The woman arrested and charged with the child abuse homicide of a 3-year-old child in her care in Vernal City last fall is scheduled to be in 8th District Court this week. According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, police were dispatched to a Vernal City residence on September 4, 2025, on a report of a 3-year-old child not breathing. The child was transported to the hospital. The child’s caretaker of 6 weeks, Angela Accuttoroop, was the only person home with the child at the time and she reported that the child fell in the shower and hit the back of his head. The child was airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital due to the extent of the injuries and on September 7th, he succumbed to his injuries. On December 16, 2025, a final report of examination was received from the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner. This final report found the manner of the child’s death to be homicide with the immediate cause of death to be blunt force head injuries. Pertinent findings were the contusions behind the ears, multiple hemorrhages under the scalp in varying locations, swelling of the brain that caused sutures of the skull to separate and bleeding around the brain. The report further states that the proposed mechanism of injury (falling to the floor of a shower) is not plausible given the distribution and severity of injuries. On December 22, 2025, Angela Accutoroop was interviewed post Miranda warning and maintained her account of events. Angela could not provide any sort explanation for the injuries from medical examiners findings though she acknowledged becoming frustrated with the child’s behaviors and admitted she was not equipped to take on the care of the child. Following the interview, Angela Accuttoroop was transported to the Uintah County Jail where she was booked on one count of Child Abuse Homicide, a Second Degree Felony. 51-year-old Angela Accuttoroop will be in 8th District Court for the Preliminary Hearing on June 18th at 1pm.
