The infant was not a daycare client, officials said, as the employee charged in her death now awaits further court proceedings.
PERRY, Iowa — From the first hours of an investigation into a newborn found dead at an Iowa child care facility, police and the organization operating the center emphasized one point: The infant was not enrolled there and had never been placed in the daycare’s care.
That distinction became important after officers discovered the baby girl Sept. 15 in a trash container at Acorns & Oaks Child Care, part of a Perry Lutheran Homes campus. The location naturally raised questions about the children who attended the center and the residents who shared the larger campus. Perry police said no daycare client was involved and that investigators did not believe there was a continuing threat to the community. Perry Lutheran Homes likewise said enrolled children and residents were not part of the incident and that their safety and care had not been affected.
The criminal investigation instead focused on an employee, Stephanie Ubaldo, then 20, who authorities say gave birth while working at the facility. What first drew emergency responders to the campus was Ubaldo’s medical condition. Dallas County emergency medical personnel were called during the late afternoon for a report that a woman was experiencing vaginal bleeding. She was evaluated and transported to a hospital in the Des Moines area, leaving the child care facility before police publicly disclosed that an infant might also be involved.
According to court records described in local reporting, Ubaldo told hospital staff that she had given birth in a daycare bathroom and put the newborn in the garbage. Perry police were notified shortly after 6:20 p.m. that a premature infant might be inside a trash container. Officers searched the area and found the baby dead inside a trash bag at approximately 6:32 p.m. A death investigator was called, and the infant’s body was transferred to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny for examination.
The discovery transformed a workplace medical call into a death investigation involving Perry police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Officers interviewed Ubaldo, and the allegations that emerged went beyond the disposal of the infant’s body. Court records cited by news organizations say Ubaldo told investigators that she had known for several months that she was pregnant without telling anyone. Authorities allege that after the delivery she heard the baby crying and deliberately injured the infant’s face in an attempt to stop the crying.
Investigators also allege that Ubaldo planned to resume her work duties after the birth. The criminal complaint says continued bleeding prevented her from doing so, leading to the emergency medical response that ultimately preceded the discovery. Authorities have not released a complete public account of who was present in the facility during every stage of the incident, whether anyone witnessed the delivery or what staff members knew before medical help was summoned. The publicly available allegations focus primarily on Ubaldo’s reported statements and the physical evidence described in court records.
The medical examiner’s work provided another piece of the prosecution’s early case. Reporting based on court filings says the baby was between approximately 32 and 36 weeks’ gestation. The infant had multiple injuries, and the death was classified as a homicide. Officials have not publicly released the complete autopsy record through the sources reviewed for this report. The homicide classification means the death was attributed to another person’s actions, but it does not itself decide whether Ubaldo committed a criminal offense or establish the elements prosecutors must prove.
Perry police arrested Ubaldo on Sept. 17, two days after the infant was found. Police Chief Jim Archer said investigators had reached a point where criminal charges could be filed but described the investigation as continuing. The initial arrest was for first-degree murder. More recent court reporting says Ubaldo now faces both first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. She has entered a not-guilty plea, placing the charges in dispute and requiring the state to prove its case if the prosecution proceeds to trial.
The two charges address different alleged conduct. Iowa treats first-degree murder as a Class A felony, the state’s most serious class of felony, and an adult convicted of that offense faces life imprisonment. The state’s abuse-of-a-corpse statute is a Class C felony and includes hiding or burying a human corpse with the intent to conceal a crime. Prosecutors have not yet presented their full trial theory in open court in the reporting reviewed for this story, and the filing of either charge must not be treated as a finding of guilt.
The daycare setting has remained one of the case’s most visible features even though authorities say the deceased infant was never a daycare client. Acorns & Oaks operates within Perry Lutheran Homes, which issued a statement after the discovery addressing families and the wider community. The organization said, “No children enrolled at Acorns & Oaks or residents of the shared campus were involved.” That early reassurance helped separate the criminal investigation from the center’s responsibility for children who had been entrusted to its care.
Police also used the arrest announcement to discuss Iowa’s Newborn Safe Haven Act. The law allows a parent, or another authorized person, to relinquish an infant up to 90 days old at approved locations without prosecution for abandonment when statutory requirements are met. Iowa Health and Human Services lists hospitals, qualifying health facilities, staffed fire stations, newborn safety devices and adoption service providers among the available options. A parent can also call 911 and turn an infant over to the responding first responder. Archer said local surrender options were available in Perry.
Those comments added a prevention and public-awareness component to a case otherwise centered on criminal allegations. They did not establish why Ubaldo allegedly acted as investigators say she did. The available public record does not provide a verified motive, does not explain the circumstances behind the undisclosed pregnancy and does not show whether she knew about or considered the Safe Haven law. Authorities have alleged intentional conduct after the birth, while questions about her personal circumstances remain separate unless evidence makes them relevant in court.
Since the arrest, attention has shifted from the daycare campus to the Dallas County court system. Ubaldo has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse and has waived her right to a speedy trial, according to court reporting. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec. 4 at the Dallas County Courthouse, while no trial date has been announced. Dallas County jail records continued to list her in custody in early November. The case therefore remains pending, with the state’s allegations unproven and the defense entitled to challenge the evidence against her.
Author note: Last updated November 6, 2026.