Jasper County in Iowa
*Please Note: The cases listed below are within Jasper 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
Mr. Knisely
Age Unknown
Near Indian Creek
Jasper County
Summer 1848
A Mr. Knisely, who lived alone in a cabin near Indian Creek in Jasper County, suddenly disappeared in the summer of 1848. Two brothers named Hamlin were brought to trial but not convicted in the murder.
Homicide
Jeremiah R. Zollinger
65 YOA
Newton, IA
Jasper County
February 24, 1895
Former Jasper County Sheriff Jeremiah “Jerry” Zollinger, 65, was attacked and struck on the head near his Newton home on the night of February 23, 1895. He died a few hours later.
James Bailey
Homicide:
James M. Bailey, Jr.
32 YOA
Case # 7500503
Colfax, Iowa
Jasper County
August 14, 1975
On Thursday, August 14, 1975, 32-year-old James M. “Beetle” Bailey, Jr., of Mentor, Ohio, was shot at the I-80 Colfax ramp in Jasper County, Iowa, while motorcycling west with two friends, 27-year-old Paul Philemon and 31-year-old Richard Vesey. They were members of the Cleveland Chapter of the Hell’s Angels and on their way to Sturgis, South Dakota.
Melisa Gregory
Steven Fisher
Double Homicide
Steven Fisher and Melisa Gregory
Newton, IA
Jasper County
Case # 8301119
March 3, 1983
Steven Fisher and his girlfriend, Melisa Gregory, were found beaten to death at the Copper Dollar Ranch northwest of Newton, Iowa, in Jasper County on March 3, 1983.
If you have any information about 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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