Couple drowns newborn in bathtub and disposes of corpse to hide drug use: Police
Luke Gentile
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An Iowa couple was arrested after drowning their newborn daughter in a bathtub and disposing of her corpse, police said.
Brandon Thoma and Taylor Blaha were charged with first-degree murder Wednesday after authorities had been looking for the body of their young daughter for weeks, according to a report.
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Police in Fort Dodge reported they received a call from the Iowa Department of Human Services on Nov. 22 informing them that Blaha had admitted to giving birth to her daughter before burying her corpse, according to an arrest affidavit.
The mother told police her daughter had been born in their bathroom alive and that the newborn was moving her arms and legs.
She and the girl’s father had named her Kayleen Lee, the report noted.
However, after Thoma gave Blaha methamphetamine to ease the pain of childbirth, the couple became afraid that the newborn’s crying would alert neighbors and police to their drug use, the report said.
Thoma admitted the couple then held their daughter under the water until she drowned, then threw away the body in a plastic storage container, which they wrapped in trash bags, police said.
“Thoma and Blaha have both confirmed … that once Kayleen was born, Thoma cut the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors that was present within their apartment and shortly thereafter cut additional sections of the cord to be kept to remember the baby,” investigators said.
Thoma and Blaha, who were afraid their 2-year-old son would be taken away if the newborn was found, have both been charged with first-degree murder, police said.
Thoma is also charged with abuse of a corpse.
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The body of Kayleen Lee has yet to be found.