Judith Weeks, 44, was murdered in Cedar Rapids on April 5, 1999.
Today’s blog is written by a person who knew and loved Judith Weeks and who hopes that someone will come forward with information to solve her tragic murder. If you have any details about this unsolved homicide, please contact the Cedar Rapids Police at 319-286-5375.
My name is Buffy Gustafson and I am the girlfriend of Ryan Weeks, son of Judith Weeks — who was murdered in Cedar Rapids on April 5, 1999. Since I have heard of this website, I have checked it over many times and have noticed that each time there has been more information about Judy and the circumstances regarding her murder and her life.
I have mixed feelings about what is listed here . . . although I realize it is customary to highlight the deceased person’s life or shortcomings when it comes to situations like these, I also feel that (for Judy) it paints a negative picture of the deceased person and their life and somewhat disregards her life/murder as not being as important as others when it comes to her murderer being found and convicted.
No, Judy was not a “squeaky clean person” and she made many mistakes in her lifetime . . . but her life and her death should be as important as anyone who meets such a tragic ending. Her children love/loved her very much and still struggle with their mother’s tortured life/death and the fact that the person responsible for her murder has yet to be found.
It is sad to feel that because she had problems in life her murder has never been given equal treatment. It was my understanding that there had been a suspect in her murder and possibly DNA evidence showing that this suspect had sexual intercourse with Judy . . . but that he claimed it was consensual and there was no other proof or evidence against this man.
Do you know if any of this information is correct? Is there a way for the family to obtain information regarding her murder for their own viewing to see if it sparks any new leads?
Please understand that both of Judy’s children have struggled with this and the rocky situations in their lives in general for a very long time. I know that they also have a hard time even talking about this, but that both want justice for their mother . . . a woman who may have made many mistakes, but who – I feel — punished herself way more than we will ever know for her mistakes in life.
I do thank you and everyone else who helps with this site for bringing attention to those who are forgotten about after the media has given their murders “5 seconds of fame.”
Buffy Gustafson
Traci Evenson, murdered in Cedar Rapids, June 21, 1997
The June 21, 1997 murder of 22-year-old Cedar Rapids resident Traci Ann Evenson was a tragedy compounded by frustrating irony.
Traci was beaten so severely that she suffocated from swollen face and head wounds.
Traci’s body was found by her sister, Jodi Lynn Jackson, whose troubled relationship with her husband, Anthony Jackson, was likely at the center of Traci’s death.
Law enforcement had two theories: (1) that Anthony Jackson went to Traci’s apartment to confront her because she warned Jodi he was bad for her or (2) that he went there to rape Traci and was rebuffed. Either way, intense rage was involved.
These theories could not be pursued, however. Five months after the murder, Jodi and Anthony Jackson and their two children died in an automobile accident.
DNA taken from Jackson’s body after death matched that left on a Cedar Rapids rape victim but could not be linked to Traci, who was not sexually assaulted.
Traci paid the ultimate price for trying to protect her sister from the man who not only took Traci’s life but left her body to be discovered by the sister she was loyal to. And his death cheated Traci out of justice.
If you have information about the unsolved murder of Traci Ann Evenson, contact the Cedar Rapids Police Department at (319) 286-5375.
Nov. 12, 1988:
Matt Pusateri
Matt Pusateri, a cab driver for Yellow Cab in Cedar Rapids, IA, was shot in the head while sitting in his parked cab about 3 a.m. in a parking lot in the 800 block of Sixth Street SW.
Police speculate that two assailants tried to rob Pusateri, 26, and when he refused to hand over any money, they shot him.
Brian Schappert
Police have compared Pusateri’s murder to that of Brian Schappert, 22, also of Cedar Rapids, who was stabbed to death less than one year later as he worked at the Kum & Go convenience store at 2743 Mount Vernon Rd. SE.
Both victims were described as “good kids,” and robbery most likely was the motive in both homicides.
There was also the possibility that in each case, the young man died because he recognized the robber and could have identified him to police.
Both cases remain unsolved.
In the last week or so, I’ve been able to get six more victim pages added to the Iowa Cold Cases website. Four are unsolved homicides and two are missing persons cases. More details are still needed for some — particularly the missing persons cases — and we hope to have that information soon.
Brief overviews of each case follow, with links to the individual victim pages.
Missing Person:
Naomi Wilson
Age at Report: 32 YOA
Missing From: Cedar Rapids, IA (Linn County)
Missing Since: April 12, 1981
Naomi Wilson was reported missing to the Cedar Rapids Police Department in Cedar Rapids on April 12, 1981. If you have information regarding her disappearance, please contact the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse/Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at 1-800-346-5507.
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Homicide:
Leota Camp
25 YOA
3213 Flemming Ave.
Des Moines, IA (Polk County)
July 10, 1967
Just after 12:00 noon on Monday, July 10, 1967, Mrs. Raymond (Leota) Camp, 25, was discovered “bleeding” in her home’s front bedroom by her son Kevin, 4, and daughter Brenda, 3, who immediately went crying to neighbors. Neighbors then found the young mother lying face down on the bed, her arms crossed and tied behind her back with a necktie. Neckties also bound Camp’s neck and ankles, and a necktie was stuffed in her mouth as a gag. She had been stabbed four times in the back while her two older children played outside and her three-month-old daughter Christine lay on a white blanket on the living room floor, nursing a warm bottle of milk.
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Homicide:
David Redowl
27 YOA
610 West 3rd St.
Sioux City, Iowa (Woodbury County)
April 26, 1997
At approx. 2:00 a.m., Redowl and his 24-year-old sister, Sonja, had a physical altercation in the back yard of their mother’s Sioux City residence, which both Redowl and his sister listed as their home. The SCPD and medical personnel were called at 2:07 a.m. Upon arrival they found Redowl unconscious and he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Mercy Medical Center. Cause of death was a stab wound to the chest. Because of conflicting witness statements and inconsistencies, no charges were ever filed.
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Homicide:
Wilbur Brown
47 YOA
603 West 5th St.
Sioux City, Iowa (Woodbury County)
Sept. 14, 1997
An area resident returning home at approx. 5:30 a.m. noticed Brown lying on the ground between a curb and the sidewalk. After calling Sioux City Police, Brown was transported to a hospital and died shortly thereafter. An autopsy revealed he’d been beaten about the head and body and died as a result of those injuries. Brown had recently received and cashed his paycheck, though no money was found on his person. Police interviewed numerous people but no suspects were arrested.
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Homicide:
Betty Swetnam
73 YOA
1610 West 19th St.
Sioux City, Iowa (Woodbury County)
January 1, 1994
When Swetnam’s family couldn’t contact her by phone, they sent her grandson and granddaughter’s husband to check on her welfare. The grandson found his grandmother dead at the bottom of the basement steps. She had received multiple stab wounds. Sioux City police observed that the house had been ransacked, with drawers dumped out of dressers. The victim had operated a massage business out of her home, and though investigators interviewed every client named in Swetnam’s book as well as all relatives and associates, no viable suspects were developed.
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Missing Person:
Barbara L. Elms
50 YOA
Missing From: Cedar Rapids (Linn County)
Date Reported Missing: August 25, 1993
Barbara Elms was reported missing to the Cedar Rapids Police Department on August 25, 1993.
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