Angela Regina Marxen via the Scott County Sheriff’s Office
A 57-year-old daycare provider in Iowa may spend as long as a decade behind bars in connection with the 2020 death of an infant girl in her care.
Angela Regina Marxen on Tuesday pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment resulting in serious injury in the 5-month-old’s death, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Marxen was facing the possibility of a life sentence after she was initially charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death prior to reaching a plea deal with prosecutors. Under Iowa state law, child endangerment resulting in serious injury is a Class C felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Quad-City Times, officers with the LeClaire Police Department on the afternoon of Feb. 5, 2020 responded to a 911 call about an injured infant at an in-home daycare located in the 100 block of Frontier Court. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders reportedly discovered a 5-month-old girl unresponsive and with labored breathing.
The daycare was reportedly owned and operated by Marxen, who was the only adult in the home when the infant sustained her injuries.
The child was transported to a local hospital for treatment but her condition reportedly continued to deteriorate, KWQC-TV reported. Due to the severity of her injuries, the baby was reportedly airlifted to Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City that same day. There, pediatric doctors providing care discovered that the child sustained a fractured skull and her brain was bleeding.
The child reportedly remained in critical condition for four days before she ultimately succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead on Feb. 9. According to the Quad-City Times, an autopsy was performed and it was determined that the baby’s cause of death was due to blunt force injuries to the head.
In a follow up interview with investigators, Marxen reportedly admitted that she caused the baby’s injuries and waited several hours before seeking medical assistance.
“On Saturday, February 8, 2020, Marxen admitted that on Wednesday, February 5, 2020, she dropped the infant victim while she was carrying her,” the affidavit reportedly states. “911 was not notified until four hours after the fall and forty-five minutes after Marxen admitted she knew the child wasn’t acting correctly.”
Detectives with LeClaire PD and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) investigated the infant’s death for over a year before taking Marxen into custody on April 15, 2021, more than 14 months later.
“The extensive investigation determined that the injuries that caused the infant’s death were non-accidental,” police wrote in a press release following Marxen’s arrest.
According to KWQC, in addition to serving prison time, the terms of the plea agreement require Marxen to pay the parents of the deceased baby a minimum of $150,000.
Scott County District Judge Patrick McElyea ordered Marxen in detention at the Scott County Jail as she awaits her sentencing hearing, which is currently scheduled for Dec. 1.
[image via the Scott County Sheriff’s Office]