 Delaware County  Ryan, IA, in Delaware County |
Carl Anthony Brunen
Homicide:
Carl Anthony Brunen
81 YOA
Case # 7200427
Ryan, Iowa (Delaware County)
November 8, 1972
Case summary by Nancy Bowers
On November 8, 1972 — one day before his 82nd birthday — Carl Anthony Brunen was found dead in front of his rural residence six miles northwest of Coggon, Iowa, in Delaware County. The house where he lived alone was ransacked and his billfold and an older model shotgun were missing.
An autopsy showed that Brunen sustained broken ribs and died from a massive skull fracture. He was dead for several hours before his body was discovered by his landlord Kenneth Barker.
Delaware County Sheriff Mike Barr called for assistance from the Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation. No motive other than robbery could be uncovered and authorities speculated that the killer was a transient.
Carl Anthony Brunen was the oldest of 11 children born to Benjamin and Marie Brunen, who immigrated to Iowa from Germany in the mid-1880s.
Sadly, he became one more name on the list of elderly Iowans living alone who were targets of opportunity, perceived as helpless to fight back, and homed in on because it was believed there might be something valuable among their possessions.
Sources and References:
IDPS Division of Criminal Investigation
“82-Year-Old Beaten to Death,” Iowa City Press-Citizen, November 9, 1972.
“Find Man Beaten to Death; Look For Motive, Oelwein Daily Register, November 11, 1972.
“Robbery Motive Seen in Slaying,” Cedar Rapids Gazette, November 10, 1972.
“Seek Motive For Slaying,” Estherville Daily News, November 9, 1972.
“Seek motive in death,” Muscatine Journal, November 11, 1972.
Page last updated: March 2, 2010
