LAYTON, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Prosecutors announced on Wednesday that a contractor working for a pest control company will face with two counts of negligent homicide, stemming from the deaths of two Layton girls in February.
The Layton City attorney said Cole Nocks will be charged with two class A misdemeanor counts of negligent homicide for his role in placing a deadly pesticide into the Toone home in early February.
4-year-old Rebecca Toone and her sister, 15-month-old Rachel Toone died after becoming ill at their family's home in Layton in early February.
A medical examiner's report found that the Toone sisters "...had elevated phosphorous levels and lung damage consistent with inhaling a harmful substance."
Along with the criminal charges against Nocks, the Utah Department of Agriculture announced civil action and fines against Bugman Pest and Lawn Inc., the company that hired Nocks as an independent contractor.
The UDA also announced plans to revoke Nocks' contractor license.
Nocks also faces a $27,000 fine, while Bugman Pest and Lawn Inc. faces a $32,000 fine.
The Utah Department of Agriculture said that Bugman and Nocks, "...acted in a faulty, careless, or negligent manner and refused to keep an maintain proper records required for pesticide use...[and] used the pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labling or rules."
Stay tuned to ABC 4 News and ABC4.com for more on this story.
Toone Family Statement
As previously stated, we intend to give our full cooperation to government officials seeking justice for the deaths of our daughters and express our confidence in their ability to do so. While we continue to mourn the passing of Rebecca and Rachel, we feel compassion for all involved in this situation. Although we understand and support the demands of the law, we hope those demands will be tempered with mercy. Beyond this statement, we do not wish to comment.
