Bond has been reduced for a Rothville woman charged with felony first-degree murder in the death of her two-month-old daughter.
Online court information shows the Chariton County Circuit Court set 19-year-old Sarah Linebaugh’s bond at $50,000 cash or corporate surety Tuesday. Her bond was originally $100,000 cash only with no surety allowed. A preliminary hearing for Linebaugh is set for June 28 and she is being held at the Chariton County Jail.
The Chariton County Circuit Court issued an arrest warrant, and the Highway Patrol made the arrest April 26th. Sergeant Eric Brown with Troop B of the Highway Patrol previously reported the warrant for Linebaugh was issued following an investigation of the March 18th death of her daughter Sophia Linebaugh. He said the Chariton County Sheriff’s Office and Ambulance, as well as the Patrol, received a 911 call for help in the 300 block of Main Street in Rothville March 19th where deputies found the child deceased upon arrival.
The Chariton County Sheriff’s Office requested the assistance of the Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control in the investigation. Investigators say Linebaugh allegedly strangled her daughter, but she claims the infant drowned while being given a bath.
Brown said that Sarah Linebaugh had a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was hospitalized for treatment of her injuries, which delayed the process of filing charges. He clarified that the infant was not shot, and the cause of her death was not a gunshot wound.
