A Utah couple is facing serious criminal allegations after their 3-month-old son was found dead in the family home, marking the second time in just two years that one of their infants has died.
Nicholas Patrick Romero, 40, and Christina Joy Patton, 39, were arrested Wednesday, October 7, on suspicion of child abuse homicide after police responded to their residence in Bluffdale, a suburb south of Salt Lake City.
The disturbing discovery has prompted investigators to examine the circumstances surrounding the latest death, including the parents’ reported alcohol consumption and their decision to share a bed with the infant.
According to police affidavits, emergency responders were called to the home after the baby was discovered unresponsive early Wednesday morning.
Officers reported observing pink-colored fluid coming from the infant’s nose and mouth as emergency personnel attempted CPR.
Despite efforts to save him, the little boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators also noticed several empty alcohol containers near the bed where the infant had been sleeping. Items believed to be drug paraphernalia were reportedly discovered elsewhere inside the residence.
During questioning, both parents acknowledged drinking alcohol before going to sleep Tuesday night.
Patton also told investigators she had taken prescription medication. A preliminary breath test administered approximately 12 hours after her reported last alcoholic drink showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.011%, according to court documents.
Romero declined to take a preliminary breath test.
The parents’ accounts of what happened during the baby’s final hours became a central focus of the investigation.
Romero reportedly told police that shortly before midnight, he prepared a bottle of formula, swaddled his son and placed him on a nursing-style pillow positioned between himself and Patton in their adult bed.
Investigators said the bottle had been propped up while the baby rested on the pillow.
Around 1:30 a.m., the infant began crying.
Patton told detectives she removed him from the pillow, unwrapped his swaddle and placed him against her chest to comfort him.
She said she later shifted the baby onto her right arm, and both eventually fell asleep.
According to the affidavit, the infant remained on or against his mother for the next several hours rather than being returned to a separate sleeping area.
At approximately 5:15 a.m., Romero woke up to get ready for work and noticed that his son was positioned toward Patton’s body.
When he attempted to wake the child, he discovered the baby was pale, unresponsive and not breathing.
Romero began CPR and called 911, but the infant could not be revived.
Police believe the sleeping arrangement, combined with the parents’ reported alcohol consumption, created a dangerous situation for the child.
The baby’s official cause of death has not yet been publicly established, and investigators have not announced a final determination about precisely what caused him to stop breathing.
But as detectives examined the family’s history, they uncovered an additional tragedy that raised even more questions.
This was not the first time Romero and Patton had lost an infant.
Their baby daughter, Catherine Irene Romero, died in October 2024 at approximately 3 months old, nearly two years before her younger brother’s death.
According to her obituary, Catherine had experienced significant medical complications since birth, including a recessed jaw, a cleft palate and feeding difficulties that required a feeding tube.
Her cause of death has not been publicly established, and the earlier case remains separate from the current investigation.
There have been no publicly reported criminal charges against the parents in connection with Catherine’s death.
However, police specifically referenced that previous tragedy in the new arrest affidavits.
Investigators argued that their experience with an earlier infant death should have made the parents particularly aware of the risks associated with unsafe sleeping arrangements.
That history, authorities said, was relevant to evaluating whether the parents acted recklessly when they brought their son into bed with them after consuming alcohol.
The allegations have drawn attention to the dangers of sharing an adult bed with a young infant, especially when alcohol or medications may affect a caregiver’s ability to respond.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies sleep on their backs on a firm, flat surface in their own crib, bassinet or other approved infant sleep space, without pillows, loose blankets or stuffed animals.
Pediatric experts warn that adult beds, nursing pillows and sleeping against an adult’s body can create suffocation or entrapment hazards.
The risks can become greater when a caregiver has consumed alcohol or taken medication that causes drowsiness.
While the investigation continues, authorities must still determine whether those hazards directly contributed to the boy’s death.
Romero and Patton were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of child abuse homicide, a second-degree felony under the allegations described in their arrest records.
An arrest on suspicion of a crime does not establish guilt, and prosecutors must determine what formal charges, if any, are supported by the evidence.
The case now leaves investigators with two infant deaths involving the same family, occurring approximately two years apart, and critical questions about the circumstances surrounding each tragedy.
For the latest death, detectives will continue reviewing the parents’ statements, physical evidence and medical findings to establish exactly what happened during the baby’s final hours.
