William Reed

William M. Reed

Undetermined

William M. Reed
49 YOA
4795 N.E. 28th Court
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
January 11, 1972

Case Summary by Jody Ewing

William M. Reed, 49, died of carbon monoxide poisoning sometime between midnight and 1 a.m. January 11, 1972, in a mobile home at 4795 N.E. Twenty-Eighth Court. No source for lethal fumes was ever found.

Reed, a Des Moines labor leader, was convicted of conspiracy in three bombing incidents against contractors who refused to hire union iron workers.

Polk County in Iowa

Des Moines in Polk County

No official ever termed Reed’s death as murder or caused by foul play. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation, however, called Reed’s death “questionable,” due to the inability to locate a source for the lethal fumes that killed him.

Questions and information about the suspicious 1972 death of William M. Reed should be directed to the Des Moines Police Department at 515-283-4864 or Iowa Cold Cases through the Contact form.

Sources

• Des Moines Police Department
• “List of ‘case open’ slayings in Iowa,” Des Moines Register, September 8, 1974.

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