Iowa Supreme Court denies further review of Plymouth woman’s child endangerment convictions

DES MOINES — The Iowa Supreme Court has denied further review of the case of a Plymouth woman convicted of two counts of child endangerment, one resulting in death and the other resulting in serious injury.

32-year-old Allyssa Luke was convicted by a Cerro Gordo County jury in February 2024 of the two charges and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Luke was accused of knowingly creating substantial risk to a pair of three-month-old children by deprivation of proper nutrition. That resulted in late February 2021 in the death of one of the children, while the other was near death.

Luke had appealed the case, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting her convictions, and also contending that the district court abused its discretion by denying her motion for a new trial based on the weight of the evidence, improper statements made by the prosecutor during closing arguments, and the admission of cumulative and prejudicial autopsy photos.

The Iowa Court of Appeals in August rejected Luke’s appeal, disagreeing with all of her claims.

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday denied further review in the case.