An Iowa teen, charged in connection with the death of his baby boy, was released from jail.
Drew Weehler-Smith, 17, was charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death after his four-month-old son, Gabriel, died while in his care. An autopsy showed the baby died of abusive head trauma.
Gabriel’s 16-year-old mother had decided not to give him up for adoption the month before the baby died.
Weehler-Smith’s bond was set at $500,000 for the murder charge plus $300,000 for the child endangerment charge. Court records indicated 10% could be posted, and that Weehler-Smith would be released then but monitored by an ankle bracelet.
Court records show $80,000 cash bond was posted June 3, 2014, to secure Weehler-Smith’s release from the Polk County Jail.
He was next scheduled to appear in court June 13 for an arraignment and July 3 for a pre-trial conference. Trial was set for August 4.
