Ethan is mourned at tearful vigil

LAYTON — With candles lit, tears in their eyes and a collective broken heart, they stood to honor a little boy they'd never met.

They mourned his death, grieved over the brutality of his suffering and sought solace in their belief that he's now an angel.

Ethan Stacy may have died alone, isolated from the rest of the world as he lived out his last days in repeated abuse, but a community of strangers touched by his plight are with him now.

"Who am I to say anything about Ethan — a complete stranger?" said David Mumma, a neighbor who lives in the same apartment complex.

Mumma, who organized a Saturday night vigil in honor of the little boy, paused through tears as he addressed a crowd of 200 people gathered for the event.

He talked of how a Layton police officer with mournful eyes approached him, asking to search his car the morning Ethan was reported missing by his mother, Stephanie Sloop, and Nathan Sloop.

At the time, the request was just a mild interruption of the Layton man's day and not much more to think about until the awful circumstances of the boy's death began to unfold.

"Anytime a child has gone through this much, it tugs at your heart."


The Sloops have since been arrested after the boy's body was discovered near Powder Mountain Ski Resort. The Davis County Attorney's Office has said it will pursue aggravated murder charges pending the results of an autopsy.

Prosecutors and police allege the boy was beaten repeatedly in the apartment after just recently coming to stay with his mother for the summer. After he died, his face was intentionally disfigured in an attempt to conceal his identity.

The horrific nature of the homicide has prompted an outpouring of grief and a call to action for increased awareness of child abuse.

"I hope this will be an event that will remind people to open their eyes to what is going on around them, and they will be kinder to their family," Mumma said.

Even as four uniformed Layton police officers stood in the distance, trying to look discreet well behind the crowd, members of Bikers Against Child Abuse marched confidently through the crowd.

When a biker named Ish grabbed the microphone to address the tearful group, he was met was applause.

"Let us bring to light the huge epidemic of child abuse," he told them. "Let this be a reminder to everybody."

While those gathered were mourning the loss of Ethan, Ish reminded them that there are "lots of little ones, lots of little faces" who need protection.

"BACA is an organization I wish I did not have to be part of. Let's end this epidemic," he said.