Northeast Iowa Man Charged in 2022 Death of Four-Month-Old

A northeast Iowa man, already facing various drug charges, has been accused of causing the death of a toddler last September.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office says an eleven-month investigation has led to the Fayette County Attorney’s office charging 33-year-old Joshua Rueben Christen of Postville with child endangerment causing death, a Class “B” felony. The child was Christen’s 4-month-old daughter.

On September 2, 2022, Sheriff’s deputies and emergency personnel responded to 245th Street North in Elgin for a four-month-old female unresponsive and not breathing. The child was transported to Palmer Hospital in West Union where she was pronounced dead.

With the assistance from the Iowa DCI,  and state and county medical examiner’s office, it was determined Christen was under the influence of a narcotic while the child was in his care. An autopsy showed the child had methamphetamine in her system at the time of death. Authorities say Christen knowingly acted in a manner that created the death of the girl by asphyxiation.

Sheriff Marty Fisher says the investigation is ongoing with more charges possible. If convicted could Christen face up to 50 years in prison.

Christen has been in the Fayette County Jail since May on unrelated drug charges. Court records show that in February, Christen was arrested in West Union for gathering where controlled substances are used, plus possession of about 10 grams of meth, a gram of marijuana, and almost 14 grams of psychedelic mushrooms. His trial on those charges has been continued and reset for September 18th in Fayette County District Court.