(Indianola, Iowa/WHO-TV) — The trial of a Norwalk woman accused of murdering her newborn son back in February is being moved out of Warren County.  26-year-old Megan Staude is charged with first-degree murder in the baby’s death. On November 27th, a judge ruled in favor of a motion for her trial to be moved because of pretrial publicity. WHO-TV reports the judge said after seeing the responses to a juror questionnaire, it appeared that a significant portion of potential jurors had heard of the case and a significant portion of those jurors did not think they could be fair and impartial based on their previous knowledge of the case. A new trial venue has not been solidified yet but the court is eyeing Black Hawk County or Pottawattamie County as possible locations.

The defense and the State have tentatively agreed for the case to be heard in mid-June 2024. The trial is expected to take 10 days to two weeks to complete. The judge also ruled in favor of Megan Staude’s motion to sever her case from the case of her father, Rodney Staude. He is also charged with first-degree murder. Rodney Staude’s case is on hold while a competency evaluation is completed. Court documents revealed in September that he planned to use diminished responsibility as a defense during his trial.

Investigators say Megan Staude gave birth on February 24 at the family’s Norwalk home. According to court documents, she put the baby boy in a box and didn’t provide any care for him while he cried on and off for two days. After that Megan said and her father Rodney put the baby, who was still alive, into a plastic bag. Rodney allegedly discarded the baby’s body in a ditch in the 5300 block of Delaware Avenue.

The newborn’s body was discovered on March 9, one day after Megan’s co-workers expressed concern about the health and safety of the baby to the Norwalk Police Department.