Bail denied for Utah woman again accused of child abuse

by: Jonathon Sharp

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4) — A Utah woman accused this month of child abuse — and who pleaded guilty in the death of her foster child three years ago — will remain in custody after a judge denied her bail Tuesday.

Lisa Jo Vanderlinden, 46, of Roosevelt, was arrested and charged last week with a misdemeanor count of child abuse after her 9-year-old adopted son told investigators that she struck him so hard it left a mark on his face for days.

This accusation violated her 14-year probation sentence for a 2020 conviction of child homicide in the death of her 2-year-old foster son, Lucas Call.

Grant Charles, the Roosevelt city attorney, said before the court Tuesday that the new allegations facing Vanderlinden are similar to the ones she faced with Call.

“We believe that she does pose a danger to this child,” Charles said, referring to Vanderlinden’s adopted son.

Eighth District Court Judge Sam Chiara, who sentenced Vanderlinden in the 2020 case, denied her bail on Tuesday. Vanderlinden will remain in jail until her next court date, which was set for Nov. 6.

In 2020, Chiara sentenced Vanderlinden to one year in jail and 14 years probation. She served no prison time.

Vanderlinden was initially charged with murder in Call’s death but she pleaded down to a lesser charge of child homicide, only admitting to being “reckless” and “negligent” in her foster son’s death.

The most recent charges against Vanderlinden stem from what her adopted son allegedly told investigators with Utah Children’s Justice Center. According to court documents, the child said that Vanderlinden struck him when he was 8 years old, leaving “a red mark on his face for two days.”

The boy also told the investigators that Vanderlinden had slapped him other times when he stayed with her on weekends, adding that it was “the same way every time.”