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Friday, January 24, 2025

UPDATE: Parents Charged with Child Endangerment After Infant Seriously Injured in Iowa Incident

UPDATE: Parents Charged with Child Endangerment After Infant Seriously Injured in Iowa Incident

An update on this story: On Tuesday, January 21st,  First-Degree Murder charges were formally filed against the male individual. Additionally, the charges against both parents were amended from child endangerment with serious injury to child endangerment resulting in death.

(Charter Oak, IA) An infant was severely harmed due to the delayed response in seeking medical attention following an incident of neglect.

Court records reveal that on the day of the injury, 23-year-old Chad Gibbs, from Charter Oak, was holding his infant when he fell down a set of stairs, causing the baby's head to strike a door frame. Additionally, Gibbs dropped the infant from a height of approximately three to four feet. Despite the baby's visible distress, Gibbs did not seek medical help until several hours later, when the baby lost her pulse. At that point, emergency responders were contacted.

The baby's mother, 22-year-old Sarah Lembke, also from Charter Oak, reportedly failed to recognize the seriousness of the situation. Although she admitted that the baby had been crying incessantly for five hours and had developed a bruise on her face, Lembke did not suspect that Gibbs might have been responsible for the injury. Court documents also note that Gibbs had a previous history of causing harm to Lembke’s children.

Gibbs himself admitted to having caused earlier harm to the infant, stating that six days prior to this incident, he had accidentally elbowed the baby and, frustrated by the baby's crying, had squeezed her tightly to his chest.

Both Gibbs and Lembke now face charges of child endangerment resulting in serious injury.

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