Alta Vista residents charged with murder in death of their child

Press staff report

Two Alta Vista residents have been charged with first-degree murder after an almost two-month-long investigation into the death of their baby.

Zachary Paul Koehn and Cheyanne Renae Harris were arrested Wednesday and charged with murder and with child endangerment causing death.

The Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office and emergency medical services responded about 1 p.m. Aug. 30 to apartments on Hilltop Avenue in Alta Vista, following a 911 call reporting that a nearly 4-month-old child was unresponsive.

Responders found the child dead in his infant swing, according to a report from the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office. Koehn and Harris were the biological

parents and primary caregivers of the child, the report said.

The Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office started an investigation and requested the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Arrest warrants were issued Wednesday for Koehn and Harris in relation to the death of their child, and they are are being held on $100,000 cash-only bond. Murder in the first degree is a Class A felony and child endangerment causing death is a Class B felony.

The Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Charles City Police Department, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and Mitchell County Sheriff’s office in locating and arresting Koehn and Harris, the sheriff’s report said.

The Sheriff’s Office was also assisted by the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office and Chickasaw County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Anyone with information regarding the death of the child is asked to contact Chickasaw County Chief Deputy Reed Palo at 641-394-3121.