Investigators cite a hazardous basement, a gap in supervision and injuries that a specialist said could indicate an obstructed airway.

MURRAY, Utah — A Utah father has been charged in the death of his nearly 7-month-old daughter more than a year and a half after emergency crews found the infant unresponsive in the unfinished basement where he was living, according to charging documents and reports based on the police investigation. Neal English Colby faces child abuse homicide and child endangerment resulting in death in the Jan. 17, 2025, death of Celia Aurora Colby.

The prosecution follows a long investigation that did not produce a definitive medical answer for how Celia died. The Utah Office of the Medical Examiner documented injuries around the baby’s nose, cheek and chin and said they raised the possibility that an outside force had blocked her airway. The manner of death was nevertheless classified as undetermined. Investigators later obtained an assessment from a child abuse pediatrician who said the injuries to Celia’s nostrils were especially concerning and could occur when a caregiver pinches a baby’s nose shut. The doctor did not conclude that such an act had happened, but said manual airway obstruction could not be ruled out.

Celia’s death came after a night in which several members of the household had been ill. Her mother told investigators that she and a young son had flu-like symptoms and that Celia also had developed a fever and cough. She gave the infant children’s medicine and arranged for her to see a pediatrician later that morning, according to accounts of the charging documents. At about 2:30 a.m., the mother brought Celia downstairs and asked Colby to care for her while she slept. The parents were separated but remained in the same home, with the mother staying upstairs and Colby living in the basement.

Colby told police that Celia drank from a bottle and went to sleep after she was brought downstairs. He said he later went upstairs and watched a lengthy online video and periodically returned to check on the child. He also told investigators that he had wrapped a blanket tightly around Celia with the top near her shoulders and later suggested that she could have moved the blanket over her face. A pediatric specialist who reviewed the evidence considered that explanation unlikely based on Celia’s level of physical development, according to the charging-account reporting.

Investigators found another part of the timeline on Colby’s cellphone. Location information showed the device leaving the home at about 3:21 a.m. and returning roughly 43 minutes later, according to police. Authorities said the location where the phone remained during that period was an area known to Murray police for drug activity. Investigators allege Celia was left alone during that interval. Police also reported that Colby initially said he had misplaced the phone, which officers later found between cushions on a couch where he had been sitting.

Hours later, the emergency unfolded. Colby called out for Celia’s mother, who went to the basement and found the baby lying face up on a bed or mattress and unresponsive, according to the charging documents. The mother began CPR. She told investigators that she asked Colby to call 911 but that he did not do so, requiring her to make the emergency call while trying to resuscitate Celia. First responders were dispatched at about 9:46 a.m. Police described the infant as gray and in full cardiac arrest. Celia died while she was being taken to a hospital.

The basement became a major part of the investigation. Officers described an unfinished room crowded with garbage and belongings. Police reported finding bottles containing urine near the sleeping area, along with litter boxes, drug paraphernalia and jars of THC wax. Some cannabis material was reportedly stored near baby food or other children’s supplies. Investigators also found reddish fluid on bedding. The pediatrician who reviewed the case said the combination of human waste, animal waste and illicit drugs made the environment unhealthy and potentially dangerous for a developing infant, regardless of whether those conditions directly caused Celia’s death.

That distinction is important because investigators have described several possible risks without publicly identifying one definitive fatal mechanism. The medical examiner did not determine that the condition of the basement caused the death. Nor did the examiner conclude that Celia died from suffocation caused by another person. Instead, the medical findings left investigators with unresolved possibilities. The abrasions near her nose and face could point toward external airway obstruction, according to the records, while the pediatric review also raised concerns about the sleep setting and other conditions in the basement. Those findings form part of the evidence cited in the criminal case but remain allegations to be tested in court.

Police also included observations about Colby’s behavior when officers arrived. Charging documents say body-camera footage showed him vaping when officers were not focused on him and becoming visibly and audibly distraught when officers spoke directly with him. Investigators characterized that conduct critically in their written account. Behavior at a traumatic scene, however, does not itself establish what caused a death, and prosecutors will still have to prove the elements of the charged offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. Colby has not been convicted in connection with Celia’s death.

The charges came after investigators compared Colby’s statements with digital evidence, the condition of the basement, medical findings and the mother’s account of the final hours. Authorities allege that his description of remaining at or near the home conflicted with the cellphone-location information showing the device away from the residence for more than 40 minutes. Investigators also questioned his suggestion that Celia could have accidentally covered her own airway with a blanket after the pediatric specialist reviewed her developmental abilities and the available medical evidence.

The case also contains an unusual degree of uncertainty for a prosecution centered on an infant death. The medical examiner’s inability to determine the manner of death means the criminal allegations depend on the broader collection of evidence rather than a single autopsy conclusion. Prosecutors have cited both the physical injuries and the environment in which Celia was found, as well as the alleged lapse in supervision and events surrounding the emergency call. The child-endangerment charge separately focuses on risks authorities say were present around the infant. The precise theory prosecutors will present at trial will depend on the evidence admitted by the court.

Celia was born June 18, 2024, and died Jan. 17, 2025, one day before she would have turned 7 months old, according to her obituary. The family memorial described her as an energetic, joyful baby who particularly enjoyed being outdoors, riding in a stroller and sitting with her parents. A private viewing was held several days after her death. At the time, the obituary described what happened as a tragic accident, a characterization published long before investigators filed criminal charges.

The prosecution now moves forward with a record that contains serious allegations but no definitive medical ruling on how Celia died. Colby remains accused, not convicted, and the state will have to establish in court that the evidence surrounding the basement, the period without supervision and the child’s injuries meets the legal standard for the charges filed.

Author note: Last updated September 28, 2026.