William Meadows
William Lawrence Meadows
36 YOA
Case # 6100280
Plainfield, IA
Bremer County
January 24, 1961
Marshall William Lawrence Meadows, 36, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 24, 1961, while investigating a burglary in progress at the Hartmann Packing Plant in Plainfield.
At approximately 2 a.m., a loud noise was called in by a resident across the street from the packing plant.
Bremer County in Iowa
Night Marshall Meadows responded, accompanied by plant owner Theodore Hartmann and his son, Kenneth Hartmann.
As Officer Meadows entered the building through the front door, he was shot through the heart.
Hartmann Packing Plant, where Marshall Meadows was shot.
Multiple shots were fired by the burglars, who were attempting to crack open the plant’s safe at the time of the shooting.
A $500 reward was offered by Iowa Governor Norman Erbe.
William Lawrence Meadows was born October 3, 1924 in Clearlake, Washington, to Jeanne Elizabeth Pringle and Dr. Lawrence Harland Meadows.
During WWII, he was a Staff Sergeant in the 776 Bomb Squadron of the Army Air Forces.
For 15 years, he farmed two-and-a-half miles north of Plainfield.
He had been Plainfield Night Marshall for five years.
Meadows was not married. At the time of his death, he lived with his aunt, Edna Voss.
Courtesy photo findagrave.comHe was buried in Harlington Cemetery in Waverly.
The Medal of Merit for Valor Award was presented to his family by the National Peace Officers Association and his name was placed on the Memorial Roll of Honor at the Police Hall of Fame and Museum at Port Charlotte, Florida.
Questions and information about the unsolved 1961 murder of Marshall William Meadows should be directed to the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office or Iowa Cold Cases through the Contact form.
It would be great to find the killer of William. He sounded like a quiet man who was simply doing his job when he was murdered. It’s really sad.