Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A lawyer representing a high-profile Iowa murder suspect has removed a Facebook post in which he attacked another one of his clients as an “idiot” and “terrible criminal” who deserved to be jailed. Attorney Chad Frese says his post is being misinterpreted but that he doesn’t believe it violated ethical rules. Frese and his wife are representing Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who is charged with killing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. In the post, he described a dispute with another one of his clients.
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — Marshalltown Schools has paid nearly $603,000 in IRS penalties after a district employee failed to properly process payroll tax deposits for 14 months. The Marshalltown Times-Republican reports that former payroll tax specialist Allison Meyer resigned in June after the issue came to light. Officials say the district was required to make payroll tax deposits the day after employees were paid, but that didn’t happen.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A jury has found a Waterloo man guilty of manslaughter and child endangerment resulting in death for the 2017 beating death of his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son. The Courier reports that Walter Cordell Williams was convicted Friday in Black Hawk County District Court. The 24-year-old man faces more than 50 years in prison when he’s sentenced at a later date.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa father on trial for murder in the gruesome death of his infant son has taken the stand in his own defense and blamed the baby’s mother. The Courier reported that 29-year-old Zachary Paul Koehn took the stand Friday, saying he “put his trust in the wrong person” in expecting the boy’s mother to care for him. But under cross-examination from the prosecutor, Koehn admitted he took better care of his dog than he did 4-month-old Sterling Koehn.