Utah — A Utah jury determined that a 28-year-old man acted with “depraved indifference” when he drove 120 mph while high on methamphetamine and plowed through horse stables, killing two toddlers playing with toy trucks.
Kent Cody Barlow was convicted Friday of depraved indifference homicide in the deaths of Odin Ratliff and Hunter Jackson, both three years old. On May 2, 2022, Barlow was driving recklessly and ignoring his passengers’ repeated pleas to slow down as he sped down Tiffany Lane in Eagle Mountain, about 30 miles northwest of Provo.
He lost control and crashed into the Cedar Valley Stables, according to a press release from the Utah County Attorney’s Office.
Michael Starrs, deputy Utah County attorney, told jurors in his closing argument that the boys were having a great time playing with each other, picking up chicken eggs and chasing cats, according to a courtroom report from local NBC affiliate KSL.
But the fun turned tragic when Barlow floored the accelerator, going 120 mph in a 45 mph zone and heading toward the stables despite seeing all the activity there.
“The signs of life were there,” Starrs stated. “Signs of life were ignored. The signs of life were obvious. They were not hidden or concealed. “We know Kent Barlow would have seen all of those cars.”
Prosecutors also noted that he had previously been convicted of driving over 100 mph three years prior to the fatal crash and had ignored a judge’s warning that his speeding could be deadly.
Justin Morrison, Barlow’s attorney, acknowledged that his client was high and driving, but maintained that he did not intend to lose control or hit the boys. Morrison described Barlow as “not a cold-blooded killer.”
However, the families of Odin and Hunter never questioned the defendant’s guilt.
“Hearing the words guilty of depraved indifference murder is what we’ve been fighting for,” Odin’s mother Theresa Ratliff told KSL following the verdict. “That’s what we got because that is what he is guilty of.”
Barlow is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30. He faces 15 to life in prison.
