Authorities Allege Mother and Nurse Boyfriend Tortured 3-Year-Old: 'I Am Going to Murder Her'

A woman and her boyfriend, a traveling nurse, were charged with torturing and attempting to kill a 3-year-old child who was found unconscious with several bruises.

Police were alerted to a home in Sandy, Utah where there was a report that a child had been assaulted on the morning of June 28, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s complaint.

At the home, Amber Lee Leary directed police to where her daughter was, according to the complaint. Prosecutors claim the child was not moving or speaking and had several bruises on her face and body.

Earlier that morning, prosecutors claim the girl had woken up and gone to the bathroom in the corner. Leary and her partner, Tyrel Scott Belone, woke up to clean it up, according to the complaint.

Just before Leary left for work at 5:30 that morning, prosecutors allege that Belone picked up the girl and threw her on the mattress, causing her to ricochet and hit her head on the wall.

Prosecutors claim Belone said he checked on the 3-year-old and said her breathing was fine and her heart rate was steady, though she wasn’t really responding. Leary then left for work, but Belone then told her she needed to return home, according to the complaint.

Belone then allegedly called his mother, a nurse practitioner, who prosecutors claim told him he needed to take the girl to the hospital.

Prosecutors claim Leary said Belone wouldn’t let her call 911.

“If you call, I’ll go to jail, you don’t have any money, you don’t have any friends,” Belone allegedly said.

“What if she dies?,” Leary said, to which Belone allegedly said, according to prosecutors, “She’ll be fine.”

Leary eventually called 911 when Belone went out for a smoke, according to the complaint.

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Leary told police that a week prior, Belone texted her when she was at work, saying, “I am going to murder her.”

When Leary returned home the day of that text, she said she found her daughter with her eye swollen shut and a bruise on the side of her head. Prosecutors claim Leary said Belone admitted to hitting her with an open hand.

According to the declaration of probable cause included in the complaint and obtained by PEOPLE, Belone is a traveling nurse. He and Leary met while working at a hospital in New Hampshire. She had previously worked as a corrections officer.

The declaration of probable cause alleged that Belone had been angry that the 3-year-old’s potty training had been regressing following their move to Utah in May 2025.

Both Leary and Belone are charged with one count of first-degree felony attempted aggravated murder, one count of first-degree felony aggravated child abuse and one count of first-degree felony child torture.

It is not immediately clear if either has retained an attorney or entered a plea.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.