Lois Arlene Bradley
74 YOA
Argonne Apartments
1729 Grand #204
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1991-27537
June 27, 1991
Lois Arlene Bradley, 74, was found dead in her Des Moines apartment on Saturday, June 29, 1991. Bradley, who occupied Apt. # 204 in the Argonne Apartments at 1729 Grand Avenue, lived alone and had been strangled.
According to a Des Moines Register article published July 1, 1991, police would not comment on whether or not Bradley’s apartment had been ransacked or whether she had been sexually assaulted, but were working with Bradley’s friends and neighbors to determine if anything was missing.
Bradley’s actual date of death has been reported as early as June 15 and as late as June 27.
State Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Bennett ruled Bradley died of ligature strangulation two days before her body was found. A Register article published on September 13, 2003, however, listed Bradley’s date of death as June 21, and the United States Social Security Death Index recorded Bradley’s date of death as June 15. Register articles published in 2004 and 2005 (which focused on other Des Moines unsolved murders) ended with a timeline of other unsolved cases only by year.
While questions remain as to Bradley’s actual date of death, the Des Moines Police Department confirmed to Iowa Cold Cases on July 10, 2009, that her homicide remains unsolved.
Lois Arlene Bradley was born April 10, 1917 in Des Moines to Benjamin and Elsie (Johnson) Bradley. Her only sibling, Robert, died as a child.
According to the Register’s 1991 article, Lois Bradley was a lifelong Des Moines resident who cared for her parents until they passed away in the ’70s. Known as a “quiet” woman who seldom ventured from her Des Moines apartment, Bradley preferred to stay at home and read.
Anyone with information regarding Lois Bradley’s unsolved murder is asked to contact the Des Moines Police Department at 515-283-4864. You may also send information to Iowa Cold Cases via our Contact form.
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