(Radio Iowa) — An Ames man who was found guilty in 1976 of murdering his two-year-old son has died of what officials at the state prison in Clarinda believe were natural causes.
A Story County jury convicted Thomas Earl Seehan of first-degree murder after an eight-day trial. Seehan, who was going through a divorce and seeking custody of his son, smothered the boy to death in December of 1975. The next day, he went to his wife’s workplace and held her hostage for several hours before surrendering. His attorney argued Seehan was insane at the time.

The prosecutor in the case was Ruth Harkin, who was the first woman to be elected as a county attorney in Iowa. Seehan unsuccessfully appealed his conviction. The Iowa Supreme Court and a federal appeals court rejected the argument the jury was inappropriately influenced by Harkin’s visible pregnancy when she spoke of Seehan’s dead son in court.

Seehan was sentenced to life in prison on the first-degree murder charge. He died at the age of 69, after more than 43 years in prison. An autopsy will be performed to confirm the cause of his death.