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Parents Charged For Abandoning Infant On Swing

Swing (seat), a (usually outdoors located) hanging seat suspended from a bar that swings back and forth Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus ,In playground Psit. Sj/(Shutterstock)

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Iowa parents are charged with murder after abandoning their 4-month-old son in a swing at their home, according to authorities Thursday.

Authorities arrested Cheyanne Harris, 20, and Zachary Koehn, 28, Wednesday for child endangerment and for first-degree murder.

The couple allegedly left their son, Sterling Koehn, abandoned in a baby swing at their Alta Vista, Iowa, home, reported CBS News. The parents’ preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 2. and they are held on a $100,000 cash bond.

Police and medics discovered their son dead on Aug. 30 with maggots on his clothing and skin.

Harris fed the baby at 9 a.m. but he was found dead two hours later, Koehn told authorities, according to The Kansas City Star. Despite Koehn’s claim, the evidence suggests that the baby did not have a diaper change, bath, or have been removed from the swing in over a week, according to a medical examiner.

“The cause of death was a failure to provide critical care,” according to a criminal complaint, adding: “The facts of this case go far beyond neglect and show circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life.”

The parents could receive life in prison if convicted.

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