Scott County in Iowa

Davenport in Scott County

John Gail Rude

Homicide

John Gail Rude
51 YOA
2500 Blk of Madison
Davenport, IA
Scott County
December 11, 1974

Case summary by Nancy Bowers

In the early morning hours of Saturday, December 14, 1974, Dorothy M. Rude returned to her Davenport home from an out-of-town trip. In the basement, she found the body of her 51-year-old husband, John Gail Rude.

An autopsy performed by Scott County Medical Examiner Dr. Roland Perkins determined Rude was killed by a bullet from a .22 or .25 caliber weapon.

He died approximately 48 hours before his wife said she found him. The Social Security Death Index lists December 11 as the official date of his death, which was ruled a homicide.

The Life of John Rude

John Gail Rude was born October 16, 1923 in Clear Creek in Jasper County to Flossie Irene Neal and John Rude. His mother died about a month after his birth and John and his sister Dora Lourine Rude were raised in Clear Creek by their maternal grandparents, Abbie L. and Thomas Jefferson Neal.

Information Needed

Questions and information about the unsolved 1974 murder of John Gail Rude should be directed to the Davenport Police Department at 319-286-5375 or to Iowa Cold Cases through the Contact form.

Sources

• “Find death is homicide,” Ames Daily Tribune, December 16, 1974.
• “Found dead,” Muscatine Journal, December 14, 1974.
• “Wife finds man’s body,” Waterloo Courier, December 16, 1974.