REMEMBERING STERLING

Sterling Koehn was only four months old when he died. He had barely begun his life. At four months, Sterling should have been learning the faces and voices of the people around him, becoming more alert to his surroundings and discovering the world from the safety of the arms of the adults responsible for caring for him. Instead, much of what remains publicly documented about Sterling concerns the prolonged neglect he endured. Sterling lived with his parents, Zachary Koehn and Cheyanne Harris, and his two year old sister in a small apartment in Alta Vista, Iowa. His sister was healthy and cared for. The adults in the home were eating and functioning normally. Sterling was not. He was a baby entirely dependent upon other people for food, clean clothing, comfort, medical attention and protection. None of those responsibilities belonged to Sterling. They belonged to the adults around him.

STERLING’S STORY

During the summer of 2017, Sterling's condition deteriorated inside his family's apartment.

Evidence later presented in court established that he was not receiving adequate food or basic care. He became severely malnourished and dehydrated. His diaper was not changed for an extended period. The resulting diaper rash became severe enough to break down his skin. Flies laid eggs in the soiled diaper and clothing, and forensic evidence later indicated that Sterling had remained in that condition for approximately nine to fourteen days. The wounds became infected. E. coli entered his bloodstream through the damaged skin. Sterling was dying while living in the same small apartment as both of his parents. His older sister remained healthy and adequately nourished. Prosecutors later emphasized this contrast when arguing that Sterling's condition could not reasonably have gone unnoticed. On August 30, 2017, Zachary Koehn called 911. He told the dispatcher that Cheyanne had fed Sterling that morning and that the baby had appeared fine. He said that when she checked on him later, Sterling was dead. Emergency responders arrived at the family's Alta Vista apartment. Sterling was found dead in a mechanical baby swing. He was four months old. The condition of his body immediately raised serious concerns about the explanation his father had given. The medical examiner determined that Sterling had died from malnutrition, dehydration and infection. His death was ruled a homicide. Investigators determined that Sterling's death was not the result of a sudden illness or an unexplained infant death. He had died because the basic care necessary to keep a four month old baby alive had not been provided. Both of his parents were eventually charged with his murder.

WARNING SIGNS

There were indications before Sterling's death that he was not thriving normally. Testimony at Cheyanne Harris's trial included evidence from a babysitter who had cared for Sterling and his older sister. She remembered Sterling appearing underweight and having diaper rash. By the time Sterling died, however, his condition had progressed far beyond an ordinary diaper rash. He was severely malnourished and dehydrated. His skin had deteriorated from prolonged exposure to a soiled diaper. The resulting infection had entered his bloodstream. Forensic evidence indicated that the neglect had continued for many days rather than occurring during a single brief lapse in care. The evidence also showed that Sterling's parents and his two year old sister were adequately nourished while Sterling deteriorated in the same apartment. The sources reviewed for Sterling's case do not establish that child protective services or another government agency had received a report about Sterling and failed to intervene before his death. 

JUSTICE FOR STERLING

Zachary Koehn and Cheyanne Harris were both charged with first degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death. They were tried separately. At Zachary's trial, prosecutors presented evidence demonstrating the prolonged nature of Sterling's neglect and challenged Zachary's claim that he had relied on Cheyanne to care for their son. The jury convicted Zachary of first degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death. He received the mandatory sentence for first degree murder in Iowa: life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Zachary appealed his convictions. On November 4, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed them.

 

Zachary Paul Koehn

Relationship to Sterling: Father

Conviction(s): First degree murder; Child endangerment resulting in death

Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole

 

Cheyanne Harris was tried separately. On February 6, 2019, a jury found her guilty of first degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death. She was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The child endangerment count merged with the murder conviction for sentencing purposes.

Cheyanne also appealed. On January 21, 2021, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed her judgment and sentence for first degree murder.

 

Cheyanne Renae Harris

Relationship to Sterling: Mother

Conviction(s): First degree murder; Child endangerment resulting in death

Sentence: Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole

FOREVER REMEMBERED

Sterling's life lasted only four months. The criminal cases that followed his death produced pages of testimony, forensic evidence, court opinions and descriptions of the conditions in which he was found. Those records are necessary because they establish what happened to him and hold the adults responsible for his death accountable.

But Sterling was more than evidence in two murder trials. He was a baby. He entered the world entirely dependent upon other people, as every baby does. He deserved to be fed when he was hungry. He deserved a clean diaper when he was wet or uncomfortable. He deserved to be picked up when he cried. He deserved medical attention when his skin became injured or infected. Most of all, he deserved adults who noticed him. Sterling should have grown beyond the baby swing in which he spent so much of his final days. He should have learned to sit. Then crawl. Then walk. There should have been first words, birthdays, school pictures and an entire childhood between Sterling's infancy and adulthood. Instead, his life ended before he was even five months old. The circumstances of Sterling's death are difficult to read. They should be. But they are not the measure of Sterling's worth. His life mattered before anyone entered a courtroom. He mattered when he was born. He mattered during every one of his four months. And he matters now. Abuse Angels remembers Sterling Daniel Koehn. Remembered. Honored. Never Forgotten.