Iowa City man faces first-degree murder charge in woman’s death

An Iowa City man faces a murder charge in connection with the death of the mother of his child earlier this year.

Joshua Perry, 34, remains jailed on a $1 million cash-only bail Tuesday on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Victoria Skarda, 33.

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Police say Perry called 911 on Jan. 6 and reported that a girl was passed out and cold inside his Iowa City residence. When emergency crews and law enforcement arrived, they identified Skarda, who lived in the home with Perry and was the mother of his child.

An autopsy determined Skarda’s death was caused by cardiorespiratory arrest, the criminal complaint states. Investigators determined that Perry had assaulted Skarda on the morning of Jan. 6, the criminal complaint states.

Iowa City police previously had responded to the same address for reported domestic altercations, the complaint states, including a Dec. 7, 2021, incident where Skarda was heard yelling that she was unable to breathe and shouted, “Take your hands off my neck.”

Perry has been jailed since shortly after Skarda’s death and was facing domestic abuse and child endangerment charges as the investigation continued. Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann-Smith filed a motion to dismiss the lesser charges Monday, court records show.

According to a criminal complaint filed with the domestic abuse charge, police believe Perry assaulted Skarda at 3:30 a.m. Jan. 6. She sent a message to a family member after the assault indicating she had been assaulted, and witnesses reported hearing a fight inside Perry and Skarda’s apartment at that time. Perry called the police almost six hours later, at 9:19 a.m., to report Skarda’s death.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Perry faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

An obituary for Skarda describes her as “the sparkle and sunshine that this world needed more of. She was warm and engaging and could get anyone to open up to her.”

She was born and raised in Iowa City and graduated from West High in 2010. She worked as a perioperative clerk at University of Iowa Health Care and loved spending time with her family and traveling, according to the obituary.

“She could make the little things in life feel special,” the obituary reads.