New judge to oversee again-delayed murder trial for deaths of 2 Eagle Mountain boys

Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes

PROVO — Kent Cody Barlow has a new attorney, and a new judge will be overseeing his murder trial now that the trial is delayed into next year — past the judge's retirement.

The mothers of both toddlers killed when Barlow's car went off the road and crashed into Cedar Valley Stables in Eagle Mountain spoke at a hearing on Monday about how repeated delays in the case have been difficult for the family and have impacted their mental health and recovery — something the family brought up during previous hearings.

Odin Jeffrey Ratliff and Hunter Charlie Jackson, both 3, were playing in a horse corral on May 2, 2022, when they were hit and killed by a car that left the road and veered into the stables. Three others who were in the car with Barlow testified that he was driving at a high rate of speed and ran a stop sign before the car hit a bump that sent it off the road and out of control.

Brooke Jackson, Hunter's mother, said Monday it is "ridiculous" that they have been waiting for justice for 875 days, constantly rearranging schedules to attend many different court hearings.

She said the case has become about the attorneys and "how many tantrums can the defense attorneys get away with," rather than about Barlow and the victims. She said the attorneys keep saying they are not prepared for a trial and asked why they are still getting paid if they are not prepared.

Barlow, 28, is charged with two counts of murder, a first-degree felony, and possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor. He is being represented by attorneys at the Utah County Public Defender's Association, who get paid through public funds.

During Monday's hearing, Fourth District Judge Robert Lund spent almost a half hour talking about the case's history and why the trial was delayed even after he ruled multiple times that it would continue as scheduled this September.

He said Barlow's previous attorney, Benjamin Aldana, continued filing motions until he withdrew from the case and never took leave due to his father's illness or death, saying what he had been told by Aldana's co-workers about the need for extended leave was misleading.

Lund also said when the Utah Supreme Court granted Aldana's request to allow him to withdraw as Barlow's attorney — reversing Lund's ruling that he should stay and defend Barlow — the high court said its decision should not impact the trial dates. However, immediately after the ruling, Barlow's other attorney, Melissa Flowerday, argued that she would not be able to represent Barlow without Aldana. So, the trial was canceled.

Aldana previously asked for Lund to be disqualified from the case, saying in May that his insistence on keeping the trial in September when Aldana claimed he could not be ready in time showed he was not impartial.

Odin's mother, Theresa Ratliff, said she was ready to tell her story at the jury trial. She made arrangements to be gone from her job for three weeks, only to learn about the trial's cancellation two days before it was set to begin. She said she has been let down so many times and does not know when her heartbreak will end.

She said while the defense attorneys are giving excuses about not being ready, the victims' plates are full, too — yet they make time for the case.

"I will fight for my son every day," Ratliff said.

Barlow's new attorney, Justin Morrison, is now representing him alongside Flowerday. He said other cases he was assigned to earlier prevent him from being available for a trial in this case for the next six months.

He said Monday, after the mothers spoke, that delays over the first nine months of the case should not be blamed on Barlow's attorneys because the prosecutors changed the charges from manslaughter to murder at that point.

The judge told Morrison that he disagreed with that claim, saying the facts of the case did not change. During a trial, such details would only change the attorneys' closing arguments and not any testimony, he said.

No hearings were set on Monday, Lund said he would talk to the presiding judge to learn which judge will be overseeing the case after this and encouraged the attorneys to talk to that judge quickly to schedule the trial.

On Monday, deputy Utah County attorney Ryan McBride filed a motion asking the court to require the Utah County Public Defenders Association to appoint an attorney it contracts with, someone from outside its office, to represent Barlow. It is the third time prosecutors have made that request in this case, each time claiming the association is causing delays.

He argued that the association either does not have the resources for the case or has chosen not to give the case the appropriate resources.

McBride brought up the mothers' comments at the hearing and said the delays have led to "significant health issues caused by the anxiety of the judicial process," reliving trauma at each hearing, and financial issues for the victims' families.

He said the delay has significant costs. In addition to costs for the victims, who have a right to a speedy trial, he said a delay undermines the purpose of a trial to seek the truth as memories fade and the value of a conviction.

McBride argued the office knew of Aldana's need for personal time 12 weeks before the trial, and that the court had ordered it to provide resources to the trial team.

"This cannot be allowed to happen again, and the best way to prevent it is to remove the (Utah County Public Defender's Association) from the case," McBride said.