An Iowa woman convicted of killing her newborn son is set to face sentencing after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in a case that shocked the local community. Megan Staude, 28, of Norwalk, will appear in Warren County Courthouse in Indianola for her sentencing hearing, which was scheduled for September 22, 2025.
The case came to light in March 2023 when the remains of a newborn baby were found in a ditch near Norwalk. Police began investigating after Staude’s coworkers noticed she was no longer pregnant but had not mentioned having a baby. Initially, both Staude and her father told investigators that the baby had died on the way to the hospital and was buried at St. John’s Cemetery in Cumming.
