Judith Weeks
Judith Weeks
44 YOA
1319 Second Ave. SE
Cedar Rapids, IA
Linn County
April 5, 1999
Linn County in Iowa
On Monday afternoon, April 5, 1999, a passerby discovered the body of 44-year-old Judith “Judy” Kay Weeks in the backyard of a vacant apartment house at 1319 Second Avenue SE in the Wellington Heights neighborhood of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Judy had on what she was last seen wearing: a green shirt, a flower-patterned vest, and a tan jacket. Her jeans were nearby and she was nude from the waist down. The 5-foot-2-inch, 115-pound woman was killed by a blow on the forehead with a blade-like weapon.
Judith lived a short, troubled life. She had two children who were not living with her, and was in a turbulent relationship with 40-year-old Darryl Harbison. In the six years leading to her murder, she was arrested 25 times — 21 times for public intoxication. In 1998, she served two days in jail for threatening another woman with a knife.
Darryl Harbison was convicted of assaulting Judy twice in 1997 and both times was issued a no-contact order. At the time of her murder, he was in the Linn County Jail for failing to complete a batterer’s education program, a stipulation attached to a 30-day sentence for one of the assaults on Judy. After her death, Harbison told reporters, “I loved her more than anything” and said he had planned to marry her when he got out of jail.
Judy had trouble keeping jobs. One of her last positions was at Denny’s Green Square Pub and Restaurant in Cedar Rapids, but she lost the work because she was undependable.
For three months preceding her death, Judy shared a 325-dollar-a-month, one-room apartment at 1002 Fifth Street SE with 68-year-old Clarence Johnson, who called himself “a father figure” to her. They pooled her welfare checks and his Social Security money to make ends meet and got food from local food pantries.
Johnson said Judy was “a lovable girl” but kept late hours and bad company. He also acknowledged she had alcohol problems.
At 3:00 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, April 3, Johnson said Judith called a cab to go to an address three blocks from where her body was found; but Johnson did not know who she went to see.
About noon on Saturday, Clarence Johnson wrote a check for 225 dollars as part of the rent on the apartment where they lived. He didn’t know how to spell the landlord’s name so left the “pay to” line blank. Judith took the check and left. Witnesses could account for her whereabouts until early Sunday morning, April 4.
Judy died in a dangerous neighborhood where there were two other violent homicides the same year. A 2,000 dollar reward was offered by police for information in her murder, but no leads of substance were reported.
Judith Kay Weeks was born January 9, 1955 in Cedar Rapids to Katherine Elizabeth Fabritz and Everett M. Weeks. She was survived by her mother; grandmother, Elizabeth Fabritz; son, Ryan; daughter, Kristin Coker; brother, Thomas Weeks; and three sisters, Barbara Weeks Walter, Paula Weeks Musel, and Kathleen Weeks Bessey.
A private funeral service was held at Cedar Memorial Chapel of Memories in Cedar Rapids and she was buried in the nearby cemetery.
Questions and information about the unsolved 1999 murder of Judith Weeks should be directed to the Cedar Rapids Police Department or to Iowa Cold Cases through the Contact form.
I want the police to step up and try and solve some of these older cases there is two kids out here in this tuff life without there mom you guys want to talk about all the negative things that happened to her or that she did and its not right clean your own closet before you go trying to clean someone elses out thank you and plese soomeone say something that will turn this into a solved case