As today comes to an end, the families of three more Iowa victims go to bed knowing yet another year has passed without answers or justice for their loved one’s lost life.
Dennis Clougherty, a 23-year-old Vietnam vet and soon-to-be graduate student, was shot five times while hitchhiking through Iowa.
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.
This map shows the I-80 route from Madison, WI, to Torrington, WY. Clougherty was found in Cedar Falls north of Waterloo near the map’s purple star.
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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Eugene Martin disappeared while delivering newspapers for the Des Moines Register.
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.
Eugene Martin’s aunt, Jeannie McDowell, told WHO-TV’s Aaron Brilbeck in a July 2010 Iowa Cold Cases segment she believes her dying brother, Don Martin, needs some type of closure in his son’s disappearance before he can let himself go. The elder Martin once read and clipped from daily papers every article or reference he could find about Eugene. Courtesy photo WHO-TV
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.
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.
John Jeffery, murdered 20 years ago today
Homicides do not claim just one victim. They’re like the proverbial stone plunked into the pond—the effects of murder ripple ever outward from the violent act.
John Wayne Jeffery was murdered on May 30, 1990. Twenty years later, his family and three children still feel the consequences.
His first wife, Pamela, has observed first-hand and shared with Iowa Cold Cases the impact of John’s death on family members who have struggled since the murder, which was life-changing for them. To read about these problems is heartbreaking.
When we remember our victims, we also remember those left behind who must come to terms with what has happened to their loved ones.
Memorial Day is an appropriate time to reflect on all of homicide’s victims.
Jared Parks
Accidental fall? Suicide? Pedestrian-vehicle accident? Murder made to look like mishap?
These questions swirled around the death of 18-year-old Jared Parks after his body was found a little before midnight on Monday, May 11, 2009 on Interstate 35/80 near the Beaver Avenue Bridge in Polk County, Iowa.
This much was known:
• Jared was struck by at least two semi tractor-trailers and possibly a third that did not stop.
• He was seen lying unconscious on the road by the first truck driver.
• The Polk County Medical Examiner ruled his injuries consistent with being run over.
• His cellphone, wallet, earrings, and tennis shoes were missing.
• He left his girlfriend’s home at 9:30 p.m., saying he’d return soon. At the same time, he texted his mother that he’d be home at 11:30.
• He was not driving a car.
• Only a few calls or texts were linked to his cellphone after he contacted his mother.
• Although investigators could ping his phone to a cell tower close to the body, they could not locate the phone, possibly because it was tossed into undergrowth.
The popular and outgoing Jared, son of Tammy and Chad Parks, graduated from Urbandale High School early, but planned to participate in the upcoming commencement ceremony.
Hundred of friends remembered Jared at a candle-lit memorial. The unanswered question that lingered at the ceremony was what had happened to this happy and well-liked young man.
Iowacoldcases.org received anonymous information that Jared may have known people who were involved in drugs. There is no way to verify this, but perhaps someone out there knows more facts and will come forward.
If you can help solve this perplexing death, call the Iowa State Patrol at 515-323-4360 or Polk County Crime Stoppers at 515-223-1400.
Jared’s mom and dad are offering a $10,000 reward for information.
Sometimes, I must admit, it’s just downright difficult hunting down information on a specific cold case. Despite the number of online search engines and newspaper archives, some cases, it seems, are just plain elusive.
I’ve been dealing with that problem with one of today’s cold case anniversaries — that of Becky Palmer — killed 19 years ago (Nov. 16, 1990) at 1300 E. 25th Ct. in Des Moines. I’ve got the case number, too (1990-40843), but searches under Becky Palmer and Rebecca Palmer have turned up nothing under “this” specific Becky Palmer.
A few months ago, Lt. Moran of the Des Moines Police Dept. was kind enough to send me a list of the city’s open homicides, but they’ve got a lot of them (79) dating back to 1951, and a lot of time and resources would have gone into sending along case description summaries and photos for all 79 victims. The list he sent, however, ensured I had a complete — and equally as important, accurate — list for the state’s biggest city, and his goodwill already has saved me countless hours of uncovering all those names. For that I am grateful.
And yes, I also must admit I tend to thrive on research, so take my grumblings about the AWOL Becky Palmer articles with a grain of salt… (smile)
Of course if you’re reading this and just “happen” to have some of those articles or a Becky Palmer photo lying around you’d like to share, don’t let my explorations come between your keyboard and my inbox.
To contact the Des Moines police with information about this case, please call (515) 283-4864.
Charles Elmquist
Today’s other cold case anniversary involves missing person Charles Elmquist, who disappeared from Iowa City in 1979.
Elmquist’s 1961 blue GMC van was located on November 17, 1979, parked in the Univ. of Iowa Hydraulics Laboratory storage lot.
Elmquist was 34 when he disappeared; today he would be 64.
If you have any information about Charles Elmquist’s case please call the Iowa City Police Department at (319) 356-5275 or the Missing Person Information Clearinghouse / Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at 1-800-346-5507.
Tomorrow’s Anniversary
Bobbi Crawford
Roberta “Bobbi” Crawford, 53, was found murdered inside her Hampton, Iowa, home on November 17, 1999. Authorities said she died of blunt trauma to the head.
Crawford’s body was found after co-workers at Ellsworth Community College, Iowa Falls, reported her missing.
If you have any information about Bobbi Crawford’s murder, contact the Hampton Police Dept. at (515) 456-2529.
Yours in hope,
Jody
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.
Thank you to Bonnie Maier for passing along the information regarding 13-year-old Eugene Martin, who disappeared on August 12, 1984, while delivering newspapers for the Des Moines Register. Eugene now has a page up on the ICC website.
Eugene’s disappearance came almost two years after that of 12-year-old Register paperboy Johnny Gosch on Sept. 5, 1982, and many still believe the two cases are connected. At one time, a $94,000 reward was offered — $25,000 of that by the Des Moines Register — for information leading to the recovery of either Johnny or Eugene. Both boys remain officially missing.
The ICC Cases text only page now lists over 90 names of unsolved homicides and missing persons cases. If the name does not contain an active hyperlink, we are still working to collect information and photos for that case. We’ve got a long way to go; Iowa currently has just over 150 unsolved homicides and almost 50 long-time missing persons cases like that of Johnny Gosch, Eugene Martin and Jodi Huisentruit. Somewhere, someone knows something.
Can you help? If you have any information (news articles, photos, details) please send them along. Yes, this information will be shared with Iowa’s new Cold Cases Unit. Anonymous tips are acceptable and may be sent via the Contact page. (Just enter “Anonymous” in the name field.)
And, stay tuned for upcoming new developments with the Iowa Cold Cases website.
Yours in hope,
Jody
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