Kearns father wasn't home when girl died, but will he face a murder trial?

SALT LAKE CITY — There have been questions about Vanessa Hart's mother, about whether Vanessa's father deleted any phone information the day the child died and questions about whether grocery store security videos depicting a "melancholy" Vanessa indicated abuse.

But nothing said in 3rd District Court spoke as loudly as photos of the bruise-mottled face and body of 4-year-old Vanessa.

Whether Clinton Joseph Hart, 21, will be ordered to stand trial in his daughter's death will be decided by Judge Ann Boyden at a future date, to allow prosecutors to explain to the judge why they took what Boyden called the "different approach" in charging Hart, despite the fact police said he was not home when the girl sustained the fatal injuries.

Hart has been charged with murder, a first-degree felony; two counts of child abuse, a second-degree felony; and one count of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, in connection with Vanessa's June 13 death in her Kearns home. The obstruction charge was added by prosecutors Thursday. Prosecutors have listed a charge of child abuse homicide, a second-degree felony, as an alternative to the murder charge.

Vanessa's 13-year-old cousin broke down and cried in court when she talked about how happy she was whenever she got to see Vanessa and her 2-year-old brother.

After the hearing, defense attorney Steven Shapiro said, "What we thought about the evidence that came out in the preliminary hearing is that it establishes what we've suggested all along, that there was no evidence Clint was home at the time the injury occurred, and he wasn't involved in the infliction."

Regardless of who was present, it is clear the girl's final moments were brutal.

Kristine Campbell, a pediatrician at University Hospital who specializes in child abuse, testified that while the bruising to Vanessa's neck and face was extensive, it was the girl's internal abdominal injuries that proved fatal.

"It was certainly the worst interabdominal trauma I've ever seen outside of serious motor vehicle accidents," Campbell said. "It was shocking."

Vanessa also suffered injuries to her head that caused her brain to bleed and swell, and Campbell questioned whether Vanessa would have survived that even without the additional injuries to her abdomen.

Campbell doubted the explanations Hart gave for Vanessa's bruising, including his statement that the girl ran into his fingers or that he had bruised the girl while tickling her. She believes Vanessa was a casualty of fatal child abuse.

Whether Hart was aware of the abuse and was responsible for it is a point Shapiro has repeatedly contested. He has called the murder charge a "publicity stunt" and reiterated Friday that Campbell found no injuries to indicate a history of abuse, beyond the bruises.