According to court filings, the mother and grandpa of a newborn found dead in a ditch in Iowa said to authorities that they thought the kid was still alive when they placed him in a trash bag and abandoned him. A 25-year-old Norfolk woman named Megan K. Staude told police that her child was born at home on February 24.
She told police she left him in a box for two days without food or water before she and her father, Rodney A. Staude, 64, put him in the bag. According to the papers, Rodney Staude also confessed and said he helped his daughter dump the bag in a ditch near Norwalk.
Authorities say the Staudes first informed them their newborn died on the route to the hospital. Authorities in Cumming, Iowa looked for signs of a new grave at the cemetery where Megan Staude claimed to have buried him, but came up empty.
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Upon receiving information from Megan Staude’s coworkers on March 8, law enforcement officials were able to locate her remains. A text message discussion between Megan Staude and a witness was presented to authorities on March 13 and included the question, “Was the baby alive when you left him?” and her response was “A little,” as stated in the lawsuit.
It’s“It’s just a tragic set of circumstances on a number of levels,” Norwalk Police Chief Greg Staples told The Des Moines Register. People are in jail because “That baby didn’t have the choice to decide his own fate and now there’s people in jail because of it.”
Newborn found dead in Iowa ditch; mom, granddad charged https://t.co/PTWvViRpnO
— KLFY NEWS 10 (@KLFY) March 15, 2023
The inquiry and autopsy results are underway. Both Rodney and Megan Staude have $1 million bonds and are being held at the Warren County jail. The Register reports that authorities have stated their lack of knowledge on the paternity of the child.
If you live in Iowa, you can legally leave a newborn up to three months old at a hospital or other medical facility without facing any consequences.
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