A 20-year suspended prison term, a fine, and four years of probation make up the sentence a Newton woman has received in a 2022 drug possession and child endangerment case. According to Newton Police, the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Task Force obtained a search warrant for the home and vehicle of 29-year-old Keely Marie Murphy. Both were searched on October 5th, 2022. Keely was driving the vehicle at the Newton Wal-Mart with two children under the age of five when officers stopped and searched it. The police report states a large amount of cash was found. Court documents add that inside Keely’s South 3rd Avenue East home, within 50-feet of Newton’s Aurora Heights Elementary School, over 77 grams of methamphetamine, two digital scales, and items used to ingest drugs were recovered. 

Keely accepted a negotiated plea and pleaded guilty to three class C felonies, a controlled substance violation, and two counts of neglect of a dependent person. Her sentencing papers show District Court Judge Michael Jacobsen imposed a suspended 20-year prison term with four years of probation, and fines totaling $3,740. Charges dismissed in the plea agreement include class D felonies for possession or use of a false drug tax stamp and 3rd offense possession of a controlled substance, and two aggravated misdemeanor counts of child endangerme