Couple drowned newborn baby to keep her from crying, cops say

A man and a woman in Iowa are in custody facing murder charges after they allegedly drowned their newborn baby girl because they feared the baby's cries would raise the suspicions of their neighbors.

According to reports, 24-year-old Taylor Blaha discovered she was pregnant back in April, but did not want the child. She and her partner, 31-year-old Brandon Thoma, already had a 2-year-old-son, so they initially determined that they would give the baby to Blaha's sister to raise after it was born. Unfortunately, when the time came, the couple changed their plans, reports say.

On November 16, Blaha gave birth on a toilet in the couple's apartment in Fort Dodge, Iowa, about an hour and a half north of Des Moines. Thoma was not in the room during the birth, but came in shortly thereafter and cut the umbilical cord with scissors. At that time, Blaha reportedly asked Thoma to give her some meth for the pain, and he complied. Thoma also helped Blaha move the baby from the toilet area to the bathtub, which was half-filled with water.

Thoma and Blaha then agreed that they would drown the baby, whom they named Kayleen Lee, so that her cries would not alert police or neighbors to her presence, reports claim. The two reportedly submerged Kayleen under water until she died. Thoma then entombed his daughter in a plastic container, wrapped the plastic container in garbage bags, and then placed the garbage bags in a backpack so that he could easily transport her out of the apartment, reports claim.

At some point in the ensuing days, Blaha was admitted to an area hospital. On November 22, a caseworker with the Iowa Department of Human Services contacted police about Blaha, prompting Webster County Sheriff's Detective Amy Stringer to interview Blaha and Thoma.

Stringer claimed that, during the interviews, both Blaha and Thoma admitted to drowning the baby. Stringer alleged that Thoma expressed fears that the couple would lose their son if medical teams ever examined Kayleen and discovered meth in her system. Blaha also allegedly confirmed to Stringer that Kayleen was born alive and had been crying and flailing about, as babies do.

Other evidence also seems to corroborate Blaha and Thoma's version of events. According to Stringer's affidavit, "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." When police searched the couple's apartment, they allegedly discovered sections of umbilical cord or other placenta material in a dresser drawer.

Police also searched through the couple's phones and supposedly discovered that both Blaha and Thoma had inquired online how to induce a miscarriage. Police also found text messages between the two, suggesting that Thoma had taken Kayleen's remains to a wooded area. However, an extensive search of various areas supposedly identified by Thoma yielded nothing. Thoma also allegedly stated that he dumped Kayleen at the North Central Iowa Regional Sanitary Landfill, but a subsequent search of the landfill has likewise been unsuccessful.

Though Kayleen's remains have not yet been found, prosecutors have arrested Blaha and Thoma and charged them with first-degree murder and set their bail at about $1 million a piece. Thoma also faces an additional charge of abusing a corpse.

The Mason City Public Defender's office has been appointed to represent Blaha, but no attorney has been assigned to her yet. Thoma's attorney, Paul Rounds, confirmed to reporters that Thoma will plead not guilty. Thoma and Blaha are scheduled to appear in court on December 15.