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Farmington • The path to Nathan and Stephanie Sloop's preliminary hearings is finally clear as attorneys on Wednesday agreed to argue the cases' evidentiary issues after the autumn hearings.
A five-day preliminary hearing for Nathan Sloop, who was Ethan Stacy's new stepfather, is scheduled to begin Oct. 31 in 2nd District Court.
A preliminary hearing for Stephanie Sloop, the boy's mother, is to begin Nov. 15.
Nathan Sloop, 32, and Stephanie Sloop, 28, are both charged with aggravated murder in connection with the 4-year-old boy's death last year.
At preliminary hearings, prosecutors must show enough evidence to a judge to demonstrate there is sufficient cause for a defendant to stand trial. Defense attorneys have the opportunity to challenge that evidence and seek a dismissal or reduction of the charges.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed Wednesday to hold off on hashing out patient-physician privilege issues regarding records of communications between the murder defendants and their therapists.
Prosecutors want some conversations between the Sloops and Ogden psychologist Rob Pramann admitted as evidence in the case. Second District Judge Glen Dawson will also wait on deciding whether materials seized from Nathan Sloop's cell at the Davis County Jail might be admissible as evidence.
"The legal issues we had asked time for this week are deemed best presented, if ever, subsequent to a preliminary hearing," said Nathan Sloop's defense attorney, Scott C. Williams.
Charging documents allege that the Layton couple engaged in multiple acts of "severe abuse" between April 29 and May 8 in 2010, which led to Ethan Stacy's death, including "beatings, burning, drugging, isolating, malnourishing, leaving the child alone and unattended while suffering, and refusing to seek vital life-sustaining medical attention."