34 year old Mark Wing murdered his 7 week old son, in cold blood, by literally squeezing him to death over and over during Ian's few weeks of life, his only weeks of life. Ian fell into a fitful, if not miserable sleep for the last time on February 23, 1996. Mark Wing wrapped the child so tightly that he could not even scream, he died of suffocation. There were many inconsistencies in the early stages of the investigation of the death of Ian, suspicious bruises, but most importantly 29 rib fractures, two broken legs and a cracked left arm. Lt. Mike King had this to say about little Ian, " It was a short, bleak life." Lt. King, an investigator for the Utah Attorney General, received the case after it had been stalled for nearly two years. The case was eventually added to the dockets of the UTAP (Utah Criminal Tracking and Analysis Project)

The first thing the UTAP did was compile a profile on Mark Wing, the information it gathered would become the most enlightening aspect of the whole case and eventually bring Mark Wing to justice. The profile uncovered previous abuse of animals, a long history of drug abuse, and a pattern of violence against his previous wives. Lt. King, "But the thing that really pushed me over the edge and targeted him as a suspect was he had a fixation on two children being the perfect size of a family. It is something that he often talked about."

When Wing married Cara, Ian's mother, she already had two children. Several months after they got married, Cara realized she was pregnant. Mark forced her to have an abortion and he underwent minor surgery for a vasectomy. The surgery came too late, Cara was already pregnant with Wing's second child, who would later be named Ian. At the time, Cara was working several jobs to help put Mark through college. He spent his days unemployed, caring for Ian and his two siblings. On February 23, 1996, Mark Wing squeezed his infant son Ian, then put him in his crib. He found Ian dead at 8:30 the next morning and didn't even bother to call police until 10:00 a.m. a full two and a half hours later. What was he doing during this two and a half hours? I guess he figured that Ian was already dead, so why bother.

Clearfield Police Chief Morton Sparks, "Our investigators worked very hard. When they see a child that's thought to be abused, and possibly killed by that abuse, they fret over it."

The investigation eventually stalled due to lack of evidence. With no medical evidence and no witnesses to testify, the state had nothing to bring forth for evidence other than suspicions. Mark Wing continually denied any wrong doing and Cara, Marks wife repeatedly voiced support for her husband and vehemently defended him from the accusations. The baby's bones had been broken numerous times, but the injuries couldn't be linked to his death, the prosecutor had nothing.

Eventually the Clearfield investigators appealed to the Attorney Generals Office for help on the stalled case where Lt. Mike King would come into the picture. Lt. King brought together experts from the UTAP to assist.

Mark Wing would eventually confess and tell Lt. King that the baby's screaming was a bother and he would squeeze Ian until he was quiet. Initially prosecutors were seeking a murder charge, but in a plea agreement Wing would plead guilty to manslaughter ( a second-degree felony), a charge which carries a 1 to 15 year sentence.

Wing stood quietly as the 2nd District Judge Jon M. Memmott issued a quick, unemotional decision. "I can't read this as a single incident where somebody lost control."

Mark Wing was sentenced to 1-15 years, the maximum penalty for the charge against him, despite the tearful plea's of Mark's wife, his fourth wife, that he was a gentle man and had never shown any violent tendencies towards her or her two children.

Assistant Attorney General Robert Parrish had this to say, " This helpless child never had a chance. There's absolutely nothing a 7 week old child can do to provoke this kind of a violent attack." Parrish also said that because a baby's bones are mostly cartilage at that age and very flexible, Mark Wing had to exert a lot of force to cause those fractures. "Mark Wing knew very well what he was doing."

Lt. King had this to say about the conviction of Mark Wing, "Some may consider this a victory for the state, but I've been pretty sick all day. I keep reflecting that in a couple of weeks this baby would be celebrating his third birthday. Instead [he's] in a graveyard. I don't think there are any winners in this."

The worst part about Ian's death is that it was entirely preventable. The Division of Child and Family Services had investigated Mark and Cara Wing for allegedly mistreating two other children before the baby's death. Another child's life caused by the neglect of those workers put in charge of keeping them safe.