Kayleen Lee Blaha was a newborn girl who is believed to have been murdered by her parents in 2022. Her body has never been found.
Case[]
Kayleen was born to Taylor Blaha and Brandon Thoma in their home in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The couple had originally planned to give the baby up for adoption, but since Taylor had used methamphetamine shortly before giving birth, they were worried authorities would find drugs in Kayleen's system and take away their other child as a result.
Several days after Kayleen's birth, Taylor confessed to a child welfare worker that she and Thoma drowned Kayleen in a bathtub shortly after she was born. They then put her body in a backpack, where Thoma allegedly buried her in a wooded area near Kenyon Road Bridge, although an extensive search of the area turned up no results. A nearby landfill was also searched with no success.
Both of Kayleen's parents were initially charged with first-degree murder. Taylor Blaha pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, while Thoma pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse and child endangerment resulting in death. They were both sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Sources[]
- KCCI:
- KGNS