Father charged with murder of 5-year-old son

A father faces a first-degree murder charge Tuesday in the death of his 5-year-old child.

According to a news release from the Marion Police Department, first responders were called to the 4100 block of Willowbrook Drive in Marion at 6 a.m. Tuesday for a report of an unconscious child. The 5-year-old boy was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to the release, the boy’s father, Matthew Schleier, 45, told police officers that he had strangled the child and that he was responsible for the boy’s death.

Schleier was arrested and, after consultation with the Linn County Attorney’s Office and assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, will be charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday. He is being held in the Linn County Jail.

The press release states that two other adults and an additional child were present in the home at the time of the ‘incident’. None of them were physically injured.

There is no threat to the community, the release said.

Schleier will make his first appearance on Wednesday morning.

The case is being investigated by the Marion Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the State Medical Examiner’s Office and the Linn County Attorney’s Office.