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James Charles Huff, Jr.
Homicide
James Charles Huff, Jr.
26 YOA
Case # 7700102
Vinton, Iowa (Benton County)
Crime Date: January 1, 1977
Date of Death: January 5, 1977
Case summary by Nancy Bowers
New Year’s Day of 1977 was bitter cold in Benton County, Iowa, with temperatures slowly rising from a low of 18 below zero during the night.
Work in rural areas goes on, regardless of weather or holidays. So when an ambulance service in Palo, Iowa, was dispatched at 2:00 p.m. to assist someone at the farm of 62-year-old Lindsey Edgar “Ed” Huelsenbeck northeast of Shellsburg, Iowa, attendants probably thought they were responding to a farm-related accident.
The injured person was 26-year-old James Charles Huff, Jr., who had lived and worked as a hired hand on the Huelsenbeck farm since his birthday on November 24, 1976.
When the ambulance arrived, James Huff was unconscious from a head wound and possible skull fracture. But he also had numerous other injuries: bruises and lacerations on his chest, on the sides of his arms and legs, and on his knees. He was first taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids and then transferred to University Hospitals in Iowa City, where he remained in critical condition until dying on Wednesday, January 5.
 Ed and Jean Huelsenbeck |
When the investigation into his death began, one newspaper reported that the Huelsenbecks said Huff fell down a flight of stairs and bumped his head on a bed. Another newspaper stated that no one at the farm knew what happened, but they were aware Huff fell and received bruises several times in recent days.
However, Sheriff Kenneth Popenhagen told the Waterloo Courier that 17-year-old Michael Huelsenbeck, son of farm owners Ed and Jean Huelsenbeck, discovered the unconscious man in the barn where Huff was doing chores.
Popenhagen believed that Huff’s injuries were not received at one time but were sustained over the course of several days.
This puzzling death remains one of Benton County’s unsolved murders.
James Charles Huff, Jr., was born November 24, 1950, in Canton, Ohio, to Edna and James Charles Huff, Sr. He moved to Cedar Rapids in 1972 to be near his father, who had remarried.
At the time of his death, he was survived by relatives in Ohio -- his mother; a sister, Janet Confalone; and his grandfather, Joseph Oliver. In Iowa, he left behind his father, stepmother, two stepsisters -- Elizabeth Lahmon and Linda Huff -- and four stepbrothers -- David, Larry, Terry, and Dale Huff. He also had a grandmother, Hilda Linhart, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Services for James Charles Huff, Jr., were held on Saturday, January 8, 1977 at the Chapel of Memories in Cedar Rapids, and he was buried in Cedar Memorial Cemetery.
Sources:
IDPS Division of Criminal Investigation
“Benton man’s death probed,” Waterloo Courier, January 6, 1977.
“Injuries Fatal to Young C.R. Man, Funeral Saturday,” Cedar Rapids Gazette, January 6, 1977.
“Palo Man Critical With Head Injury,” Cedar Rapids Gazette, January 1, 1977.
“Probe Continues Into Huff Incident,” Cedar Rapids Gazette, January 3, 1977.
Page last updated: August 17, 2010
