SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The father of a 4-year-old boy who police say was murdered by a stepfather in Utah has received a full briefing on the crime.
Joe Stacy of Virginia said Wednesday he couldn't comment after receiving what he called "horrible news."
Police say Ethan Stacy's body was desecrated and buried in a northern Utah canyon, where it was recovered Tuesday.
The boy's stepfather, Nathanael Sloop of Layton, is being held on suspicion of aggravated murder and his mother, Stephanie Sloop, is facing felony child abuse charges, expected to be filed Friday.
The Deseret News quotes Joe Stacy's stepmother as saying he was forced by a judge to give up the boy to his mother for a summer visit.
Freida Stacy calls Stephanie Sloop an "evil person," and "spiteful."
Prosecutors are awaiting the results of an autopsy being conducted Wednesday.
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