A young Oskaloosa mother is now charged in the death of her infant daughter. Authorities announced late Tuesday that they had arrested 20-year-old Alicia Ritenour in the death of her 18- month-old child, Ava. Alicia Ritenour has been charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death.
On January 24th, the Oskaloosa Police Department was dispatched to the Southern Hills Apartment Complex in Oskaloosa after receiving a 911 call. At the scene, officers found Ava dead. The State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and determined the cause of death to be trauma to the head. The manner death was also fixed as homicide.
The Division of Criminal Investigation, the Oskaloosa Police Department, and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office is continuing to investigate the death.
(Reporting Charlie Comfort, KBOE, Oskaloosa)