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Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
FORT DODGE, IOWA: In a harrowing turn of events, an Iowa father has accepted legal culpability for the death of his newborn daughter as part of a plea deal earlier this week. The heart-wrenching incident occurred in November of 2022 and has recently come to light with shocking details surrounding the crime through court documents.
What are the charges against Brandon Thoma?
Initially charged with first-degree murder in December 2022, Brandon D Thoma, 31, reached a plea deal this week in the death of his newborn daughter Kayleen Lee Blaha, admitting guilt to reduced charges of child endangerment resulting in death and abuse of a corpse, according to a report by Des Moines-based CBS affiliate KCCI. The incident began to unfold when the child's mother, Taylor K Blaha, 24, sought medical assistance at Unity Point Trinity Regional Medical Center in late November 2022. She divulged about giving birth to a baby at her residence and burying the child at an undisclosed location to an employee of the Iowa Department of Human Services.
Brandon Thoma and Taylor Blaha never intended to keep their daughter
Court records indicate that Brandon and Taylor never intended to keep the child. Instead, they planned on giving her away to Taylor's sister. However, fate took a dark turn when Kayleen was born as she wouldn't stop crying. The chilling details of the grisly case are found in an affidavit of probable cause, which reads, "[Taylor] stated that Thoma was in the bedroom of the apartment when she gave birth but that once the baby was born, he came into the bathroom and helped her get from where she was sitting on the toilet to a position sitting inside the bathtub with the baby. She advises the two named the baby Kayleen Lee Blaha and that she was born alive, crying, moving its arms and legs, and opening her eyes, allowing Blaha to see that Kayleen had brown eyes," as obtained by Law and Crime. After the birth, Taylor experienced severe pain, and Brandon allegedly provided her with methamphetamine to alleviate it. The events escalated further when the father, using a pair of scissors, severed the baby's umbilical cord, keeping sections of it as a keepsake.
The couple's fatal decisions were driven by fear
Court documents also reveal that the baby girl's cries prompted the couple to make a series of fatal decisions fueled by fear. They were apprehensive that their neighbor might call the police after hearing the relentless crying, leading to the discovery of methamphetamine in the child's system. Additionally, they were terrified that child welfare agents would take away their two-year-old son. "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. Blaha also explained that Thoma demonstrated to her how to do this," states the affidavit.
The couple alleged to have disposed of her remains somewhere near the Kenyon Road Bridge across the Des Moines River, but Kayleen's body is yet to be found. "Blaha advised that once the baby was held underwater, Thoma removed the baby from the bathtub and sat her outside of the tub before ultimately placing her in a plastic storage container, wrapping her in multiple layers of trash bags, and then placing her inside of a black backpack that he carried her out of the apartment in," read the document about their supposed act. With Brandon pleading guilty, he now faces sentencing on September 1, and under Iowa statutes, he could receive up to 60 years in prison for the charges. On the other hand, Taylor has pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder, and her trial is scheduled to begin on September 12.