Fort Dodge man sentenced to prison in death of newborn

FORT DODGE — A Fort Dodge man was sentenced Friday for his involvement in the death of his newborn daughter.

Thirty-two-year-old Brandon Thoma was originally charged with first-degree murder along with the child’s mother, Taylor Blaha. Thoma pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of child endangerment causing death and was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison, and also pled guilty to an abuse of a corpse charge and was sentenced to 10 years on that charge. He will serve the sentences at the same time.

During his change of plea hearing, Thoma told the court that he removed the baby’s body from the apartment and threw it into a dumpster. Although area agencies searched for the baby’s body throughout downtown Fort Dodge and at the landfill, the body was not recovered.

Blaha pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last month and was sentenced to 50 years in prison.