Question: How hard? Describe for the record how hard she would strike this infant.

Answer: Hard enough to leave welts and red marks and bruises and fingertips on the child's face. — Testimony of Shelly Flemal's acquaintance James Arrowsmith under examination by Deputy County Attorney William Daines.

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According to court records, Flemal's indifference to her children started years earlier, shortly after she gave birth to her son, Tyler, on Oct. 18, 1988. Flemal was 17 at the time, had only a ninth-grade education and had no job.

Social workers identified the young woman as a mother "in need of special attention and help" shortly after Tyler's birth, according to prosecutors. Although Flemal was pointed toward counseling sessions and parenting-skills classes through the Children's Aid Society, she rarely attended, according to 2nd District Court documents.

In June 1989, records showed Tyler had a bruise on his face, which Flemal said was the result of an accident.

Twelve days later, 7-month-old Tyler was admitted to McKay-Dee Hospital semicomatose and unresponsive.

Doctors found skull fractures and bleeding on his brain, listing him in critical condition. X-rays also revealed the infant's left leg and left wrist had been fractured three weeks earlier.

Shelly Flemal told doctors Tyler had fallen from his crib.

But in a later court hearing, prosecutor Daines offered a hypothetical situation to a pediatrician who had cared for Tyler throughout his hospital stay.

If a person picked up a child of Tyler's age and size, threw him against the wall specifically by grabbing him by the arm and leg, would that be an explanation for the injuries you observed?

"Yes," Ogden pediatrician Donald Watts answered. "A high velocity event would be consistent with a skull fracture and bleeding."

The Division of Child and Family Services took custody of the boy after doctors warned he would be in grave danger if sent home. Flemal eventually gave him up for adoption.

James Arrowsmith, a friend of Flemal's, testified he called DCFS at least 18 times to report incidents of abuse toward Tyler. DCFS worker Nick Vesper, who took at least two of Arrowsmith's calls, told the Deseret News in 1995 he could not comment on the case.

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