Iowa woman Cheyanne Renae Harris stands trial for the death of her infant son Sterling Daniel Koehn. As far as prosecutors are concerned, this is just one defendant down, one more to go: The baby’s father Zachary Koehn was convicted of first-degree murder and child endangerment last November. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Harris faces the same charges, and would get the same sentence if found guilty of murder. She also faces a count of child endangerment.
#ZacharyKoehn is chained up and escorted out. pic.twitter.com/JWlyoYJnQU
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) November 6, 2018
Deputies blame the couple for Sterling’s death. According to a probable cause statement obtained by Law&Crime, authorities got called to the scene on Aug. 30, 2017 at 12:57 p.m. Koehn was asking for help, and he said his girlfriend Harris fed the four-month-old boy earlier. The child was okay, he said. Nevertheless, Sterling was dead when she checked again at “11:00 or 11:30 a.m.”
#ZacharyKeohn – The defense’s final witness is an expert in postpartum depression. Part of Koehn’s defense is Cheyanne Harris had postpartum depression and didn’t take care of baby Sterling. https://t.co/6DbMMqNZXY pic.twitter.com/Qr55Ev6Et2
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) November 6, 2018
What authorities found allegedly undermined the parents’ account. The boy was found in a powered swing in his bedroom. He weighed seven pounds and was 14 inches tall. Authorities said that put him under the 5th percentile in size and weight. An autopsy determined his clothes and skin were infested with maggots. The size and growth of the bugs, as well as Sterling’s small size, showed that he hadn’t had a diaper change, bath, or been taken from the seat in over a week, investigators said.
His parents had neglected him to death, deputies said.
[Screengrab via Chickasaw County]
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