Black Hawk County in Iowa
*Please Note: The cases listed below are within Black Hawk County but may fall under a city police department’s jurisdiction. They are included here for cross-reference purposes. More specific information may be found on each victim’s individual page.
Homicide
Deborah Ann Simmons
62 YOA
The New York House
Jefferson Street
Waterloo, Iowa
Black Hawk County
April 26, 1879
On Saturday April 26, 1879, Deborah Ann Simmons, 62, was struck on the head while she lay in bed. She died the next morning without regaining consciousness. Her son, George Simmons, Jr., was charged with the crime but released after an 11-day hearing.
Photo Needed
Homicide
Friedrich Paul “Fred” Widmann
30 YOA
Waterloo, Iowa
Black Hawk County
October 11, 1908
Fred Widmann, a patrolman with the Waterloo Police Department, was shot at approximately 3:10 a.m. on October 11, 1908, when he stumbled upon burglars trying to break into the Coburn and Son Bicycle and Gun Shop behind East 4th Street in Waterloo.
Homicide
Joseph Busemi
27 YOA
Old Paper Mill
Waterloo, Iowa
Black Hawk County
October 4, 1915
The body of Italian immigrant Joseph Busemi, 27, was found on the morning of October 5, 1915 on a deserted road near the old Waterloo Paper Mill along the banks of the Cedar River. He was beaten to death and his throat slashed the night before.
Melvin Gallagher
Homicide
Melvin James (Regan) Gallagher
22 YOA
Clark Super 100 Service Station
210 Falls Ave.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
January 3, 1959
At about 5:15 a.m. on a bitterly cold Saturday morning, January 3, 1959, Melvin Gallagher was killed by a shotgun blast to the head as he prepared to end his night-shift at the Clark Super 100 service station located at 210 Falls Ave. in Waterloo.
Dale Redman
Homicide
Dale Redman
57 YOA
La Porte City
Black Hawk County
March 5, 1968
Dale Redman, a La Porte City dairy businessman, was shot twice in the face at close range and six times in the back of the head with a .22 caliber gun on March 5, 1968. Redman’s billfold was missing and robbery may have been a motive.
Dennis Clougherty
Homicide:
Dennis Michael Clougherty
23 years of age
U.S. Highway 20
Cedar Falls, IA
Black Hawk County
August 12, 1974
At 6:18 a.m. on Tuesday, August 13, 1974, a motorist discovered the body of a man lying in the ditch of Union Road just south of U.S. Highway 20 (now Highway 57 or W. 1st Street) located in the extreme northwest corner of Cedar Falls. The victim was Dennis Michael Clougherty, date of birth 1-31-51. A coroner’s report indicated Mr. Clougherty had died of five gunshot wounds to his body.
Steven Kirchhoff
Missing Person:
Steven Dick Kirchhoff
Age at Report: 22
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Date Reported Missing: February 5, 1978
Steven Kirchhoff was last seen in his hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, on February 5, 1978, and reported missing to the Waterloo Police Department. He is missing under unusual circumstances and is believed to have been taken against his will. Authorities think his disappearance may have been drug-related.
Mattie Lou Zabel
Missing Person:
Mattie Lou Zabel
Age at Report: 45
Missing From: Cedar Falls, IA
Black Hawk County
Missing Since: March 21, 1978
Mattie Zabel was last seen by her family on March 21, 1978, in her hometown of Cedar Falls, Iowa. She left behind not only her husband, Jack, and three children, but also a frozen chicken thawing in the kitchen sink that was to be the family’s dinner.
Willie Ann Rucker
Missing Person: Presumed Homicide
Willie Ann Rucker
Age at Report: 27
Incident Type: Involuntary
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Missing Since: April 8, 1979
On April 8, 1979, Willie Ann Rucker called her sister from a grocery store after working late and asked her to take Rucker’s three children to her apartment on West Donald Street in Waterloo, where she would meet them. She never arrived.
Richard Forsyth
Missing Person:
Richard Neil Forsyth
Age: 27
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Missing Since: October 18, 1979
Richard Forsyth was last seen in Waterloo, Iowa on October 18, 1979, leaving his apartment and carrying something wrapped in a rug. He has never been heard from again.
Double Homicide
Robert J. Huntbach, 85
Goldie Huntbach, 77
311 West 10th Street
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
January 12, 1981
Robert J. Huntbach, 85, and his 77-year-old wife Goldie were shot and killed during an apparent robbery in their home on January 12, 1981.
Viola Findley
Missing Person
Viola Marie Findley
NamUS MP # 2914
Age at Report: 29
Date of Birth: December 17, 1954
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Date Missing: September 1, 1983
Viola Marie Findley left Florida on September 1, 1983, to head back to Waterloo, Iowa where she lived with her children. She was never seen nor heard from again.
Missing Person
James H. Pretlow
Age at Report: 60
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Incident Type: Endangered / physical
Missing Since: March 29, 1984
James Pretlow was reported missing to the Waterloo Police Department in Waterloo on March 29, 1984.
Homicide
Jeffery “Jo-Jo” Zolliecoffer
23 YOA
Cedar River
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
September 7, 1989
The body of 23-year-old Waterloo resident Jeffery “Jo-Jo” Zolliecoffer — weighted down with concrete blocks — was pulled from the Cedar River north of the business district on September 15. Missing since September 7, he was shot in the head.
Missing Person
Daniel John Anderson
DOB: July 9, 1987
Age At Report: 4
Weight: 50 lbs.
Height: 3’00″
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Sex: Male
Incident Type: Child lost/wandered away
Missing From: Waterloo
Black Hawk County
Agency: Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office
Missing Since: January 25, 1992
Daniel J. Andersen, four years of age, was reported missing to the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office in Waterloo, Iowa, on January 25, 1992.
Angela Buck
Homicide:
Angela Renee Buck
37 YOA
Waterloo/Dunkerton, IA
Black Hawk County
August 9, 1995
The body of 37-year-old Angela Renee Buck was found with a single gunshot wound to the chest on Friday, August 11, 1995 near a creek on North Pilot Grove Road, 1 1/2 miles east of Independence Avenue east of Waterloo and south of Dunkerton. The site was in a wooded area, just below a short bridge.
L.C. Matlock
Missing Person:
L.C. Matlock
Age at Report: 37
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Missing Since: July 5, 2004
On July 5, 2004, 37-year-old L.C. Matlock walked across the Mullen Avenue Bridge in Waterloo, Iowa, and was never seen nor heard from again.
Taveros Galloway
Homicide:
Taveros “Dino” DeShaun Galloway
29 YOA
500 block of Courtland St.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
February 10, 2009
Taveros “Dino” Galloway, a 29-year-old father of four, was shot in the head about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, February 10, 2009, while driving his GMC Yukon in the 500 block of Courtland Street in Waterloo, Iowa. The SUV kept moving for about two blocks before coming to a stop in a yard.
Rodricus Jones
Homicide
Rodricus Keith Jones
aka Rodricus Echols
23 YOA
912 Broadway St.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
September 12, 2010
Robert Keith Echols Jones, 23, was shot in the 900 block of Broadway St. in Waterloo, Iowa, about 2:15 a.m. on Sunday, September 12, 2010.
If you have any information about any of these cases please contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s Cold Case Unit at (515) 725-6010, or send e-mail to: coldcaseunit@dps.state.ia.us.
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