NORWALK, IOWA – A Newborn baby was left to die by an Iowa mother and grandfather, police say, and both are charged with first-degree murder.
On March 8, 2023, the Norwalk Police Department was contacted with concerns for the safety of a child in Norwalk. With the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, officers started an investigation. On March 9, 2023, law enforcement and professional volunteer searchers located a deceased newborn child along the road in the 5300 block of Delaware Street in Warren County.
Further investigation revealed that Megan K. Staude, age 25 of Norwalk, gave birth to a baby at home during the last days of February 2023. With cooperation from her father, Rodney A. Staude, age 64 of Norwalk, the baby was left to die and was then disposed of along Delaware Street.
An autopsy was conducted by the Office of the State Medical Examiner and results are still pending.
Both Rodney Staude and Megan Staude have been arrested for Murder in the First Degree. The investigation is continuing.
