Parents Drown Newborn To Prevent Cops From Finding Mother Was On Meth: Police

A couple in Iowa has been charged with murder for drowning their newborn daughter in a bathtub, moments after her birth. The suspects murdered the infant to prevent cops from finding out the woman had meth in her system, police said.

The two accused, Brandon D. Thoma and Taylor K. Blaha were arrested Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder for killing their daughter identified as Kayleen Lee Blaha on Nov. 16, Fort Dodge Police department said in a news release Thursday.

Investigators found that Taylor gave birth to the child in the bathroom alone while Thoma was in the bedroom of their apartment. Thoma then came to help Taylor with the delivery and severed the umbilical cord. Upon request by Taylor, he gave her methamphetamine to relieve the pain, police said, as reported by Law & Crime

The couple, who also have a 2-year-old child, said they did not intend to keep the child and were planning to let Taylor's sister adopt the girl.

However, they got nervous when the child cried, thinking that neighbors would alert cops, who would then find the meth in the mother's system. The couple reportedly said they murdered the newborn, fearing they would lose custody of their toddler.

"Blaha went on to explain that in order to stop the crying the two placed Kayleen in the bathtub, which was about half full of water, and placed both of their hands on the baby's chest, forcing her underwater, ultimately killing her," the arrest affidavit said.

After Kayleen died, Thoma reportedly moved the body to a plastic storage container and wrapped it in multiple trash bags before placing her in a black backpack that he carried out of the apartment.

However, police could not recover the child's remains. Officials have offered a reward of $1,500 for information leading to the recovery of her body.

In addition to the murder charges, Thoma faces charges of abuse of a corpse. The couple was held in pretrial detention. A court has set Thoma's bond at $1,050,000, while Blaha's bond was set at $1 million.