Hard-working Rhonda Knutson, 22, was murdered on Labor Day 1992.

Sadly and ironically, Labor Day of 1992 proved deadly for a hard-working young Iowa woman, the very type the holiday was created to honor.

When she was murdered early Monday, September 7, 1992, Rhonda Knutson was at the center of a perfect combination of danger factors.

The 22-year-old woman worked alone overnight in a Phillips 66 Convenience Store on Highway 63 six miles south of New Hampton in Chickasaw County.

That Labor Day weekend, thousands of vehicles passed by on the major north-south artery during one of the busiest travel times in the year.

Convenience stores like the one where Rhonda worked provide a welcoming oasis for leg-stretching, calls of nature, jolts of caffeine, beer, cigarettes, gas, and snacks.

Customers come in. Customers leave. It’s a never-ending parade of travelers of all ages and personalities and destinations.

At night, the convenience store can be Ernest Hemingway’s “clean well-lighted place,” offering the lonely a round-the-clock haven where a pot of coffee is always brewing and someone is behind the counter to listen.

In fact, an insomniac area farmer regularly came in the middle of the night to chat with Rhonda.

But a convenience store, with a nearby highway providing quick escape, can also be the ideal target for robbery committed quickly and efficiently. Or the assault or murder of the clerk, who is usually alone.

What sort of person stopped early in the morning at the New Hampton Phillips 66 Convenience Store on Labor Day 1992?

Whatever the original motive, the result was that Rhonda was taken to a back room and bludgeoned to death. There was no sexual assault or robbery.

Customers saw a man who looked like this sketch on the night Rhonda was murdered.

Customers said two truck drivers caught their attention. Both were heavy-set, dark-haired, white males between 35 and 45. One was clean-shaven and drove an unknown vehicle. The other had a beard and moustache and was thought to be driving a conventional tractor pulling a white/silver trailer.

Sketch of second man seen the night of Rhonda's murder

Rhonda was not wary of truckers. Her dad was one, so she enjoyed hearing about their rigs, destinations, and cargoes. That lack of caution might have proved deadly if one of these men was involved in her death.

Intense investigation, searches of regional truck stops, posters, rewards, plans to air the case on “America’s Most Wanted,” and use of psychics have not resulted in answers for Rhonda’s death.

Her long-time, live-in boyfriend Al Wolf was not a suspect; and the Chickasaw County Sheriff investigated and quelled rumors that county deputies were involved.

Any suspect authorities are left with was probably a stranger who came into the store during the night.

Rhonda’s large and caring family and her friends need answers for this brutal crime.

If you have information that you believe would help bring Rhonda Knutson’s killer to justice, contact the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office at 641-394-3121 or
the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s Cold Case Unit.

Every year, scientific methods at DCI labs advance significantly. Cases once thought to be colder than cold now have a chance for resolution.

The tiniest amount of DNA, fabric, or hair can be analyzed, not just to identify perpetrators but to identify remains.

Jane Wakefield, 26, disappeared from Iowa City in 1975 and is presumed dead.

The 1975 disappearance and presumed murder of 26-year-old Iowa City resident Jane Ellen Wakefield might be one of those cases where renewed examination of evidence could be productive.

The petite public school teacher vanished after a bike ride with friends on September 5, 1975.

Iowa City Police received a tip from a credible informant that Jane was murdered and her cremated remains scatted along I-80 north of Iowa City. A section of the highway was combed for clues, but results were not made public.

In January of 1976 — four months after Jane disappeared — police searched an Iowa City bar where a female suspect worked.

In addition, searches were made of the apartment of Jane’s soon-to-be ex-husband, John Wakefield, as well as of Magoo’s Lounge and the Four Cushions Billiard Parlor which he operated.

Investigators retrieved five vacuum cleaners and household items.

Ashes collected from an incinerator contained bone fragments and what was believed to be a tooth filling.

However, lacking today’s sophisticated technology, labs at the Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation (at it was then known) found nothing conclusive to identify the minute evidence as the remains of Jane Wakefield.

Authorities believed they knew who was responsible for Jane’s disappearance, but filed no charges due to lack of evidence that would sustain a court trial.

Today that evidence might be available through DNA analysis of all that is believed to remain of Jane Wakefield.

If you have any information about the disappearance and suspected murder of Jane Ellen Wakefield, contact the Iowa City Police at 319-356-5276 or the Iowa DPS Missing Person Information Clearinghouse.

Greed, jealousy, alcohol, love triangles, fratricide, anger, lust, and insanity wove through the dismal fabric of murder 120 years ago as they still do today.

And yet much has changed. Most obvious is how we get our information. As we receive minute-by-minute breaking news on our cell phones and laptops, it’s difficult to recall that large-city newspapers once printed several daily editions that readers eagerly waited for.

And other things are different as well.

Discreet exterior photos of murder scenes have replaced graphic interior pictures showing blood stains and chalk outlines of bodies and, even sometimes, shroud-draped victims.

Words like “berserk,” “bloody-thirsty,” “Negro,” and “gory” no longer shout from headlines to incense the public and, in some cases, incite lynching attempts.

Nor is the word “divorcee” used in accounts of crimes against women who had once been married, as though that fact were somehow relevant to the crime, even when it was known not to be.

Dorothy Coon was murdered in late August of 1960

“Clues Scarce in Slaying of D.M. Divorcee.”

That was the headline in the Cedar Rapids Gazette above the story reporting 36-year-old Des Moines resident Dorothy Coon’s 1960 murder. And every other newspaper covering the homicide mentioned she was divorced.

In the fifty years since Dorothy’s murder, divorce is no longer regarded as a social stigma or an index to character.

But in 1960, the media felt it was permissible to use a word which then was weighted with the suggestion of misconduct on the victim’s part, seeming to imply she deserved to be murdered or had brought it own herself.

The facts of her death are stark.

On Thursday evening, August 27, 1960, Dorothy Coon waited until her teenage children Nancy, 19, and Dennis, 17, were asleep.

The house at 2017 61st Street in Des Moines where Dorothy Coon was raising her children (photo courtesy of Google Street View)

She put on a dark green dress and white shoes and left the house she shared with them at 2017 61st Street.

Dorothy disappeared around midnight. Heavy rains during the next few days seemed to wash away all traces of her.

On Monday, August 29, a farmer mowing weeds found her body in a county road ditch 12 miles north of Chariton in Lucas County — 47 miles from her home. Her purse was discarded along the road a mile from her body.

An autopsy showed Dorothy was dead for several days, and throat bruises and broken neck bones suggested strangulation.

As with contemporary homicides, authorities had to rule out spousal involvement. Dorothy’s ex-husband Richard, whom she divorced in 1950 and who was living in Albia and running a business there, was interviewed and proved to have an alibi for the time of Dorothy’s death.

Dorothy held a job in the business office of a Des Moines department store and raised her two children on her own.

Instead of the headline she was afforded in 1960, today we might read: “Hard-working Single Mom Murdered.”

As times passes, news communication modes and language are modified.

Unfortunately, the gloomy facts of murder seem never to change.

Dorothy Miller, the only female relator in Burlington, was killed at a vacant property August 18, 1969

As the only female realtor in Burlington in 1969, 48-year-old Dorothy Miller was a ground-breaking professional. However, the very thing that made her so singular probably allowed a predator to locate her, get her alone in a vacant house, and brutally rape and kill her.

Burlington Police believe they know who killed the attractive and petite grandmother: a well-spoken, ordinary young man of average height and weight with brown hair who called himself “Robert Clark.”

A composite sketch of Dorothy Miller's killer,
based on descriptions by her husband and other witnesses

But Clark concealed his true identity and residence through an elaborate ruse using public telephones and pick-up and drop-off locations for meetings with Dorothy.

Dorothy was not cavalier about her safety nor did she take risks. She ordinarily didn’t make appointments at night and, as a precaution, took along her husband Fred for a first evening meeting with Robert Clark.

Clark disarmed both Dorothy and Fred with his ordinary appearance, pleasant manner, and believable story about moving his wife and child from Des Moines to Burlington.

So, when he phoned Dorothy saying he needing to take photos of their potential home, she agreed to meet him alone a few nights later.

Dorothy Miller's body was found in the closet of the upstairs room on the right

About 8:00 p.m. on August 18, 1969, Robert Clark accompanied Dorothy to a house at 118 Grand Street, followed her inside, knocked her unconscious, raped and stabbed her, and left her body in a second-floor bedroom closet.

Dorothy’s murderer — according to both 1969 and current Burlington Police officers — is likely a serial killer skilled at creating a narrative of deception leading to murder.

In these days of cell phones, GPS, and video surveillance, the scenario leading to Dorothy Miller’s murder would be much more difficult for the killer to construct and execute.

Sadly, however, woman working alone must always be on guard and aware of their surroundings and the people they encounter.

If you have any information concerning the murder of Dorothy Miller, contact the Burlington Police Department at 319-753-8355 or submit it directly to the Iowa DCI Cold Case Unit.

Christopher Lee Stewart was last seen August 14, 2003 in Des Moines

That’s what happened to 36-year-old Christopher Lee Stewart before he disappeared; and without them, he is mentally and physically endangered.

Christopher was last seen outside his apartment in the 600 block of 18th Street in Des Moines at 10:30 p.m. August 17, 2003.

Stewart, whose friends called him “Chris” and “Christo,” is 5-foot-9 and weighs 189. He has brown eyes and hair (although his head was shaved when he disappeared), has pierced ears, and wears glasses. He was born November 13, 1966.

If you have any information that can bring Christopher Lee Stewart home, please contact the Des Moines Police Department at 515-283-4800 or 515-283-4864 or the Iowa DPS Missing Person Information Clearinghouse.

Main street of Sturgis, South Dakota during annual Rally (photo courtesy of City of Sturgis)

Bikers from all over the country and world attend. Hundreds of vendors sell motorcycles and accessories, alcohol, food, and clothing. There are concerts, street dances, and motorcycle competitions, as well as social events like weddings, sometimes of as many as 200 couples a year.

And it’s not uncommon for people to die at the Rally — there were 11 deaths in 1990 during the 50th anniversary of the event — or to die traveling to or from Sturgis in traffic accidents.

But in 1975 — the year the event expanded to a full week — a biker was murdered on the way to the Rally.

On August 14, 1975, three members of the “Dirty 30” Hell’s Angels Cleveland Chapter — 32-year-old James M. “Beetle” Bailey, Jr., 27-year-old Paul Philemon, and 31-year-old Richard Vesey — were riding their motorcycles to Sturgis accompanied by two other club members in a van.

At the Highway 117 I-80 overpass near Colfax in Jasper County, Iowa, gun shots rang out, fatally striking Bailey in the neck and wounding Vesey in the arm.

Investigators believed the shot that struck Bailey was fired from below and the one striking Vesey from atop the overpass, where they found two shotgun shells.

The Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation could not determine if the attack was directed at Bailey and his friends or if it was a random act.

Bailey, a Navy veteran of Vietnam, was Treasurer of the Cleveland Hell’s Angels, an affiliation he cherished so much that his tombstone, bearing the Hell’s Angel’s emblem, is inscribed with this epitaph:

If you have information concerning the 1975 unsolved shooting death of James M. Bailey, Jr., contact the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office or the Iowa DCI Cold Case Unit.

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 or the Iowa DPS Cold Case Unit.

Twenty-three-year-old Dennis Clougherty was a Vietnam vet preparing to start graduate school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Eugene Martin, only 13, just wanted to make some extra money to attend the Iowa State Fair. And Helen Morrow, 55, surely could not have imagined her fate when she’d employed a younger man to work for her.

Around 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon, August 12, 1974, Dennis Clougherty left Madison, Wisconsin, with plans to hitchhike to Torrington, Wyoming, to retrieve his motorcycle. The bike had broken down in Torrington earlier that year and he’d had to leave it behind for repairs.

The 905-mile route between the two cities — a 15-hour trip on Interstate 80 — would be the fastest, but Clougherty chose the familiar Highway 20, perhaps in the hopes of catching a ride with someone he knew. From Torrington, Clougherty planned to ride the bike to Detroit, Michigan, where he’d attend a weekend family wedding.

Clougherty never made it to the wedding, or to Torrington, or even past the first day of his trip; sometime between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and midnight, he was shot five times in the chest and left along Union Road south of First Street in Cedar Falls, Iowa. A passing motorist discovered his body the following morning. Some of his personal belongs, including a backpack, a clothes bag and Clougherty’s motorcycle helmet, were located approximately five miles south on Viking Road.

An investigation confirmed a motorist picked him up about 7 p.m. Monday while traveling westbound on Highway 20 near Dubuque, and gave him a ride to Independence, IA, dropping Clougherty off at a café there around 8:15 p.m. Clougherty ate at the then-Rush Park Café and left Independence around 9:15 p.m., hitchhiking westbound on Highway 20. Another motorist picked him up and drove him to Waterloo, dropping him off at the Highway 20 and Highway 63 intersection.

Here, two male subjects in their early 20s, driving a brownish/gold 1962-1964 Chevrolet car — possibly a four-door with beige interior — pick up Clougherty around 10:30 p.m. The young military vet and soon-to-be graduate student was never seen alive again.
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Ten years later to the day, young Eugene Martin got an early start at 5 a.m. to deliver the Des Moines Register newspaper on his regular paper route. His older brother normally accompanied him, but on this day Eugene went alone; the Iowa State Fair was in town, and he was anxious to earn some extra money to spend at the fair.

Sometime between 5 and 5:45 a.m., residents living near Southwest 12th Street and Highview Drive observed Gene speaking to a clean-cut white male in his 30s. The teen folded papers as he spoke to the man, and the witnesses said the conversation appeared friendly — almost like a “father-son” sort of conversation.

Less than an hour later, sometime between 6:10 and 6:15, the boy’s newspaper bag was found on the ground outside Des Moines — 10 folded papers still inside.

Authorities issued a nationwide bulletin for a man described as between 30 and 40 years old, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, clean shaven and with a medium build. Federal agents wondered if Eugene’s disappearance might be connected to that of missing Register paperboy Johnny Gosch, 12, who’d gone missing two years earlier on September 5, 1982.

Many Iowans believed both boys had been kidnapped and sold into a pedophile sex ring, though nothing has been proven in either case.

Eugene Martin’s aunt, Jeannie McDowell, spoke with WHO-TV Channel 13′s Aaron Brilbeck in July for an update on his case, and said she fears her brother — Eugene’s father Don Martin, who is in the final stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and cancer — is hanging on until he gets some kind of closure in his son’s death. Gene’s mother, Janice, died recently from diabetes without ever knowing what happened to her child.

The Martin family — like Johnny Gosch’s mother Noreen — continue to wait with hope for the one strong lead that might break open and provide long-awaited answers and justice.
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In Eldon, Iowa, witnesses saw Herman Pierce, 48, leave the home of Mrs. Helen Morrow, 55 — for whom Pierce worked — the evening of August 12, 1980. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until flames began to shoot from the two-story frame home moments after Pierce left.

Authorities found Mrs. Morrow lying on a bed in a first-floor bedroom, and an autopsy report concluded she died of smoke inhalation.

Police held Pierce in jail on an intoxication charge, and on August 26 county prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder in Morrow’s death. Despite the filed charges, the prosecutors decided to take the case to the grand jury. It was a move they later would regret.

On Friday, October 3, 1980, a four-man, three-woman Wapello County Grand Jury failed to return an indictment against Pierce. Helen Morrow’s case remains unsolved.

If you have any information regarding Helen Morrow’s murder, please contact the Wapello County Sheriff at (641) 684-4350.

Tips on the Eugene Martin case may be submitted to the Iowa Cold Case Unit online or you may call the Iowa DCI at (515) 725-6010.

Information involving Dennis Clougherty’s murder may also be submitted online to the DCI’s Cold Case Unit, or you may contact the Cedar Falls Police Department at (319) 273-8612.

What should have been a pleasant drive across the state during one of the most distinctive times of the prairie calendar — fields tall with corn, wildflowers blooming in the ditches — ended in brutal death.

On August 8 someone beat him, stole his wallet, and left his body in the back of the van in the parking lot of the Latin King Restaurant at 2222 Hubble Avenue in Des Moines.

The Latin King parking lot where Glenn Turner's body was found August 11, 1978

When Glenn’s body was discovered on August 11, he became Des Moines’s 21st homicide of the year, although it was hardly the sort of distinction we would’ve have wished for him or any other visitor to Iowa.

His family took Glenn back to Ohio. Left behind, however, was the mystery of who viciously killed and robbed him in our state.

If you have any information on the 1978 homicide of Glenn Turner, contact the Des Moines Police Department at 515-283-4864.

(photo courtesy of Google Street View)

Dale Strassburger disappeared from the Quad Cities area August 6, 1982

In 1982, 37-year-old Dale Webster Strassburger lived with his parents in Davenport, Iowa. Like thousands of other Quad City residents, he worked at the Rock Island Arsenal.

Dale was a machinist at the plant, which since the 1880s has manufactured ordnance and equipment for the United States Army on a large island in the Illinois segment of the Mississippi River.

After he left work at 12:15 a.m. on Friday, August 6, 1982, Dale was never seen again.

The LeClaire Bridge over the Mississippi,
where Dale Strassburger's car was found

That same day, authorities found Dale’s car on the LeClaire Bridge over the Mississippi River on Interstate 80.

Located a little over 17 miles northeast of the Arsenal, the bridge is in the opposite direction of Dale’s home.

He was reported missing by the Police Department of Le Claire, Iowa, the jurisdiction where his car was located.

There was no sign of foul play in the disappearance, and searches of the Mississippi River and the nearby area yielded no sign of Dale.

At the time he disappeared, Dale — who was born October 10, 1944 — stood 5-feet-9 and weighed 180. He has blond hair and hazel eyes.

He is classified as a missing person with a disability that is physical or mental.

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the LeClaire Police Department at 563-289-5580.

(LeClaire Bridge photo courtesy of the Quad City Times)

Zion Lutheran Church, where Lewis Glenn was murdered August 5, 2002

At twenty minutes to midnight on Monday, August 5, 2002, 29-year-old Lewis M. Glenn was shot dead in the parking lot of Zion Lutheran Church at West 8th and Taylor streets in Davenport, Iowa. Police believe a dark blue vehicle with a tinted back window was involved.

The Glenn murder was just one of many acts of violence that plagued the west Davenport neighborhood. Much of the trouble originated at the notorious Chief Tavern at the corner of West 8th and Fillmore streets near the church.

The Chief had served patrons for 75 years. In its early days, it was a friendly and safe neighborhood “watering hole” with baroque light fixtures from the old Davenport Columbia Vaudeville House and a huge wooden arched bar.

But as time passed, violence increased inside the tavern and spilled out into the surrounding neighborhood. An unsavory and unruly crowd gathered there and some believed the tavern was connected to the local drug trade.

Not long before The Chief closed permanently in September of 2002, a man fired three shots inside the tavern – none struck a patron but one dented the brass beer tapper — and then robbed the cash register of $500. In the previous eight months, police were called there 74 times.

After the closure, the Zion Lutheran Church rented the property and transformed it into Noah’s Ark Community Coffeehouse. Church members patched 8 bullet holes in the walls, tore up the beer-soaked floor, and painted and repainted the nicotine-stained walls. Bright flowers were planted in front where cigarette butts and broken glass once littered the sidewalk.

Bagels, hot chocolate, and coffee were served from the old bar, which was renamed “the counter.” There were flowers at tables where rowdy patrons once sat and a donated organ and piano replaced a dice table.

Drinking, drug activity, and gambling gave way to by knitting classes, video and television watching, bingo, and quiet conversations with religious overtones.

In August 2008, the former tavern became home to the True Faith Deliverance Ministries Churches, lead by Pastor Elizabeth Sanders, while the group was waiting for a permanent location.

Ironically, Lewis Glenn’s tragic murder may have changed the violent behavior in the neighborhood and helped create positive changes that made it safer for families and businesses.

A year after Lewis Glenn’s murder, the Zion Lutheran Church held a memorial cookout in his honor.

If you have any information about the 2002 murder of Lewis Glenn, contact the Davenport Police Department at 563-326-7979. If you wish to remain anonymous, call the Quad Cities Crime Stoppers at 563 -762-9500. There is a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.

Source: “Notorious saloon turned into church coffeehouse,” Carroll Daily Times Herald, August 12, 2003.

Rafael Robinson, murdered July 31, 1996 in Des Moines

Fourteen years ago today on the afternoon of July 31, 1996, Iowa 90 Crips gang member Rafael Robinson was shot multiple times outside a public housing complex at 926 Oakridge in Des Moines. Gunshots from more than one weapon were heard, but no one admitted witnessing the shooting.

The weather that day was not particularly hot for late July in Iowa, but the situation in the Des Moines gang world was boiling over. It was one of the most violent times in the city’s history.

Rafael Robinson’s death was part of an on-going dispute among gang members that began with the murder of 23-year-old Jody L. “Monster” Stokes outside the TNT Lounge on October 14, 1995.

That killing set off a chain reaction of violence and death that involved Rafael Robinson, his cousin Royal Robinson, and his half-brother Timothy McCoy, III — as well as other Crips members and their extended families.

In May 1996, an Iowa 90 Crips member told FBI agents there was a contract on Robinson because the gang abided by Chicago rules of respecting rank, and Robinson — who was regarded as a lower-level soldier — did not stand up for the gang when a member was shot. Some also believed Rafael’s cousin Royal Robinson was involved in that incident.

The feud peaked on April 6, 1996 when an innocent Des Moines businesswoman — 42-year-old Phyllis Davis — was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between a dark-colored SUV and a brown Oldsmobile Cutlass during evening rush hour traffic at 9th and University.

Three occupants of the Oldsmobile Cutlass — Jermaine Allen, Vincent Cortez Brown, and Antonio Speed — were found guilty in Phyllis Davis’s murder.

David Flores, convicted of the murder of Phyllis Davis

Also convicted in the Davis murder was David Flores, a young man many in Des Moines believe is innocent because evidence against him was circumstantial and even insubstantial. For a time, the Polk County Attorney even dropped the charges; and on the day of the verdict, the jury foreman said he believed Flores was not guilty.

David Flores grew up in the Homes of Oakridge area and was friends with murdered gang member Jody Stokes, but was not known to be a gang member himself.

He was advised not to take the stand in his own defense, and his girlfriend gave conflicting and incorrect information to the police that sealed Flores’s fate because she was afraid of retaliation against the one-year-old son they had together.

Many people, including Crips members, say that Flores was not involved in the Davis shooting and that Rafael Robinson was.

The primary evidence against Flores was that he was driving his girlfriend’s car that afternoon and it was similar to the dark SUV involved in the shoot-out. However, Rafael’s cousin Royal Robinson owned a 1986 dark blue Bronco SUV and one of the men convicted in the shoot-out said there was a second person in the SUV. Flores was alone at the time.

Also, there was testimony from three witnesses that the driver of the dark SUV was black; David Flores is a light-skinned Latino.

In addition, three people have identified Rafael Robinson as the shooter:

• fellow gang member Calvin Tyrone Gaines

• Jermaine Allen, who was feuding with Robinson and is in prison for Davis’s murder

• Robinson’s girlfriend at that time, Carla Harris, who told authorities he confessed to her in an April 8, 1996 phone call.

Rafael Robinson owned older-type guns, including .12-gauge and .22 caliber weapons similar to those used in the Davis shooting.

Don C. Nickerson, 5th District Court Judge, ruled in late 2009 that David Flores was entitled to another trial because of new evidence and the suppression of evidence on hand during the first trial. There were questions about the quality of his legal representation as well.

In 2009, David Flores was granted a new trial in the murder of Phyllis Davis

If Rafael Robinson shot Phyllis Davis, he can never be brought to justice because he was a victim of murder himself.

However, David Flores and his family hope that a new trial will release him from jail for a crime they say he did not commit.

If you have any information about the murders of Rafael Robinson or Phyllis Davis, contact the Des Moines Police Department at 515-283-4811 or the Polk County Attorney.

Mervin Leo Walvatne, missing since 1990

Mervin Leo Walvatne was literally battered by life. A 1970s Madison, Wisconsin, car accident left him with severe facial injuries; and, as a victim of alcoholism and disabilities, he lived a transient existence, favoring Arizona cities.

However, Mervin always maintained phone contact with his sister in Spencer, Iowa. She last heard from him on July 18, 1990 — ten days after his 50th birthday. At first, she believed his absence was due to his lifestyle. But as time passed, she feared for his safety and reported him missing to the Spencer Police on December 16, 1990.

When last seen, Mervin was 5-foot-6 and weighed 150 pounds. He is Caucasian and has brown hair and green eyes. Facial fractures from the car accident required surgical implants of wire and plastic to his nose, cheek, and eyes. He also wears an upper denture. There are tattoos on his arm that may include his first name. He would now be 70.

Mervin’s family needs to know where he is. If you have any information concerning Mervin Leo Walvatne, contact the Spencer Police Department at 712-262-2151 or the Iowa DPS Missing Person Information Clearinghouse at 1-800-346-5507.

Elizabeth Syperda vanished from Mount Pleasant on July 17, 2000.

On July 17, 2000 — 10 years ago today — 22-year-old Mount Pleasant resident Elizabeth “Liz” Nicole Forshee-Syperda disappeared from her East Madison Street apartment sometime between 10:30 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. She left behind all her belongings and never claimed her last paycheck or accessed her bank account again.

Her roommate — who was at work when Liz disappeared — said the apartment door was locked from the outside and that Liz had no access to a vehicle.

One month before, Liz’s estranged husband Michael Syperda (whom she met when she babysat his children) had a violent confrontation with Liz and her roommate. After she vanished, he pled guilty to assault in that case and received a suspended sentence and parole.

Although law enforcement cannot link Michael Syperda to the disappearance (he refused to take a polygraph), Liz’s family believes he was involved. He now lives in Colorado.

Liz’s mother Donna Forshee travels from Sacramento, California, to Mount Pleasant every year on the anniversary of Liz’s disappearance. She hopes that her public presence at remembrance ceremonies will remind the public and law enforcement about the need to find Liz.

For the 10th anniversary of Liz’s vanishing, Donna Forshee paid for a billboard near New London, Iowa, that informs drivers of the disappearance and offers a $20,000 reward for information.

When she disappeared, Elizabeth was 5-feet-4 and weighed 150 pounds. Her long brown hair is naturally curly and her eyes are hazel. She has piercings in her ears, tongue, and left nipple; and a heart tattoo surrounds her navel. She was last seen wearing a t-shirt, black jeans, white Nike athletic shoes, a diamond and emerald ring, a wedding ring, and a diamond “Year 2000″ necklace.

Elizabeth Syperda, missing since 2000

Liz’s disappearance was highly publicized and the area was saturated with missing person posters, but law enforcement received no information to indicate foul play or to reveal the location of the missing young woman.

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the Mount Pleasant Police Department at 319-385-1450 or the Iowa DPS Missing Person Information Clearinghouse.

To make an anonymous report, call the Greater Burlington Area Crime Stoppers at 319-753-6835.

Donna Sue Davis

Donna Sue Davis hadn’t yet reached her second birthday. The 22-month-old 21-pound blue-eyed girl with the mass of dark blond curly hair was the youngest of James (“Don”) and Mary Davis’s three children, and her three prized possessions included her teddy bear, a rubber doll and a red purse.

Eleven-year-old Mary Claire, the eldest of the siblings, had friends who resided in the same west side neighborhood in Sioux City, IA, and they often could be seen pushing strollers and buggies around the block with Donna Sue and the other girls’ young siblings in tow. Timothy, 7, also had ample playmates within safe walking distance from the family’s 715 Isabella Street home.

Everyone knew and loved Donna Sue, though seldom used her name. To them, she was simply “The Darling of the Neighborhood.”

In July 1955, life is still good along West 14th and 15th street and the intersecting Rebecca and Isabella streets, and half the summer still remains for riding bicycles and playing Army and swimming and girlfriend sleepovers, and even entertaining baby sisters and brothers while mothers work the outside gardens and hang fresh sheets to flap and dry in the wind.

But summer  in this working class neighborhood — and life as all its residents know it — is about to change forever. The shift begins to emerge the night of July 9, when sirens awaken a city that will not know peaceful slumber for many years to come.

Rain has fallen since 9 p.m., and near 12 a.m. flood sirens puncture the midnight hours. While rain falls in torrents, a fire breaks out at a lumber company but fire trucks can’t navigate the water laden streets. Utility employees work throughout the night to restore electricity to Sioux City residents.

Dawn is about to break.

Sunday, July 10, 1955

Courtesy photo Sioux City Journal

Donna Sue Davis and her family lived in the bottom apartment at this duplex located at 715 Isabella St. in Sioux City, Iowa.

Rain ends by early morning, and as water starts to recede city crews move forward with clean-up efforts.

The day’s temperatures soar into the 90s, bringing with them humidity’s heavy blanket. Though room air conditioners have grown in popularity since World War II’s end, costs are still prohibitive for many western Iowa families, whose usual reprieve amounts to nothing more than a cool bath and, hopefully, a nightly breeze through an open window. The Davis family has learned to weather the heat.

Sunday night, Mary Davis gives Donna Sue a bath, dresses her in pink pajamas, and at approximately 9:30 p.m., tucks her into her crib for bed in the first-floor bedroom of the two-story duplex where the family has resided for many years. Donna Sue’s crib sits against the wall at the foot of the Davis’ bed, right next to a cedar chest positioned directly below the bedroom window.

“Three to get ready, and four to go . . . to bed,” Mary tells Donna Sue as she kisses her goodnight. The child is all set with her teddy bear, rubber doll and red purse within arm’s reach. With temperatures still in the 80s, the bedroom window is left open to capture any breeze.

In the kitchen, Mary sits down to read the day’s Sioux City Journal as her husband — a clerk for the Chicago and Northwestern Railway — watches television in the living room. In the next room, Mary Claire and Timothy are already fast asleep.

In the upstairs duplex, Mr. M.A. McLeod goes outside to sit on his upper porch balcony while his wife putters around in the couple’s bedroom.

On the corner just south of the Isabella Street duplex, George Berger sits in his back yard at 1301 Villa Avenue. His back yard faces the Davis home’s south side, and he often enjoys watching the Davis children and their neighborhood friends play together in the large lot between the two homes.

9:35 p.m.

Something catches Mr. Berger’s eye. A man has just crossed through a hedge near the front of the Davis house and, walking quite erectly, is heading west along the south side of the Davis’s home. Berger strains to see what the man is doing, but can’t see very well in the darkness and his vision also is obstructed by his own vehicle,  which he parked in the driveway earlier that day.

Courtesy photo by Newman, Sioux City Journal staff photographer

Donna Sue’s kidnapper walked erectly west along the south side of the Davis home and a few minutes later headed toward Villa Avenue, walking in a crouched position with a bundle in his arms.

A few minutes later he sees the man retrace his steps toward the street and head in a northerly direction. The man, however, now walks in a crouched, stooped position.

Mr. and Mrs. Laif Fjeldos, who live around the corner two houses away at 1310 West 14th Street, hear their dog Rex barking at the back door. Their back lot borders the Davis’s back lot, separated by mulberry and hackberry trees.

Mrs. Fjeldos gets up to let Rex inside and switches on her back yard light. Skulking along the alleyway, she sees a man who appears to be carrying some type of bundle. She immediately calls for her husband.

Mr. Fjeldos grabs a flashlight and shines it toward the man, who is now stooped over and hiding behind a bush. Mr. Fjeldos isn’t about to let this one get away, either; just two weeks before, Rex’s ferocious barking had alerted him to a young man tampering with the Fjeldos’s car, and Rex had held the man at bay while Fjeldos called police. Before police took the man into custody, Fjeldos had voiced a strong complaint about the “poor lighting” in the neighborhood.

This time, however, Fjeldos suspects the stranger might be carrying meat to poison Rex or other neighborhood dogs. He hands his wife the flashlight with instructions to keep it shining on the stranger while once again he calls police.

9:37 p.m.

Sioux City police answer a call from a Mr. Laif Fjeldos, who tells them he  has “a suspicious man cornered” and needs assistance. Before police can arrive, the man flees north through the alley and Fjeldos gives chase. Fjeldos chases the man across W. 14th Street and into the next alley, which leads north toward W. 15th. The man — described as about 31 years old with a slight build and wearing a white T-shirt and khaki trousers — runs awkwardly, still stooped over with the bundle. He appears to have something wrapped inside a blanket.

The man suddenly ducks between two bushes in the back yard of the home located at 1417 Isabella Street. It is but one block from the Davis home, despite the jump from the 700-block to 1400-block addresses. Fjeldos approaches slowly, but by the time he reaches the bushes realizes the man has simply vanished.

Approximately 9:40 p.m.

Sansgaard’s vehicle was stopped on July 16 in Minnesota for erractic driving, but the occupant was let go after the registration checked out and he provided Sansgaard’s checkbook as proof of identity.

Sansgaard’s car was abandoned in Effingham, Illinois, on July 23.

Sketch of Sansgaard suspect (courtesy of the Ogden Reporter)

According to the Minnesota law enforcement officer who stopped Sansgaard’s car, the driver was distinctive in multiple ways: he spoke with a southern drawl, had severe burn scars on his upper body, and was thin and very tall (nearly 6-foot-3). At the time, he wore his straight, brown hair just above his ears and had glasses.

Alternative sketch of Sansgaard suspect

The suspect told the Minnesota officer he served in Viet Nam (where he said he was burned by a flamethrower), and received both inpatient and outpatient treatment for his burns and emotional problems at various VA hospitals in the Midwest. He is likely from a southern state.

Despite the detailed description of the driver and his distinctive features, he has never been located and the murder of Arnold Sansgaard has gone cold.

If you have any information about the unsolved murder of Arnold Sansgaard, contact the Boone County Iowa Sheriff’s Office at 515-433-0524 or the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation Cold Case Unit.

More rain is forecast and our state is saturated, just as it was 17 years ago in early July.

We’re wary because we vividly remember the devastating Flood of 1993 — the costliest, most devastating flood in U.S. history, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Heavy snow pack, rapid thawing, a stalled-out Jet Stream, and months of unrelenting rains brought destructive floods to Iowa and the Upper Midwest.

The Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries surged with dangerous and swift water that overflowed their banks.

Twenty-three million acres of agricultural and urban lands were inundated for weeks; 50,000 homes were destroyed; and 70,000 people were displaced. The damage estimate was 15-20 billion dollars.

Fifty-two flood-related deaths occurred in the Upper Midwest.

Seven victims were Iowans, including 30-year-old National Guardsman and Ogden resident Spec. Steven M. West, who was electrocuted on July 16 in Des Moines while erecting an antenna to facilitate communication with water trucks in a city that was without water for most of July.

Because the tremendous, destroying power of water is unpredictable and often underestimated, many Iowa motorists were caught unaware by it. Some tried to drive through inundated spots where the water was faster and deeper than it looked.

Six Iowans were killed in flood-related traffic accidents, including Donald and Bernadene Sealine of Dexter, whose car was swept away by flood waters on July 10.

Donald’s body was recovered, but Bernadene is still missing.

Bernadene Ann Sealine was born in Dallas County April 24, 1926 to Bertrice L. and Gilbert F. Kirk. In Stanhope, on March 6, 1955 she married Donald L. Sealine. They were long-time residents of rural Dexter and had three children – Loree J., Bradley Kirk, and Steven Sealine. Bernadene was 67-years-old when the flood waters carried her away.

The stone for Donald and Bernadene Sealine, who were carried away by flood waters in 1993.

Donald is buried in Roberts Cemetery in Adair County. His stone also records Bernadene’s dates of birth and death, even though her body has not been found. Close by is the grave of their son, Bradley Kirk Sealine, who passed away 16 days after his parents.

Iowa’s Lost Summer: The Flood of 1993, published by Iowa State University Press and the Des Register and Tribune, is dedicated to the memory of the seven Iowa victims of the flood, including Donald and Bernadene Sealine.

Not all Iowa Cold Cases missing persons are victims of foul play. A force of nature can be as violent as an abduction, and its power and fury can thwart efforts to find its victims.

The holiday creates conditions and opportunities just right for crime.

Nearly every Iowa city or hamlet hosts a 4th of July parade or picnic with a carnival and fireworks. Add to that class and family reunions, and even the smallest towns see inflated populations. Drifters and transients come in with traveling midways and food booths; but in the crush of crowds, strangers don’t arouse suspicion.

The festive atmosphere pushes regular schedules aside, alters behavior patterns, and lowers caution.

Hot, muggy weather provokes physical and emotional stress, anxiety, and aggression.

Many activities are scheduled long after night falls, and folks drift off afterwards into the potentially dangerous darkness towards their homes or cars.

Alcohol, consumed all day and long after the fireworks end, lowers inhibitions — of both victims and predators — and emboldens risk-taking and aggressive behavior.

Although many unsolved homicides cluster around this time, this weekend we remember Iowans who have gone missing during the 4th of July holiday.

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Thousands gather each year to watch giant explosions of color coordinated to music at the Dubuque Jaycees and Radio Dubuque Fireworks Display along the Mississippi River. Afterwards, the restaurants and bars of downtown Dubuque fill with celebrants.

Crystal Arensdorf, 20, disappeared from Dubuque July 4, 2001.

That’s where 20-year-old Crystal Ann Arensdorf and her friends were on the hot, humid night of Tuesday, July 3, 2001 — in Knicker’s Saloon at 2186 Central Avenue. Even though she was a minor, Crystal drank alcohol there.

Knicker's Saloon, where Crystal Arensdorf was last seen on July 4, 2001

The 5-feet-6, 115-pound blonde wore blue-tinted soft contacts over her brown eyes that night. She was dressed in a white polo shirt, tan shorts, and sandals and wore an opal pendant on a gold chain, an opal ring, and a toe ring.

Crystal chatted with brothers Steven and David Peacock; and, after her friends left, she tried to find a ride to East Dubuque, Illinois, on the other side of the Mississippi. She discussed sharing a cab with bartender Robert R. Mootz after the bar closed, but that never materialized.

Crystal vanished after last being seen at Knicker’s Saloon around 2:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 4.

She has been declared an involuntarily missing and “endangered” person.

The Peacock brothers were polygraphed and their car seized and searched, but charges against them were not filed. Bartender Robert Mootz was also questioned. He was convicted of serving alcohol to a minor but not charged with Crystal’s disappearance. In October of 2001, Crystal’s boyfriend, Tim Gerlieb, was cleared of suspicion.

After following up on more than 550 leads, Dubuque Police are stymied. The Arensdorf family is offering a $2,500 reward for details leading to Crystal’s whereabouts.

If you have any information concerning the disappearance of Crystal Ann Arensdorf, contact the Dubuque Police Department at 319-589-4410 or the Iowa DPS Missing Person Information Clearinghouse.

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Waterloo Jaycees Fireworks Festival on the Cedar River

The free Independence Day Jaycees Fireworks Festival annually draws nearly 30,000 people into downtown Waterloo for an air show, music, and beer gardens. The view along the Cedar River is spectacular as fireworks explode from the 6th Street Bridge.

The celebration is held the first Saturday in July, which in 2004 was July 3. Temperatures hit 85, the sun went in and out of the clouds, and humidity was high. A little rain fell in the evening but had dissipated by fireworks time. The festivities continued into Sunday, July 4 and the early hours of Monday.

L.C. Matlock was last seen July 5, 2004 in Waterloo.

That’s the day 37-year-old Waterloo resident L.C. Matlock disappeared. He was last seen near the Mullen Avenue Bridge wearing a white Denver Broncos Terrell Owens jersey with blue jeans and black Nike tennis shoes.

When Matlock failed to show up at his Tyson meat plant job, his employers contacted his family, who did not know where he was. He was reported missing to Waterloo Police on Monday, July 19, two full weeks after he disappeared.

Matlock, who lived alone, has not contacted family members; and his bank account has been inactive.

Police have no evidence of foul play in Matlock’s disappearance but consider him physically endangered because he needs medication for a health problem.

Matlock is African-American, stands 6-feet-2, and weighs 210. He has black hair and brown eyes.

If you have information on the whereabouts of L.C. Matlock, contact the Waterloo Police at 319-291-4339 or the Iowa DPS Missing Person Information Clearinghouse.

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Michael James Delaney, 49, disappeared from Davenport on July 3, 2008.

Forty-nine-year-old Davenport resident Michael James Delaney was reported missing on Thursday, July 3, 2008 after he lost contact with his teenage daughter Jennifer, with whom he lived.

On that day, the annual “Red, White, and Boom” celebration took place along the Davenport and Rock Island riverfronts. Clowns, obstacle courses, art work, and music provided family entertainment; and the day ended with fireworks on the Mississippi synchronized to patriotic music.

Shorty before he disappeared, Michael Delaney purchased a recent-model, white, extended-cab Chevrolet Silverado Z71 4-wheel drive pick-up, which also has not been seen since July 3, 2008. There is no VIN information available for the truck because the seller is unknown.

Michael Delaney bought a truck similar to this one shortly before he disappeared. (photo courtesy of the Quad-City Times)

Mark Edward Handlon, a person of interest in Michael Delaney's disappearance

Authorities named 53-year-old Mark Edward Handlon as a “person of interest” in the disappearance. Handlon had arrest warrants at the time in the Quad City area, one for stealing money from a Moline restaurant. He also failed to return a white 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup to a Bettendorf car dealership in June 2008. Police also are looking for him.

Michael James Delaney is a white male who stands 5-foot-10, weighs 190 pounds, and has brown hair and blue eyes. A woman who dated him shortly before he disappeared described Delaney as a “wonderful, caring, and charming person” who was devoted to his daughter and still grieving the death of his wife.

Michael James Delaney

Delaney’s photo and information are posted on several missing person websites where readers are encouraged to provide feedback. This post — signed by “Michael James” — was left on helpfindthemissing.org at 3:35 p.m. on November 12th, 2009:

“i am dead. please do not worry about me. i am in a better place. i was killed by someone i did not know and i do not want anyone looking for me any longer. my body is by the susquehanna river where i often used to fish. please stop worrying, i am fine.”

If you have information on the whereabouts of Michael Delaney or his vehicle or about Mark Edward Handlon, contact the Davenport Police Department at 563-326-7979, Davenport Police Detective Shannon Hughes at 563-326-6147, Quad City Crime Stoppers at 309-762-9500, or the Iowa DPS Missing Person Information Clearinghouse.

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Temperatures and humidity were both in the low 80s on Friday, July 3, 2009. This was the last time the Maquoketa Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored its annual Independence Day fireworks following dirt track races at the Jackson County Fairgrounds. Racing fans had long enjoyed the combination of the spectacles.

It was also the day that 40-year-old Noel E. Brown was reported missing to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

A photo of Noel Brown is not available, but he stands six-feet tall, weighs 155 pounds, and has brown hair and hazel eyes.

If you have any information about Noel Brown’s disappearance, contact the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office at 563-652-0662 or the Iowa DPS Missing Person Information Clearinghouse.

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There will always be a carefree and jubilant celebration of our nation’s independence and people will continue to mix alcohol with the fun of large crowds. July heat and humidity are a constant in Iowa.

But limiting alcohol intake, not becoming separated from companions, and being aware of surroundings and unusual behavior will help guard against foul play on the 4th of July.

Connie Craft, 20, was murdered near Cresco June 30, 1975

The Albion Gravel Pit northwest of Cresco was empty the last weekend of June 1975. The usually swimmers and partiers had other entertainment.

The Mighty Howard County Fair was in full swing, just as it had been every June since 1893. Thousands packed the Cresco fairgrounds for cattle shows, rodeos, stock car races, and midway thrills.

Twenty-year-old Cresco native Connie Craft had attended the fair all her life. In 1975, she was studying cosmetology in Minnesota, so the celebration that year was also a reunion with family and friends.

On Sunday evening, June 29, Connie enjoyed the fair with pals and was seen at 12:30 Monday morning sitting alone on the steps of a building across from the Police Station.

An hour later she was dead, bludgeoned and drowned in the deep and chilly Albion Quarry seven miles away.

All small towns have their rumor mills and the one in Cresco still grinds out theories about Connie’s mysterious death.

Some in Cresco believe that the murder was covered up by an influential person, that it involved someone Connie knew who was using drugs, and that the true condition of her body was not made public. Others have heard that an article of her clothing was found in a local man’s vehicle — perhaps an item that divers unsuccessfully searched for in the chilly water where Connie died.

If you have information concerning the unsolved murder of Connie Craft, contact the Cresco Police Department at 563-547-3101 or the Howard County Sheriff’s Office at 563-547-3535.

Jodi Huisentruit disappeared on June 27, 1995 from Mason City

Jodi Huisentruit is one of Iowa’s most well-known missing persons. The 27-year-old was abducted an hour before dawn on Tuesday, June 27, 1995 from the parking lot of her apartment at 600 North Kentucky Avenue in Mason City. She was leaving for work at a local television station.

Her disappearance was featured on “Unsolved Mysteries” and “America’s Most Wanted” and was the subject of the pilot episode of “Psychic Detectives.” An entire website — www.findjody.com — is devoted to her case. Queries, tips, and comments about her come in regularly to the Mason City Police.

The apartment complex where Jodi was abducted.

What is it about Jodi and her disappearance that still fascinates Iowans after 15 years, that makes us pause when we see her photograph and wonder?

The answer lies with Jodi herself. A pretty, petite blonde with brown eyes, Jodi was appealing and memorable.

She was the morning and noon anchorwoman at CBS affiliate KIMT-TV, which reaches a wide area of northeast Iowa and southern Minnesota.

Viewers woke up every morning to her pleasant smile and friendly manner. She was there while they had coffee in their kitchens. She sat across from them in their living rooms like a friend who came each day for a visit.

Locals often saw her — single and carefree — cruising around Mason City in her 1995 red Mazda Miata sports car.

Women envied Jodi’s slender figure and beautiful hair. Men found her attractive. Older viewers wished she were their daughter or granddaughter. She was the woman everyone wanted to be or to know.

But her high profile may also have attracted someone with less wholesome motives. Jody may have been taken by a stalker lurking at the edge of her celebrity, driven by obsessive thoughts and fantasies about a relationship with her.

Jodi was declared dead in 2001; but her friends, fans, and family push on for answers and never give up hope of finding her.

Jody Huisentruit