Bryce Harkins: Utah mom fatally punched 2-month-old son till he 'turned pale' to stop him crying

RIVERDALE, UTAH: A 26-years-old mother has been arrested after allegedly beating her 2-months-old son to death when he would not stop crying, as per KUTV. 

Bryce Jo Harkins was arrested at her home in Riverdale, Utah which is about 34 miles north of Salt Lake City, after police received a distressing 911 call saying a 'baby was not breathing'. 

Why did Harkins kill her baby boy? 

The unknown 911 caller repeatedly told police the 2-month-old boy was 'gone'.

The infant was found to be severely injured and proclaimed dead when Riverdale police arrived at the scene. Harkins reportedly admitted to investigators that she gave her kid a 'hard' blow to the head because he would not stop weeping during their talk with the police.

After the blow, Harkins told police her son began to "turn pale and would breathe off and on" before he eventually stopped breathing, according to an arrest affidavit, as per The US Sun.

The 26-year-old mother also reportedly admitted to Riverdale police that she had previously given her son a backhand that was so strong that it left a bruise on his forehead.

Furthermore, she is said to have acknowledged to hurting her infant by tossing him into his crib from a height of one to two feet and pressing down on his chest while he was in there.

'It's sickening' 

In the court documents, Police wrote, "By her actions, [Harkins] showed a reckless indifference to human life and caused the death of her son by a course of conduct which [she] is a major participant in the commission of aggravated child abuse." 

Harkins' friend and former coworker Ricki Jimenez fought back tears as she described the mom as a "hard worker and very quiet."

"It didn't need to be that way," Jimenez told local Fox affiliateKSTU . She added, "When I put the pieces together, I was like, 'That cannot be the Bryce that I knew. They can't fight back, they can't defend themselves. It's sickening. She could've called me and been like, 'You know what, I'm having a hard time. Come get this kid,' I would've gone and got her baby."

Police said a second child was in the home at the time of the killing. Details about that child's condition were not immediately released.

Additionally, Harkins was charged with one count of aggravated murder.