Lang/Hunter
3/10/25
A murder charge has been filed against a man accused of domestic abuse just hours before an Iowa City death.
34-year-old Joshua Perry of Camden Road was booked into the Johnson County Jail just after 5:30 Monday night. Perry was arrested in January on charges of Domestic Abuse Assault Causing Injury and Child Endangerment stemming from an incident on January 6th. The victim sent a message to a family member indicating that she had been assaulted. Perry called 911 later and reported that a girl was passed out and cold inside his residence. Witnesses reported previously hearing a physical fight in their apartment, and officers on scene reportedly saw injuries on her body consistent with an assault. Emergency medical services arrived and determined the woman, 33-year-old Victoria Skarda, was deceased.
An autopsy was performed, and Skarda’s death was ruled a homicide.
According to the arrest report, Skarda lived with Perry at the residence and was the mother of Perry’s minor child, who was on the scene at the time of the assault.
Police previously responded to the residence for incidents of domestic altercations, including one on December 7th 2021 where Skarda could be heard yelling that she couldn’t breathe and saying “take your hands off my neck.”
Perry is now charged with 1st Degree Murder. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
The lesser charges against Perry have since been dismissed.