — is "devastated," Westbrook said.

"Her life is turned upside down, and she has lost the love of her life, her beautiful baby boy," he said. "She's not handling it very well."

Billette and his girlfriend were scheduled to move to Washington in a week, Westbrook said. The girlfriend had asked if they could watch Milo before the move, he said.

As for Billette's girlfriend, Westbrook said, other family members have talked to her briefly. "I don't think she knows what to say," he said.

Westbrook said part of him feels sorry for Billette. But when parents or any adult are pushed to a "snapping point," he said, they need to take a breath and think about the consequences of their actions.

"Think about how many lives you've altered with a split-second decision. He's altered mine," he said.

Milo's family is donating the infant's organs. Doctors at Primary Children's Medical Center have told the family the organs are expected to save the lives of six other children, Westbrook said.

A memorial fund has been established at all Wells Fargo banks under the Baby Milo Memorial Fund.

e-mail: preavy@desnews.com