After staff admitted Kayla Barlow’s 2-year-old son to the hospital, they noticed something strange. Whenever Barlow visited the child, he would reportedly become sick almost instantly. Staff at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, contacted North Park police in December 2023, concerned about possible child abuse. The investigation began and unearthed some disturbing details.
According to court documents obtained by Cache Valley Daily, staff admitted the boy to Primary Children’s on December 9, 2023. Staff noticed that when she came to see her son, he would reportedly become sick, but when she left, he would recover. A detective with the North Park Police Department documented that staff claimed they found human feces in the boy’s drip line. The bacteria reportedly caused him to become extremely ill.
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Investigators found that a hospital in Colorado had treated and discharged Barlow’s son with a PICC line for antibiotics after a bacterial infection. Staff instructed Barlow to take him to Primary Children’s for a follow-up. Investigators found that the boy went to Logan Regional Hospital prior to Primary Children’s and tested positive for E. coli, the Daily reported.
According to a probable cause statement, a doctor told police, “[T]here was concern of medical child abuse and that Barlow was introducing infections into the child, resulting in him becoming more ill. (The doctor) stated that positive cultures were occurring despite adequate treatment and there was no other explanation for any other route of introduction.”
ABC 4 reported that according to court documents, the PICC line indicated a bacterial infection in the child’s blood “often originating from vaginal secretions or fecal matter, which also can be purchased online.”
Barlow allegedly refused a bag check at the hospital. She reportedly said she had syringes for IVF and “didn’t want those to be misconstrued as something she was using to harm,” according to ABC 4.
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Doctors reported Barlow to the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, per the Daily. They stated they could not determine why the child continued to have returning infections.
According to an arrest warrant, “The hospital became very suspicious of things going on at the hospital with (the boy),” noting, “Kayla would come to visit (the boy and) he would immediately get sick, and when Kayla would leave for a few days (he) would get better.”
Barlow faces one count of second-degree felony aggravated child abuse. The state wants her held without bail due to the seriousness of the charge, per ABC 4.
