Investigators say a pan of lasagna was laced with oxycodone and delivered to a family with a pregnant woman in late December.

DECORAH, Iowa — Authorities in northeastern Iowa say two Decorah residents carried out a plan to deliver a pan of oxycodone-laced lasagna to a family that included a pregnant woman, setting off a months-long investigation that ended in felony charges and a second arrest late in March.

The case drew unusual attention because investigators say the meal was not random contamination but a targeted attempt to end a pregnancy without the woman’s knowledge. Winneshiek County authorities say the dish was prepared, delivered and eaten on Dec. 28, 2025, then tested weeks later after a report to law enforcement. By late March, prosecutors had charged Amber Dena Snow, 36, and Matthew Louis Uthoff, 35, with drug, child-endangerment and pregnancy-related felonies, while officials said the investigation was still active.

According to the sheriff’s office, the case began when deputies were contacted in January about a family-size pan of lasagna that may have been laced with a controlled substance. Investigators from the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office worked with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Decorah police and the county attorney’s office as they traced what happened before and after the meal reached another household. Authorities say electronic communications and online search history on the defendants’ devices helped map out the timeline. The lasagna had been prepared and delivered on Dec. 28, and officials later concluded the meal was intended for a woman in the receiving family who was pregnant at the time. The woman did not know about the alleged scheme and did not consent to any drug being put in her food, investigators said.

Snow was arrested March 10 and booked into the Winneshiek County Jail after warrants were issued. Authorities first described another person as a co-conspirator but did not immediately file public charges against that person. On March 26, investigators arrested Uthoff and said he faced the same counts as Snow. Both defendants are accused of delivering oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, and both are charged with intentionally terminating a human pregnancy without the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person. They also face two counts each of administering a harmful substance to an adult and two counts each of administering a harmful substance to a juvenile, plus child endangerment. Officials have not publicly said whether the pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage, and that remains one of the central unanswered questions in the case.

Records described by local news outlets added family ties to the investigation. Snow is reported to share custody of a juvenile child with a person related to the pregnant woman’s family, a detail that investigators say helps explain how the defendants knew the household. Authorities also said Snow’s child was present when the lasagna was made, delivered and eaten and was opposed to the plan. That allegation appears to underlie the child-endangerment count. The criminal allegations suggest the meal reached a home with both adults and children present, which prosecutors say widened the risk beyond the intended target. Testing at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory later confirmed the presence of oxycodone in the food, giving investigators a physical piece of evidence to match the digital trail they say they found on phones and accounts.

The legal path has moved in stages. After the January report, officers obtained several warrants during what the sheriff’s office called a lengthy investigation. Snow was first jailed on a $100,000 cash bond. Later reports said Uthoff also was being held in the county jail on a $100,000 bond after his March 26 arrest. The sheriff’s office has said additional charges and arrests were possible, a sign that prosecutors may still be reviewing the acts of others who had knowledge of the meal or were present around its delivery. The Iowa court system’s public docket serves as the next place to watch for hearings, bond rulings and any trial setting. For now, the defendants stand accused, and the allegations remain to be tested in court.

Even in a county that sees its share of criminal cases, the details made this one stand out. Investigators were describing an everyday dish, carried to another family like a normal act of generosity, but paired with a narcotic and an allegation of deliberate reproductive harm. The contrast between the setting and the charge helped drive public attention as local stations and national outlets followed the case. Still, the official record remains narrow in key places. Authorities have not released the pregnant woman’s name, have not said how much oxycodone was found in the lasagna, and have not described whether anyone became visibly ill after eating it. Those gaps matter because they will shape how prosecutors argue intent, danger and injury as the case moves forward.

As of Monday, both defendants had been publicly named and charged, the sheriff’s office still described the investigation as open, and the next major developments were expected to come through court filings, bond proceedings and any further arrests or amended charges.

Author note: Last updated April 6, 2026.