Benton County in Iowa

Blairstown in Benton County

Amos Wesley Jellison

Homicide

Amos Wesley Jellison
74 YOA
Prospect Street
Blairstown, IA
Benton County
Case Number: 81-04503
August 2, 1981

Victim case file information provided by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation

Amos Jellison, a 74-year-old former railroad employee, was beaten to death on August 2, 1981, in his Blairstown, Iowa, mobile home during an alleged robbery.

According to local rumors, Jellison preferred to squirrel away his savings at home rather than at the local bank.

The rumor cost Jellison his life, said Benton County Sheriff Office Detective Pete Wright. Robbery was the motive, Wright is quoted as saying in a Cedar Rapids Gazette article dated March 22, 1992, but no stash of cash was [found at the home] to take. Wright said he had a suspect in the case.

Jellison, a widower, and one of his younger brothers, Elmer, lived next door to one another in Blairstown and frequently spent their days fishing.

Courtesy photo Dean Close, Vinton Today

Amos Jellison’s trailer home once sat at this location (photo taken 2011).

About Amos Jellison

Amos Wesley Jellison was born to George and Etta Mae (Haskins) Jellison on November 5, 1906.

He married Elsie McCreedy in Cook County, Ill., in December 1957.

After retiring from the railroad, Jellison helped out his wife by doing maintenance work in the two apartment complexes she owned and managed.

Memorial services were held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 6, at Russell’s Funeral Home in Blairstown. Amos Jellison was buried at the Dunkard Cemetery in Midway, Iowa.

Information Needed

When the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) established a Cold Case Unit in late 2009, Amos Jellison’s murder was one of approximately 150 cases listed on the Cold Case Unit’s new website as those the DCI hoped to solve using latest advancements in DNA technology. Although the Cold Case Unit closed down in December 2011 due to lack of funding, the DCI continues to investigate cases where progress was being made. They also follow up on any new leads provided in these cases.

Anyone with information regarding Amos Jellison’s unsolved murder is asked to contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010, e-mail dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us, or contact the Benton County Sheriff’s Office at (319) 472-2337.

Sources:

• Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation
• “Cold Cases: Five murders remain unsolved in county; four between ’77 and ’81,” Vinton Today, October 14, 2011
• “Murdered, Missing, Unsolved: Answers elusive to many murders, disappearances,” Cedar Rapids Gazette, March 22, 1992
• “Lawmen stay mum on Blairstown murder,” Cedar Rapids Gazette, August 23, 1981
• “Blairstown probe leads to Iowa City,” Cedar Rapids Gazette, August 5, 1981