Video After The Jump
Authorities said an Iowa couple drowned their newborn in a bathtub shortly after she was born, fearing her cries would draw the attention of police. They’re charged with first-degree murder, even though the baby’s remains have not been found in weeks of searching.
Brandon D. Thoma, 31, & Taylor K. Blaha, 24, both of Fort Dodge, were charged Wednesday in the presumed death of the infant & Thoma also was charged with a felony count of abusing a corpse.
Webster County Sheriff’s Detective Amy Stringer said police received a call on Nov. 22 from a caseworker who said Blaha had shown up at a Fort Dodge hospital saying she had given birth days earlier at the apartment she shared with Thoma, the father of the baby & of Blaha’s 2-year-old child.
In a subsequent interview with Stringer, Blaha said she had discovered in April that she was pregnant & that she gave birth on Nov. 16 in the apartment bathroom after Thoma gave her methamphetamine to deal with the pain.
Blaha confirmed that the baby was born alive & said she & Thoma agreed to name the baby Kayleen Lee.
Blaha said they planned to give the baby to Blaha’s sister to adopt, but grew fearful her cries would draw the attention of neighbors & police, so they held the baby underwater in the bathtub until she drowned. Thoma then placed the baby’s body in a plastic storage container, wrapped the container in trash bags & carried it out of the apartment in a backpack.
Stringer said she also questioned Thoma, who admitted to drowning the baby, saying he feared police would discover meth in her system & take their 2-year-old child from them.
A text messages between Blaha & Thoma indicated he dumped the baby’s body in a wooded area, but a search there turned up nothing.
Both were ordered held Thursday on bonds of $1 million, with preliminary hearings set for Dec. 15.
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Source: AP
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