Utah parents allegedly tortured 11-year-old son, staged his death to look like a suicide by hanging

TREMENTON, Utah (TCN) -- A couple has been arrested and charged in connection with the torture and death of their 11-year-old son, whose body was staged to look like a suicide, police say.

On Sept. 21, 2025, Brigham Young Merrell allegedly dialed 911 to say he had found his child hanging by a coaxial cable, KSL reports. He said he was performing CPR, but when responding officers arrived, Merrell was allegedly kneeling next to the body of Moroni Merrell and not attempting CPR.

When first responders began rendering aid to the child, his father reportedly left the room to change his clothes. It was later determined he was allegedly attempting to destroy physical evidence. Moroni Merrell was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The following day, a GoFundMe page was posted that described the child’s death as an “unexpected passing.” The page asked for financial help covering funeral costs and had a goal of $9,000, the Independent reports. Approximately $7,400 was raised, and the fundraiser is no longer active. 

An investigation into Moroni Merrell’s death revealed inconsistencies, KSL reports. The child’s body was reportedly moved, and his father allegedly gave inconsistent answers as to why. In addition, the child’s injuries were deemed inconsistent with hanging. 

Surveillance footage from inside the home allegedly showed Merrell “carried the lifeless child past emergency responders who were actively knocking on the door and continued to carry him up to the room where the hanging is alleged to have occurred,” Law & Crime reports. “He has since never given the same reasoning or justification of why the body was moved to a different location.”

Other children in the home were interviewed, and one alleged that they had seen Moroni Merrell die after “receiving a whooping from Brigham,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the outlet. 

The affidavit states that evidence was found of torture and abuse going back several years. Melinda and Brigham Young Merrell would reportedly check for visible bruising after allegedly beating their children with spoons, and allegedly would hit them with pans because the spoons left marks.

In an interview, Melinda Merrell allegedly said she should have checked Utah’s laws regarding punishment of children before moving to the state, and she had not been taught that it was unacceptable to leave visible marks on her children. 

The children in the home also said they were forced to sleep in a dog kennel outside when they were in trouble, and their parents restricted their food access, Gephardt Daily reports.

The other children in the home were taken in by child welfare agencies, KSL reports. Brigham Young and Melinda Merrell were booked into jail on May 6 on investigation of child abuse homicide and child torture.

Their next court date has not yet been scheduled. 

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