One of the many sad things we see at Iowa Cold Cases is the death of a parent before the murder of their child has been solved. Because the parent’s horrible loss is compounded by not knowing, the situation is always heartbreaking.

Bernita DeWoody, mother of ICC victim Lance DeWoody

We saw it once again when Olin resident Bernita Lee Houston DeWoody passed away on July 17, 2009. Her obituary noted that she was preceded in death by “her beloved son Lance in 1985.”

North Liberty resident Lance Lee DeWoody was only 22 when he was shot in the head at a picnic shelter on the north side of the University of Iowa’s Oakdale campus in Coralville on August 13, 1985.

The large Oakdale campus had just become the headquarters of the Technology Innovation Center, the University’s home for new businesses using advanced life sciences technology.

Although Coralville Police believed they had a suspect, no arrests were made. Few details about the murder were released and no possible motive was advanced, leaving family and friends to wonder.

Although his mother Bernita did not live to see a resolution to her son’s murder, Lance’s father Carl Lee DeWoody and his sister Carrie DeWoody Fortin still need answers.

If you have any information concerning the 1985 death of Lance DeWoody, please contact the Coralville Police.