Randy Lee Blanchard, originally charged with child endangerment in an alleged shaking incident involving his infant daughter, is now being charged with first degree murder.
The 12-day-old infant, Aliya Blanchard, died Monday while being treated in the intensive care unit of Saint Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minn. She was the child of Blanchard and Annette Eilderts, both residents of Nashua.
On Tuesday, Feb. 5, law enforcement responded to a call from Covenant Hospital in Waterloo. Hospital security reported that an infant had been transferred there from Floyd County Memorial Hospital with injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome. The infant was immediately transferred from Covenant to the medical facility in Rochester, where she remained until her death. An autopsy is being conducted today in Rochester.
Blanchard, 31, was arrested on Feb. 8 in Rochester and charged with felony child endangerment causing serious injury. He was transported to the Olmstead County Sheriff's Office. This morning, he was additionally charged with first degree murder. He waived extradition back to Iowa.
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