Babysitter testifies doomed infant seemed lightweight

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — A woman who says she babysat an Iowa infant who was later left to die in a baby swing testified at the mother’s trial that the baby seemed underweight.

Jennifer Schriever, who had been a neighbor of 21-year-old Cheyanne Harris’, testified Thursday during the second day of Harris’ murder trial that she offered to babysit for Harris in July 2017. Schriever said the first time she babysat, Harris left then-3-month-old Sterling Koehn and a 2-year-old girl with her for 17 hours. Schriever said the baby had a raw diaper rash and seemed underweight, but ate hungrily.

Schriever said she babysat one other time before the baby was found dead Aug. 30, 2017. An autopsy shows he died of malnutrition, dehydration and an E. coli infection caused by being left in a maggot-infested diaper for up to two weeks.

The boy’s father, Zachary Koehn, already has been sentenced to life in prison.