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Crime

Kamryn Schlitter was a happy and healthy 17-month-old until she ended up in the care of her father, Zyriah Schlitter, and his ex-girlfriend, Amy Jo Parmer.

On March 21st, 2010, Parmer called 911, saying that Kamryn was unresponsive. The child was taken to the hospital with head injuries caused by shaking or her head being slammed against something.

She also had bruises & scratches that were a few weeks old. Medical personnel concluded she had another severe head injury that was a few weeks old, indicating a similar incident had occurred before.

Doctors performed surgeries, including one that removed part of her skull, but after 7 days, she passed away.

Police started investigating and learned Parmer told her ex-boyfriend she “took the life of an 18-month-old”. One of Parmer’s friends told authorities that Palmer stated, “I might have killed a kid”.

Police charged both Zyriah and Parmer with the murder of Kamryn. Authorities felt they were both abusing the girl or not protecting her from the other’s abuse.

Legal Proceedings

After a four-week trial, Parmer was convicted on September 23, 2013, of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment resulting in Death.

She returned to court for sentencing on December 13, 2013. Kamryn’s mother, Nicole King,  spoke at the hearing. She blamed Parmer while showing support for Zyriah, saying, “I will be at every parole (hearing) fighting to keep you in prison and at Zyriah’s fighting to free him long before you.”

Nicole’s mother and Kamryn’s grandmother, Jeri King,  spoke of still hearing Kamryn’s “silly, little giggling echoing through my head.”

Parmer cried at times during the hearing, but she did not speak. The judge sentenced her to 50 years in prison.

She was sent to the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville, IA, to serve her sentence.

Zyriah was convicted of the exact charges and received the same sentence.

There was no mandatory minimum, so they were both eligible for parole immediately.

Aftermath

In 2016, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Zyriah’s conviction on child endangerment resulting in death should be thrown out because he was not at home when the fatal injuries were inflicted. The court ruled that his attorney was ineffective and should have sought a dismissal of the charge.

Zyriah was facing a second trial for child endangerment resulting in death in 2017, but KCRG reported in August 2017, that he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of child neglect and was sentenced to probation. Since he had already completed his involuntary manslaughter sentence, he was not required to serve any more prison time.

Parmer had been denied parole at each hearing until November 4th, 2025, when, according to the Iowa Offender Search, the 42-year-old was granted “work release with parole.”