Kayleen Everlee Blaha was born to Taylor Blaha and Brandon Thoma on Nov. 16, 2022, in the bathtub of the couple’s apartment at the Wahkonsa Manor in downtown Fort Dodge. Throughout Taylor’s pregnancy, Abby and Lacie planned to adopt the infant once she was born, but they never got the chance as the newborn died in the same bathtub she was born in, at the hands of her biological parents shortly after the birth, in the morning hours of Nov. 17, 2022.

The news of Baby Kayleen Everlee gripped the Fort Dodge community for weeks as law enforcement mounted a massive search for the girl. A year later, the infant’s remains have never been located, but the family who loved her dearly felt it was time to formally lay her to rest.

“We need closure,” said Nancy Blaha, Kayleen Everlee’s grandmother.

A candlelight vigil and memorial service were held in the lobby of the Wahkonsa Manor on Friday evening, with family, friends and community members present.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Abby Blaha, enveloped by her father Kevin Blaha and her wife Lacie Blaha, shares about the daughter she never got to hold during a memorial service for Kayleen Everlee Blaha on Friday evening at the Wahkonsa Manor. Kayleen Everlee died shortly after her birth in November 2022 at the hands of her birth parents. Abby and Lacie Blaha had been planning to adopt the child when she was born.

“There was never a funeral service for Baby Kayleen, so we want this prayer service to be one that remembers her … that should be our focus, to bring the voices of peace and comfort and hope,” said the Rev. Dani Rogers, pastor at First Baptist Church. “We’re going to hear from her grandparents, from her prospective parents, in hopes that we can all move forward with some peace on this one-year anniversary. Most of all, I think we’re all seeking some comfort.”

Kayleen Everlee was very much a wanted child — Abby and Lacie Blaha looked forward to raising the child as their own. Taylor Blaha had told investigators that she and the child’s father had named her Kayleen, but later Abby and Lacie would share the name they had picked out — Everlee.

“She would have had a loving home,” Abby Blaha said of the daughter she never got to hold.

“We had everything we needed, we just needed her,” Lacie Blaha added.

During the vigil, Abby Blaha shared a letter she had written to Kayleen Everlee.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Kevin Blaha, grandfather of Kayleen Everlee Blaha, speaks at a candlelight vigil for his infant granddaughter on Friday evening at the Wahkonsa Manor. Kayleen Everlee died shortly after her birth in November 2022 at the hands of her parents.

“I may not have carried you in my belly, but I was attached to you emotionally, physically and mentally,” she said. “I really felt like I was your mom.”

Abby Blaha shared that the couple’s other daughter was so excited for a little sister, but the couple’s three sons were too young to understand what happened.

Kevin Blaha, Kayleen Everlee’s grandfather, shared the gratitude his family feels for the support they’ve received from various sources over the last year.

“Kayleen is never forgotten — we’ve thought of her this whole year,” Kevin Blaha said. “It’s been a very tough year for me and my family … and we’ve had a lot of support groups in this town that supported us through this whole thing.”

He highlighted the support and guidance that Rogers and her church has provided the family.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Members of the community hold up plastic candles during Friday's vigil for Kayleen Everlee Blaha, a newborn who died at the hands of her parents on Nov. 17, 2022. Blaha's family chose to have a public vigil and memorial service to help not only the family, but also the community, find closure from the tragedy.

“We needed God to get through this,” he said.

Friday’s vigil easily could have been a small, family-only gathering. But it was important to the Blaha family to invite the public.

“We need closure for this whole thing,” Kevin Blaha said. “Not just for our family, we need to bring closure for the community, too.”

When something tragic like this happens, it’s easy to dwell on the “why?,” Rogers said during her message. Instead, she said, we should look at the “how” — “How can this be used to better our community?”

This tragedy, she said, is what helped bring to Fort Dodge a state-of-the-art climate-controlled safety device — known as a Safe Haven Baby Box — to place an infant being surrendered under the Safe Haven law. The Fort Dodge baby box is the first in the state of Iowa and it literally took action by the state legislature to make it happen, Rogers noted.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Fort Dodge Police Officer Amy Stringer bows her head in prayer during Friday's candlelight vigil for Kayleen Everlee Blaha, a newborn who died at the hands of her parents on Nov. 17, 2022. Stringer was a detective with the Webster County Sheriff's Office at the time and worked on the case, interviewing the infant's mother and taking her confession.

The family asks that any memorials be shared with the Safe Haven Baby Box that was recently installed at the Fort Dodge Fire Department. A fund for the upkeep on the baby box has been set up by the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way at https://fd-foundation.org.

“We will continue to heal as a community,” Rogers said.

Tina Boysen, building manager at the Wahkonsa Manor, spoke briefly during the service and the Rev. Jena Finch-Manchester, of Trinity United Methodist Church, also gave a prayer.

Kayleen Everlee’s biological parents are both serving time in prison on felony charges related to the infant’s death. Taylor Blaha pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 35 years before she can be eligible for parole. Brandon Thoma pleaded guilty to child endangerment resulting in death and abuse of a corpse. He was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of 20 years.

At Thoma’s sentencing, Kevin Blaha had some angry words for the man during his victim impact statement, blaming Thoma for putting Taylor Blaha in the situation he did that led to the baby’s death. In the months since, Kevin Blaha’s been able to reflect on that and now says he’s no longer harboring that animosity and has found some forgiveness for him.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
David Blaha, 3, plays with a plastic candle while his aunt, Abby Blaha, holds him before a candlelight vigil Friday night for Kayleen Everlee Blaha, David's newborn sister who died at the hands of their parents a year ago. Abby Blaha and her wife, Lacie, were planning to adopt the newborn baby girl.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
A sketch drawn by a friend of the Blaha family depicts an image of how they view Kayleen Everlee Blaha as an angel. Blaha died at the hands of her parents on Nov. 17, 2022, shortly after her birth.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
David Blaha, 3, plays with a couple plastic candles during a candlelight vigil for his baby sister, Kayleen Everlee, who died at the hands of their parents on Nov. 17, 2022. The vigil was held Friday night at the Wahkonsa Manor to give Kayleen Everlee's family a chance to lay her to rest and find closure from the tragedy.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Jenna Rose, an aunt of Kayleen Everlee Blaha, holds a candle while listening to a prayer at a memorial service on Friday evening for Blaha, who died at the hands of her parents just hours after she was born on Nov. 17, 2022.