MARION, Iowa (KCRG) - A Marion dad who admitted to planning his son’s death before strangling him last year is advancing his court case.

Matthew Schleier, 46, waived his right to a jury trial Wednesday. He was arrested last year.

According to the criminal complaint, Marion Police officers were called to a home in the 4100-block of Willowbrook Drive at 5:57 a.m. October 29, 2024, for a report of a 5-year-old boy who was not breathing.

At the scene, paramedics asked the mother how she found the child, who is only identified as “J.S.” The mother told paramedics “his dad strangled him.” An officer with the Marion Police Department asked Matthew Schleier if that was true and he admitted to strangling his son.

Paramedics tried saving the boy at the scene. He was taken to a local hospital w

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