Stephanie Ubaldo remains in custody as a December pretrial conference approaches in a case that began with an emergency call from her workplace.

PERRY, Iowa — A 20-year-old daycare worker accused of killing her newborn daughter after giving birth in a bathroom at work has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, moving a case that began with a medical emergency in September into its pretrial stage.

Stephanie Ubaldo entered the not-guilty plea after authorities accused her of giving birth Sept. 15 at Acorns & Oaks Child Care in Perry, injuring the crying infant and putting the baby in a trash bag. Court reporting says Ubaldo has waived her right to a speedy trial, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec. 4 at the Dallas County Courthouse. No trial date had been announced as of early November. Dallas County jail records continued to list Ubaldo in custody. The charges remain allegations, and the plea means prosecutors must prove them in court.

The current charges sharpen the legal stakes beyond the first reports of the case. Perry police initially announced Ubaldo’s arrest on a first-degree murder charge two days after the infant was found. Later court reporting also listed abuse of a corpse. Under Iowa law, first-degree murder is a Class A felony and carries life imprisonment for an adult upon conviction. Iowa’s abuse-of-a-corpse statute is a Class C felony and covers conduct including hiding a human corpse with the intent to conceal a crime. The filing of those charges does not establish that Ubaldo committed either offense.

The case began before police knew they were dealing with an infant death. On the afternoon of Sept. 15, Dallas County emergency medical personnel were sent to Acorns & Oaks Child Care for a report that a woman was experiencing serious vaginal bleeding. Police information released at the time placed the dispatch shortly before 5 p.m. Emergency crews evaluated the woman, later identified as Ubaldo, and transported her to a Des Moines-area hospital. At that point, the public account from authorities described a medical response rather than a homicide investigation.

According to court records described by local news organizations, Ubaldo told medical personnel at the hospital that she had given birth in a bathroom at the daycare and had put the baby in the garbage. That information changed the nature of the response. At about 6:22 p.m., Perry officers were notified that a premature infant might be inside a trash container at the facility. Police arrived and found the baby girl dead inside a trash bag at about 6:32 p.m., according to the department’s initial account. A death investigator joined the case, and the infant was sent to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner.

Investigators later interviewed Ubaldo about the pregnancy and delivery. Court records cited by Iowa news outlets say she told investigators that she had known for several months that she was pregnant but had not disclosed the pregnancy. Authorities allege that after giving birth, Ubaldo heard the infant crying and deliberately injured the baby’s face in an effort to stop the crying. The complaint also says Ubaldo intended to return to work after the delivery but was unable to do so because of her continued bleeding. Those statements are part of the prosecution’s allegations and have not been tested at trial.

The medical examiner’s findings became another central part of the case. Reporting based on court records said the infant was estimated to have been between 32 and 36 weeks’ gestation and had multiple injuries. The death was classified as a homicide. A homicide finding by a medical examiner describes the manner in which a death occurred; the criminal responsibility for that death is determined through the court process. Authorities have not publicly released a full evidentiary record showing what testimony, forensic findings or other evidence prosecutors intend to present if the case reaches trial.

Police also made an important distinction about the location of the discovery. The infant was not enrolled at Acorns & Oaks and was not a child who had been placed in the daycare’s care, authorities said. Acorns & Oaks operates on a Perry Lutheran Homes campus. In a statement after the infant was discovered, Perry Lutheran Homes said children enrolled at the daycare and residents on the shared campus had not been involved in the incident and that their care had not been affected. Police said during the early investigation that they did not believe there was a broader threat to the community.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation assisted Perry police. Ubaldo was arrested Sept. 17 and booked into the Dallas County Jail. Police Chief Jim Archer said at the time that the arrest marked a milestone rather than the end of the investigation. That distinction remains important as the case moves through court: an arrest and criminal complaint establish the accusations prosecutors are pursuing, while a conviction would require proof under the standards of the criminal justice system. Ubaldo’s not-guilty plea formally contests the charges, and no court has found her guilty.

Archer also used the arrest announcement to call attention to Iowa’s Newborn Safe Haven Act. The state law allows a parent, or another person authorized by a parent, to relinquish an infant who is up to 90 days old at approved locations without fear of prosecution for abandonment when the requirements of the law are met. Iowa Health and Human Services says approved options include hospitals and other qualifying health facilities, staffed fire stations, newborn safety devices and adoption service providers. A parent may also call 911 and relinquish physical custody to a responding first responder.

The Safe Haven discussion became part of the public response to the case because authorities said there were designated surrender options in the Perry area. The law, however, is separate from the criminal allegations prosecutors have filed against Ubaldo. The pending case is based on the state’s claim that the newborn was intentionally injured and killed and that the body was subsequently concealed. The Safe Haven law provides a lawful method for relinquishing a living infant and immunity from prosecution for abandonment under qualifying circumstances; it does not resolve the factual disputes that now must be addressed in Ubaldo’s criminal case.

The prosecution’s case will ultimately turn on admissible evidence rather than the early accounts that accompanied Ubaldo’s arrest. Publicly reported court records describe statements investigators say she made, the circumstances in which the infant was discovered and the medical examiner’s findings. Defense arguments have not been described in comparable detail in the public reporting reviewed for this story. A not-guilty plea does not require a defendant to offer an alternative account at the outset, and prosecutors retain the burden of proving each charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

Ubaldo remained listed in Dallas County custody in early November. Her next publicly reported milestone is the Dec. 4 pretrial conference at the Dallas County Courthouse. She has waived her right to a speedy trial, according to court reporting, and no trial date has been set. Until the case is resolved by plea, dismissal or trial, the allegations in the criminal complaint remain unproven.

Author note: Last updated November 6, 2026.