CHEYANNE RENAE HARRIS | Allowed 4-month-old Sterling Koehn to slowly die of malnutrition, dehydration and infection in a maggot-infested diaper in a back bedroom in her Alta Vista apartment over a period of weeks | ALS

Cheyanne Harris. Autographed Letter, Signed. Handwritten, Commercial #10 (4.125 × 9.5 envelope). Des Moines, IA. Pmk: January 29, 2024. Content unknown. SEALED.

An Iowa mom accused of letting her four-month-old son rot to death from extreme diaper rash wept in court after seeing pictures of the lifeless newborn in a maggot-infested swing.

Cheyanne Harris, 21, caused a break in her trial after seeing tragic Sterling Koehn dead in the swing in a dark, sweltering bedroom.

The images appeared to show him bleeding from the mouth wearing camouflage pants and a shirt with a cartoon cow above the words 'let's play'.

Harris – who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death – was arrested in August 2017 after medics found the baby.

Pictures from inside the Plymouth County Courthouse in Le Mars show drug user Harris breaking down in tears as she heard the evidence in her trial.

An autopsy showed the infant was underweight at 7 lbs. 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.

Prosecutor Coleman McAllister said: 'Evidence in this case will show Sterling suffered in the last hours and days before his death.'

The trial was moved to Le Mars in Plymouth County from Chickasaw County because of publicity.

Police said they found everything needed to care for the child, including new diapers and baby ointment to treat the rash, inside the home.

Koehn is said to have made $45,000 a year and had access to health insurance but witnesses told the court the apartment smelt of urine, feces and decay. The couple's other two-year-old daughter appeared healthy.

Baby Sterling's blanket was covered in urine and there were maggots on his clothing.

Chief Deputy Reed Palo said Harris told him she had fed the baby about four ounces the night before he was found.

A forensic entomologist said Sterling had been in his swing for nine to 14 days in the same diaper and said he had “not had a diaper change, bath, or been removed from the seat in over a week”.

Harris, who reported last using meth weeks before the death, had postpartum depression and was expected to use intoxication or diminished responsibility as a defense.

Defense attorney Nichole Watt said: 'The monster in this case is mental health. The monster in this case is depression.'

Zachary Paul Koehn, 29, of Alta Vista, was convicted in under two hours and received a mandatory prison sentence of life without parole for the child endangerment that caused the death of four-month-old Sterling Koehn.

Jordan Clark, a former friend of Koehn's, had testified that he wasn't even aware the man had a baby.ⁱ

VIDEO: Sterling Koehn: The Baby Left to Die In A Swing | https://youtu.be/p5-RExsVST4

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