Courier Staff Writer

INDEPENDENCE - A Coralville woman accused of killing her son and injuring another one at a pond by Littleton has pleaded innocent.

Michelle Kehoe, 35, entered the written plea Wednesday in Buchanan County District Court. A formal arraignment hearing was set for Tuesday to allow Kehoe to enter a plea on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and child endangerment resulting in serious injury.

Kehoe is accused of covering her sons' eyes with duct tape and cutting their necks with a knife Oct. 26 near a pond owned by the Hook-N-Liner Club outside of Littleton. Seth, her 2-year-old son, died. Sean, 7, was injured. She was hospitalized for wounds to her neck.

Kehoe initially told authorities that an unidentified man attacked her family in a remote area near Littleton, but police later charged her with the crime. She was arrested Nov. 16 at the University Hospitals in Iowa City.

A representative from the public defender's office has been appointed to represent Michelle Kehoe. In applying for a public defender, Kehoe said she was a part-time pharmacy technician at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City and doubted her husband would contribute to her defense fund.

"Based on charges against me and because I'll soon be in custody, my husband may be unwilling and unable to financially assist me with obtaining private counsel," she wrote on the application.

The day before Michelle Kehoe entered her written plea, a judge also appointed Coralville attorney Shelly Jo Mott as guardian-ad-litem for Sean Kehoe. She will represent Sean's legal interests during the course of the trial.

No formal trial dates have been set.

Contact Josh Nelson at (319) 291-1565 or josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com.