Iowa City mother accused of letting toddler drink alcohol fails to appear, wanted on $20K warrant

An Iowa City mother scheduled to be tried next week on accusations she gave her 23-month-old son alcohol failed to appear for her pretrial conference and is now wanted on a $20,000 warrant.

Natasha Kriener, who turns 27 on Tuesday, faces felony charges of child endangerment causing bodily injury and neglect. She was supposed to appear for a pretrial conference Friday afternoon, but she failed to appear, according to online court records.

A Johnson County district court judge issued a bench warrant for Kriener's arrest on Monday. If arrested, Kriener's bond will be set at $20,000 cash-only.

Kriener was arrested Feb. 17 after police said her son's father took the child to the emergency room on Feb. 15 because the toddler was crying and had poor balance, according to a criminal complaint. The child, who had been picked up by his father for a weekly visit, was admitted overnight for observation.

The 45-pound child's blood-alcohol level was recorded at .097, over the .08 level required for an adult to be convicted of drunken driving, according to Iowa City police. The boy was showing signs of intoxication including poor balance, discomfort, and he was crying, the complaint states.

When officers spoke with Kriener that night about her son's hospitalization, her blood-alcohol content level was .251, according to the complaint. The toddler's older sibling told investigators that his brother “drank pop and got sick,” police reported.

According to trial information filed when Kriener was formally charged, she's accused of leaving alcoholic beverages within the reach of her 23-month-old child.