A pediatric specialist told investigators that injuries near the baby’s nostrils could be consistent with someone manually blocking her airway.
MURRAY, Utah — Small injuries around the nose of 6-month-old Celia Aurora Colby became a central focus of an investigation that ultimately led Utah authorities to charge her father in connection with her death, even though the state medical examiner could not determine how she died.
The medical uncertainty distinguishes the case against Neal English Colby from one built around a single, established cause of death. An autopsy documented abrasions near Celia’s nostrils, right cheek and chin. The medical examiner said those injuries were not independently fatal but raised the possibility of an airway being blocked by an outside force. The manner of death remained undetermined. Investigators then asked a board-certified child abuse pediatrician to review the evidence. The specialist said the injury pattern could be seen when a caregiver pinches a child’s nose and that asphyxia can sometimes leave no conclusive finding at autopsy. The doctor said an adult obstructing Celia’s airway could not be excluded.
Those conclusions did not amount to a finding that Colby had obstructed his daughter’s breathing. Instead, they became one part of a larger case assembled from medical evidence, cellphone records, statements from the parents, police body-camera footage and conditions inside the home. Colby is charged with child abuse homicide and child endangerment resulting in death. The charges are allegations, and prosecutors carry the burden of proving criminal responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt. The unresolved autopsy findings are therefore both significant evidence cited by investigators and an important limitation on what authorities have established medically.
Before the medical questions emerged, the case began as an emergency call on the morning of Jan. 17, 2025. Murray police and other first responders were sent to a residence at about 9:46 a.m. for a report of an infant in full cardiac arrest. Officers were directed to an unfinished basement, where Celia’s mother was attempting CPR. Police described the baby as gray and unresponsive. Emergency crews transported her toward a hospital, but she was pronounced dead during the trip.
Celia had been ill before the emergency, according to her mother’s account. The mother told investigators that she and a young son had flu-like symptoms and that Celia had begun coughing and running a fever. She gave the infant children’s medicine and had arranged a pediatric appointment for later that morning. Because she needed sleep, she brought Celia downstairs at about 2:30 a.m. and left the baby in Colby’s care. The parents were separated but continued living under the same roof, with the mother upstairs and Colby occupying the basement.
Colby’s description of the following hours presented investigators with one possible explanation. He said Celia drank a bottle, went to sleep and remained on his bed. He told police he later went upstairs and watched an online video and checked on his daughter periodically. He also described wrapping her tightly in a blanket up to about shoulder level. After she was found unresponsive, he suggested that she may have pulled the blanket over her face. The pediatric specialist who reviewed the investigation later said that explanation did not fit well with evidence that Celia could roll and push herself up, abilities suggesting she normally would have been able to move a loose blanket away from her airway.
The physical setting introduced a different set of concerns. Police described the basement as extremely dirty and cluttered with garbage and property. During a search, detectives reported finding bottles of urine near the sleeping area, litter boxes, drug paraphernalia and jars containing THC wax, some near items used for the baby. Investigators also documented reddish fluid on a blanket or mattress. The pediatrician said the presence of human waste, animal waste and drugs made the space dangerous for an infant who was becoming increasingly mobile. The doctor stopped short of saying those conditions caused Celia’s death but said they could have contributed to it.
Investigators then reconstructed part of the night through Colby’s phone. Location data indicated the device left the residence at approximately 3:21 a.m. and returned about 43 minutes later. Police said the phone remained during that period in an area they knew for drug activity. Authorities allege Celia was alone in the basement while the phone was away from the house. The data mattered because officers believed it conflicted with portions of Colby’s description of his movements. Police also said he initially reported that his phone was missing before they found it inside the couch where he had been sitting.
The emergency response created another disputed point in the timeline. Celia’s mother told investigators that Colby woke her by yelling for help. She rushed downstairs and found the infant face up and stiff, with fluid around her mouth. The mother immediately tried to resuscitate her and asked Colby to call 911, according to the charging account. She said he would not make the call, so she contacted emergency dispatchers herself while continuing CPR. Colby told investigators that he had also attempted to help Celia before summoning her mother.
Police later described Colby’s conduct while officers were at the residence. Their charging narrative said body-camera footage showed him vaping during moments when officers were not focused on him, then crying loudly when officers directly addressed him. Investigators included the observation while explaining why they questioned his account. Such behavior is not a medical finding and does not resolve how Celia died. It is one of several circumstantial details authorities have chosen to cite while alleging that his statements and conduct should be viewed alongside the forensic and digital evidence.
Nearly 19 months passed between Celia’s death and Colby’s arrest in August 2026. That interval reflects the amount of material investigators had to examine and the central difficulty of the case: a baby had died in troubling circumstances, yet the medical examiner could not assign a definitive manner of death. Police obtained the home search evidence, reviewed cellphone information and sought additional pediatric expertise before criminal charges were filed. The resulting case does not rest solely on the abrasions, the unsanitary basement or the absence of supervision. Authorities instead present those details as pieces of one broader factual pattern.
The homicide charge places causation at the center of the prosecution. Utah’s child abuse homicide law addresses deaths of minors that prosecutors allege result from legally defined child abuse, with the applicable degree and required mental state determined by the circumstances charged. The separate child-endangerment allegation concerns exposure to dangers authorities say were present in Celia’s environment. The filing of those charges does not settle the contested questions. A court proceeding will determine what evidence jurors or a judge may consider and whether the state can establish every required element.
Outside the criminal file, Celia’s obituary presents a different record of her short life. Born June 18, 2024, she was remembered by relatives as a joyful baby who smiled at her family and especially liked being outdoors. The obituary described stroller rides, time spent on her parents’ laps and watching trees and birds. It called her January 2025 death a tragic accident, reflecting what her family understood or publicly described at the time, well before the investigation resulted in allegations against her father.
At the center of the coming court proceedings is a medical question that investigators could narrow but not conclusively answer. The examiner classified Celia’s manner of death as undetermined, while the pediatric review identified possible explanations that prosecutors may rely on. How much weight those opinions receive will be decided through the court process, where Colby is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Author note: Last updated September 28, 2026.