SLCo DA's Office Plants Tree and Presents Award in Memory of Norlin Cruz
For Immediate Release:
January 16, 2025
Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill and the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office planted a tree in memory of Norlin Cruz and all victim-survivors of crime served by our office.
This evergreen tree will serve as a daily reminder of the impact Norlin had on our office and stress the importance of providing victims with a voice, even if they can no longer use their own. Norlin’s tree is a symbolic and ever-present reminder of the work we do in our community. Norlin’s tree will be marked with a bronze plaque to honor his memory for the decades to come.
Additionally, District Attorney Gill presented Dr. Antoinette Laskey from the Center for Safe and Healthy Families at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital with the inaugural Norlin Cruz Child Advocacy Award. This award was announced in 2023 in his memory. We honor Dr. Laskey with this recognition for going above and beyond to protect the health and safety of Utah’s most vulnerable, our children.
In March 2019, first responders were called to Norlin’s home. When police and fire arrived, Norlin was not breathing and he did not have a pulse. Norlin was life-flighted to Primary Children's Hospital. Child abuse pediatricians with the Center for Safe and Healthy Families team assessed and provided treatment to Norlin, who ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Based on the number of injuries and various levels of healing, experts with the Center determined that there was “no accidental explanation” for the trauma inflicted on Norlin.
Multiple doctors testified that this was one of the worst child abuse cases that they had witnessed. Norlin’s mother was convicted and is currently serving a prison sentence at the Utah State Correctional Facility. She was convicted of one count first-degree felony reckless child abuse homicide, and three counts of second-degree felony child abuse. All counts are running consecutive to each other.
This case is just one example of the work that the Center for Safe and Healthy Families performs daily. The Center, a joint operation with University of Utah Health, is dedicated to supporting children and families affected by abuse and neglect through medical and mental health services.
The Center works with community professionals, and is staffed by child abuse doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and therapists who provide compassionate evaluations and care to children, with the goal of helping them heal and thrive. The Center’s specially trained team works to understand the cause of child injuries and illnesses, and documents their findings. When needed, these experts testify on behalf of the patient and ensure that justice is delivered for Utah’s children.
While the Center is not open to the public for walk-ins, if you suspect your child is the victim of abuse, you can call 801-662-3600 to discuss a non-emergency evaluation, or 801-442-7233 for urgent assistance.
“The state of Utah and Salt Lake County are incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Laskey and the Center for Safe and Healthy Families. Every day, these dedicated medical professionals investigate, document, and treat children that are victims of child abuse,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “Without their expertise and dedication, we would not be as successful as a community at holding abusers accountable for their actions. We are forever indebted to the work of Dr. Laskey and her colleagues.”
“When children suffer at the hands of those who are supposed to care, love, and provide for them, it doesn’t have to end in tragedy. It can end because someone cared enough to ask for help or make a report to someone who could intervene and help,” said Dr. Laskey, University of Utah Health Division Chief and Medical Director of the Center for Safe and Healthy Families at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital. “In our community, and our state, we have teams of professionals who are committed to making a difference in the lives of children like Norlin. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to do the work I do — and for them, and for you, I am truly grateful, because children like Norlin deserve a voice.”
We would also like to thank our partners with Salt Lake City's Urban Forestry Division. They planted this ponderosa pine through their city-wide street tree planting program, which is available to any property within the city with open park strip space through an online application. The application can be accessed here: https://www.slc.gov/parks/urban-forestry/park-strip-tree-planting/
###