PROVO — Two 3-year-old boys were playing with Tonka trucks outside, something they had done many times in an area separated from the road by multiple fences. They had no reason to be afraid, said deputy Utah County attorney Ryan McBride.
But Kent Cody Barlow, of Orem, made the choice to use methamphetamine and drive significantly over the speed limit, eventually leading him to lose control of his vehicle, veer off the road and kill the two children — Odin Jeffrey Ratliff and Hunter Charlie Jackson.
McBride asked jurors Thursday, at the beginning of a two-week trial, to find Barlow guilty of depraved indifference murder — claiming he acted with depraved indifference to human life, knowingly risked another’s life and caused the deaths of the two boys.
Two phones in a car driven by Barlow — his and a passenger’s — tracked speeds as he drove through Eagle Mountain almost three years ago, providing evidence McBride used to show he was not just causing danger to Hunter and Odin, but to others throughout Eagle Mountain that evening, both on the roads and at a baseball field in a nearby park.
The charges
Barlow, 28, was initially charged with two counts of manslaughter and was ordered to stand trial on those charges in 2022 by 4th District Judge Robert Lund. Several months later, a newly elected county attorney filed upgraded, amended charges of murder, a first-degree felony. Barlow was later ordered to stand trial on the enhanced charges, along with a charge of possession or use of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor.
Odin and Hunter were playing in a horse corral at Cedar Valley Stables, 2333 N. 16000 West, and were killed when a car driven by Barlow left the road and veered into the corral on May 2, 2022.
This jury trial has been delayed multiple times, against the requests of the boys’ mothers, primarily due to the decision to amend the charges and Barlow’s attorney stepping away from the case for personal reasons. Because of all the delays, the judge overseeing the case was changed from Lund, who retired at the end of 2024, to Judge Derek Pullan.
‘A terrible, tragic accident’
Defense attorney Justin Morrison said he agrees with much of the evidence that will be presented, saying there is no question of who is at fault. However, he asked the jury to find Barlow guilty of either lesser charges of manslaughter or automobile homicide — not depraved indifference murder.
“This is a unique case in the sense that I’m not going to stand before you and tell you that my client is innocent; in fact, I’m going to do just the opposite. I’m going to ask you to hold my client accountable, and yes, find him guilty — but not of what the state has charged him with,” he said.
The attorney said he understands the jury members feel the weight of the heartbreaking loss of Hunter and Odin, calling it a tragic event. He asked jurors to look at the evidence beyond the emotion and tragedy and decide what Barlow is “truly responsible for.”
“We’re going to show you that this was an accident, a terrible, tragic accident, but not a cold-hearted disregard for human life,” Morrison said.
He emphasized that Barlow had no idea the two children were there, saying the evidence that is disputed is what Barlow knew, what Barlow could see and what was in Barlow’s mind when he lost control.
He argued that the young boys were “behind solid walls,” saying that is what multiple crash reconstruction experts will testify is most likely.
“Can a person be indifferent to a risk they don’t even know exists?” he asked. “My client did not know those children were there, plain and simple; and without that knowledge, Mr. Barlow could not have been consciously aware of any danger.”
Morrison said prosecutors are arguing that his actions were so “reckless” and “monstrous” that he could have been aiming at the children, but the children were where someone would expect horses to be, not children. He said a guilty verdict for murder would require more than just an accident or reckless actions.
“It’s devastating, it’s a parent’s worst nightmare, but it was not depraved indifference murder. It couldn’t have been. … Justice demands the truth and not exaggeration,” he said.
Depraved indifference
McBride said it is unknown where exactly Hunter and Odin were playing, saying they could have been moved during the crash. He pointed out multiple buildings at Cedar Valley Stables that were visible from miles away, and said Barlow, who lived about two miles away, passed the location at least three times that day and would have seen cars showing that people were there.
He said Odin had been visiting the stables since the day he was born, when his mom took him to see the horses. She was a vaulting coach there, and he “loved being there.” About a month before the crash, McBride said Hunter’s big sister got a job at the stables, and the two boys “became great friends right off” and would play together there often.
McBride showed the jury screenshots from Google maps showing Barlow’s path that day as he met friends in Saratoga Springs and came with them back to Eagle Mountain. The prosecutor noted Barlow’s speed on multiple roads was significantly over speed limits, including 96 mph on a gravel road with a 35 mph speed limit during a race he challenged his friends to.
Six minutes before the crash, he invited his friends into his car to show them what it could do. A woman going the opposite direction on the same road reported a violent wind as he passed, describing him traveling at an “insane rate of speed,” the prosecutor said. He said multiple passengers urged Barlow to slow down, one punching his seat from behind, but Barlow continued accelerating.
Reports from another driver and those in the car confirm he crossed through a stop sign at an intersection by Cedar Valley Stables “without a hint of slowing or stopping,” according to McBride. He said passengers were holding onto handles in the car as Barlow was traveling 117 mph when he left the road.
“These fences offered no protection from a car going that fast,” he said, showing photos of broken vinyl and horse fences, and a collapsed horse stall.
After a “tremendous crash,” he said Hunter’s sister saw a car upside down and was the first to see a body on the ground. Shortly after, he said Odin’s mom came out and saw her son underneath the roof with massive head trauma.
“There’s nothing that can be done; she tries anyway,” McBride said, explaining that she then tried to help Hunter until a man with medical training at the stables came out and pulled her away, knowing there was no hope for the boys.
McBride said because the crash happened in the early evening, police were racing against time in a “very chaotic scene” and correctly prioritized saving life over collecting evidence — addressing kids at practice, horses and the injured men in the car. Officers missed a mark on the roadway documented only in photos, and a pipe that was found about 10 days later during cleanup which tested positive for meth and Barlow’s DNA.
He said Barlow was transported to the hospital in a helicopter while others in the car were transported by ambulance. After receiving a warrant for Barlow’s blood, he said they found he had a “very high level of methamphetamine” in his system.
This story may be updated.
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