Wrongful death lawsuit filed in girl's death in Hiawatha

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in the case of Kamryn Schlitter, the 18-month-old Cedar Rapids girl whose death last year was ruled a homicide.

Kamryn died March 28 at an Iowa City hospital, one week after medics found her suffering from seizure-like symptoms inside an apartment at 245 Clymer Rd. in Hiawatha. According to her death certificate, she died from “non-accidental (inflicted) trauma” to the head.

In the civil lawsuit, filed Jan. 27 in Linn County District Court, Kamryn's mother, Nicole King, accuses the girl's father, Zyriah Schlitter, of Cedar Rapids, and Amy Parmer, of Hiawatha, of “beating and abuse” that led to Kamryn's death.

No criminal charges have been filed in the case. Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said Wednesday the investigation is “active and ongoing,” but declined to answer specific questions.

“Obviously this is a very grave and serious matter, involving the death of a young child,” Vander Sanden said. “It's a matter that our office takes seriously, and we are working together with the (Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation) and the Hiawatha Police Department in an effort to resolve this case.”

Local daycare Apple Kids, Inc., owner Kendran Imhoff and former owner Lisa Burkle are also named as defendants in the civil lawsuit. The lawsuit accuses the daycare of failing to report a bruise on Kamryn to the Iowa Department of Human Services.

King seeks “all damages for which recovery may be allowed,” including physical and mental pain and suffering endured by Kamryn, health care costs and losses to Kamryn's estate.

According to the lawsuit, Kamryn normally lived with King, but she was temporarily in the custody of Schlitter and Parmer in the weeks leading up to her death. During the same time, she attended Apple Kids daycare.

Prior to Kamryn's death, a daycare employee allegedly noticed a bruise on Kamryn that had been covered up by make-up, according to the lawsuit. King accuses the employee of photographing the bruise, but failing to report it to DHS.

About one week later, daycare employees found more bruising on Kamryn and did make a report to DHS, the lawsuit claims. DHS began an investigation, but Kamryn died before any action was taken, according to the lawsuit.

“The wrongful actions, errors and omissions of all defendants were a proximate result of Kamryn Schlitter's death and the injuries and damage suffered by the plaintiff,” the lawsuit reads.

Parmer entered a written plea of not guilty, according to court documents.

Messages left for Parmer and for Schlitter's attorney, Michael Lindeman, were not returned. Reached at the daycare Wednesday, Imhoff declined to comment.

Vander Sanden would not say Wednesday whether criminal charges are imminent, but in an interview last December with SourceMedia Group, he described what it takes to file a criminal charge.

“The medical examiner is in a position to make a determination about what the medical cause of death was, but as far as filing a criminal charge, it's not enough to know that a crime was committed,” Vander Sanden said. “As a part to that, you need to know who committed that crime.”

Jeri King, Kamryn's maternal grandmother, said she wants the person or persons responsible for her granddaughter's death to be held accountable.

“We're still striving for justice, and we're not going away,” Jeri King said. “We want to keep her memory alive, because Kamryn deserves better.”

NOTE: An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information about Zyriah Schlitter's response to the lawsuit. That information has since been deleted.