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May 14, 2012 | Pasadena Star-News
Pasadena sex offender, drifter admits role in ‘sadistic’ 1981 Iowa double slaying
A 1981 cold case that involved the robbery and brutal murder of an elderly Iowa farm couple moved closer to a resolution after a 66-year-old drifter and convicted sex offender walked into a police station and confessed, authorities said Monday.
Jack Pursel, 66, who uses a Pasadena mailing address and maintains a home in South Gate, admitted he tortured Robert Huntbach with an electric cattle prod and bound, gagged and maced Goldie Huntbach before killing the couple more than 31 years ago, Waterloo police Chief Daniel Trelka said.
“It was very sadistic; it was a sadistic homicide,” Trelka said.
May 14, 2012 | Des Moines Register
Admission in 1981 Waterloo killings reflection of human need to confess, experts say
Why now?
That’s the question raised by the unusual case of Jack W. Pursel, the 66-year-old California man who last week confessed to the 1981 killings of Robert and Goldie Huntbach of Waterloo.
Pursel was interviewed by police more than 31 years ago but was never charged. He moved out West and for all practical purposes got away with killing the elderly couple, shooting each of them twice in the head.
Yet something motivated Pursel to return to Waterloo and face what he says are his crimes. He told police he was inspired by his conversion to Christianity.
May 11, 2012 | WCF Courier
Call to long-lost brother preceded California man’s confession to murders
WATERLOO, Iowa — When Jack Wendell Pursel walked into the Waterloo Police Department on Tuesday to confess to an unsolved 1981 double slaying, it wasn’t the first time he showed up out of the blue.
Days before his confession, Pursel called a brother he hadn’t seen in years. He told the brother, who wasn’t familiar with the crime, about the killings of 85-year-old Robert Huntbach and his 77-year-old wife, Goldie.
Pursel, 66 and living in South Gate, Calif., then told his brother he was the one who did it and of his plans to go to Waterloo police with the information.
May 11, 2012 | Iowa City Press-Citizen
‘I think about it every day’
It was shortly after sunrise Tuesday, Aug. 13, 1985, when employees on the University of Iowa’s Oakdale campus found the body. Face up on the floor of an open-air park shelter, 22-year-old Lance Lee DeWoody, wearing blue jeans, a blue jacket and tennis shoes, lay dead of gunshot wounds to the head and neck.
May 11, 2012 | Iowa City Press-Citizen
‘I’ve got it in my mind I’m going to solve these cases’
Some of the cases sitting on Iowa City police investigator David Gonzalez’s desk are decades old. Investigators before Gonzalez have been unable to solve the murders detailed in the thick case files, but the veteran detective is not dissuaded. In fact, when Gonzalez picks up those cases every day, thumbs through them and tries to uncover more leads to follow, there is one recurring thought.
“I’ve got it in my mind I’m going to solve these cases,” he said. “That’s the attitude that I have when I started, that’s the attitude I have now.”
May 11, 2012 | Iowa City Press-Citizen
Keeping cold cases from being forgotten
When Jody Ewing first began writing about Iowa’s unsolved murders, people would ask if she had a personal connection to a cold case that sparked her interest. Until 2007, the answer was always no.
May 11, 2012 | MSNBC.com
Three decades after double homicide, man allegedly walks into Iowa police station and confesses
Three decades have passed since Robert and Goldie Huntbach were found tied up and shot to death in their Waterloo, Iowa, home, and no suspects were ever arrested in the elderly couple’s murders – until this week, when one of them voluntarily walked into police headquarters and confessed.
May 10, 2012 | KGAN CBS 2
Top Stories — University of Iowa Police Hoping for New Information in Nearly 40 Year Old Murder
IOWA CITY, IA (KGAN/KFXA) — Here in Iowa there’s a site dedicated to highlighting the state’s cases that have run cold. The site contains homicides, missing persons, all of the unsolved.
“We do have cold cases of our own,” says Alton Poole.
Jack Pursel’s confession to a 30 year double homicide in Waterloo has sparked new interest in other cold cases especially one on the campus of The University of Iowa.
May 10, 2012 | KWWL.com Channel 7
Cold cases land in spotlight
WATERLOO (KWWL) - They are the cases authorities continue to look at, even decades later.
In 1995, Angela Buck was shot in her chest. Her body was found south of Dunkerton in a wooded area.
In 1977, Ronald Butler was stabbed to death in the bathroom of his home in Waterloo.
In 1974, Dennis Clougherty died of five gunshot wounds. His body found near Union Road in Cedar Falls.
These are just some of the cases haunting investigators.
May 10, 2012 | The Des Moines Register
Iowa police say they had suspicions about man who admits to decades old murder
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a California man who’s confessed to killing an Iowa couple more than 30 years ago was one of several people of interest to investigators back then.
Sixty-six-year-old Jack Pursel, of South Gate in southern California, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Robert and Goldie Huntbach, of Waterloo, on Jan. 12, 1981.
Pursel showed up at the Waterloo Police Department on Tuesday and confessed to killing the Huntbachs during a planned robbery.
May 10, 2012 | ABC NEWS
Iowa Double Murder: Man Confesses Three Decades Later
The grisly murder and robbery of an elderly couple in Waterloo, Iowa, stunned the community three decades ago. But the case remained unsolved until a 66-year-old man walked into a police station and confessed on Wednesday.
Jack Wendell Pursel was in court today for an initial appearance, where a judge raised Pursel’s bail from $500,000 to $2 million for shooting Richard Huntbach, 85, and wife Goldie, 77.
Courtesy photo Matthew Putney / WCF Courier May 10, 2012 | WCF Courier
UPDATE: Confessed killer appears in court
WATERLOO, Iowa — Bond for the California man who allegedly confessed this week to a 1981 double slaying has been raised to $2 million.
Jack Wendell Pursel, 66, recently of South Gate, was originally held on $500,000 bond for two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 85-year-old Robert Huntbach and his 77-year-old wife, Goldie.
May 10, 2012 | The Des Moines Register
A Murder confession ‘completely out of nowhere’
A neighbor found the bodies of Robert and Goldie Huntbach on Jan. 13, 1981, a Monday, in their modest home west of downtown Waterloo.
The elderly couple — he was 85, she was 77 — died sometime Sunday night or early that morning. Both were shot twice in the head. A witness reported seeing a suspicious person near the Huntbach home Saturday or Sunday. Waterloo police interviewed dozens of people, but the dragnet never produced charges.
May 4, 2012 | KCCI Ch. 8 Des Moines
Families seek clues in slaying, disappearance
NORWALK, Iowa - A central Iowa family was searching for answers and justice Thursday.
Bill Wood, 79, and his wife, Kay, were more than soulmates. They were best friends, and they were deeply in love, family members said
But the end of their lives together is a mystery. In July, Bill Wood was found shot to death inside his burned-down Norwalk home, and his wife has not been seen since.
May 2, 2012 | KSDK.com Channel 5
Police release new information on I-70 killer
St. Charles, MO (KSDK) – Thursday, May 3, will mark the 20th anniversary of the murder of Nancy Kitzmiller at the Boot Village store in St. Charles, Missouri. The murder of Kitzmiller was just one in a series of crimes committed by a man who became known as the I-70 killer. Six crimes, all committed between April and May of 1992, were linked by murder weapon and ammunition.
May 2, 2012 | The Sioux City Journal
5 years later, few answers in Winnebago, Neb., native’s disappearance
SIOUX CITY — Ricarda Tillman-Lockett left Sioux City as a teenager for big-city life in Memphis, Tenn. She was married within a few years. The couple had a baby boy. Tillman-Lockett, 22, was reported missing Feb. 19, 2007, when she didn’t pick up her son, then 11 months old, from a babysitter.
Courtesy photo Tim Hynds/Sioux City JournalApril 26, 2012 | The Sioux City Journal
15 years later, Sioux City death remains mystery
SIOUX CITY — David Leon Redowl Sr., 27, was found bleeding in a pickup behind his family’s West Third Street home. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
It was April 26, 1997.
Fifteen years later, police still are trying to piece together what happened that night. A murder weapon was never found. No charges have been filed.
Courtesy photo Kevin E. Schmidt/QUAD-CITY TIMESApril 23, 2012 | Quad-City Times
Police: Welsh is ‘person of interest’ in other unsolved homicides
A man convicted last week of murdering a Davenport woman in 2007 is now a “person of interest” in two other unsolved homicides in the area involving female victims, police said.
A Scott County jury found 34-year-old Chad Welsh of Burlington guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder and other charges related to the death of 41-year-old Angela Hennes.
April 23, 2012 | Des Moines Register
Convicted Davenport killer eyed in 2 more slayings
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A former car salesman found guilty of strangling a pregnant Davenport prostitute and burning her body is “a person of interest” in at least two other homicides. Chad Welsh, of Burlington, was convicted on Tuesday of murdering 41-year-old Angela Hennes in January 2007.
April 22, 2012 | The Miami Herald
After NYC boy vanished, era of anxiety was born
NEW YORK – A generation of sheltered American children grew up in the shadow of anxiety that fell over this country one day in 1979, when a little boy with a charming grin vanished from a Manhattan street corner.
April 20, 2012 | The Globe and Mail
Who Started the Milk Carton Campaign to Find Missing Children?
Among the missing children featured on the side of milk cartons in the 1980s was Etan Patz – a six year old boy who disappeared nearly 33 years ago, on the very first day his parents let him walk alone to the Soho bus stop en route to school.
The FBI and New York City Police Department announced Thursday that, based on new evidence, they would begin investigating a basement room in a building just blocks from where Etan’s parents continue live.
April 12, 2012 | Des Moines Register
Remains in southeastern Iowa are young woman’s, state says
A set of human remains found in southeastern Iowa last month belongs to a woman in her 20s or early 30s, investigators said this afternoon. The State Medical Examiner’s Office and a forensic anthropologist estimate the woman died last summer or early fall. They did not announce a cause of death. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s Crime Lab will try to help identify her using DNA testing.
April 9, 2012 | Des Moines Register
Attendees at Okland memorial told to carry on spirit of service
WEST DES MOINES — Friends and colleagues of Ashley Okland were encouraged this morning to celebrate the homicide victim’s life by carrying on her spirit of service. Sunday marked the one year anniversary of the 27-year-old’s death. The real estate agent and community volunteer was shot twice at a West Des Moines model home and died later a local hospital on April 8, 2011.
April 6, 2012 | KGAN CBS 2 News
Trial set for ex-Iowa officer who wants job back
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A trial is set for 9 a.m. on October 24th for a former Mason City police officer who’s trying to get her job back. Maria Ohl was fired last year for mishandling information in the abduction of Mason City television anchor Jodi Huisentruit in 1995. Her firing was upheld by a city commission, and Ohl appealed to Cerro Gordo County District Court. Bremer County Judge Christopher Foy has been assigned to the case.
April 6, 2012 | KIMT-TV Channel 3
Trial delayed for man charged in 1996 Iowa killing
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The retrial of a man charged in a 1996 murder case in Des Moines has been delayed. The Des Moines Register says attorneys on Friday agreed to delay from May to October the second trial of 35-year-old David Flores. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for killing Phyllis Davis during a rolling gun battle between rival gangs.
April 4, 2012 | The Des Moines Register
Okland reward now up to $150,000
The reward offered in the Ashley Okland homicide case doubled today, growing from $75,000 to $150,000. Sunday will mark the one-year anniversary of the day the 27-year-old Realtor was shot twice at a West Des Moines model home. She died later at a local hospital.
April 2, 2012 | KCCI Channel 8 Des Moines
Police Release New Info in Ashley Okland Case
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Police said they hope a new larger reward will help convince someone to come forward with information in the Ashley Okland case.
March 31, 2012 | Des Moines Register
After 717 leads, Okland’s death still a mystery
Ashley Okland lives in her mother’s dreams. Images of her eldest child, smiling and laughing, float in and out of Deb Cochran’s mind while she sleeps.
March 29, 2012 | ABC Ch. 5, Des Moines
Questions Linger Surrounding Harry’s Death
Tarah Harry has had seven months to think and rethink what could have possibly happened to her husband 48-year-old Stephon Harry. Now that his body has been found, that leaves her with another set of questions. When Harry didn’t return home from a Des Moines bar on a September evening, Tarah thought the worst.
March 23, 2012 | The Sun
Residents hope stage play about Padfield can teach anti-bullying lessons
The tragic life and death of former Lisbon resident Marlene Padfield will be given a tribute through a dramatic play that centers on the lessons to be learned from bullying and peer pressure, if two Lisbon residents have their way.
Marlene was 17 when she was reported missing after last being seen alive on Feb. 19, 1959, after a late night meeting with a young man in Cedar Rapids. Her remains were found along a dirt road south of old Hwy. 30 between Mount Vernon and Cedar Rapids on April 29, 1959.
March 21, 2012 | Des Moines Register
Iowa Marine declared a homicide victim, not a deserter
The last time Oral Stuart Jr.’s family heard from the 18-year-old was on Nov. 10, 1974, when he called his father asking to borrow some money. Oral Stuart wired the money to his son, a Des Moines native who had attended North High School but hadn’t graduated.
Twelve days later, on Nov. 22, 1974, the military officially listed Oral Stuart Jr. as a deserter. But Long Beach, Calif., police actually had found Stuart’s naked and beaten body late on Nov. 10, 1974. They just didn’t know it until last week.
March 20, 2012 | The Hawk Eye
Discovery of remains spurs M.P. speculation: As investigation starts, police chief notes two women still missing
It will take a month, maybe two, for authorities to determine the identity of skeletal remains two bicycle riders found in rural Henry County Saturday afternoon. Jeff Uhlmeyer, a special agent from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said the difficulty lies in getting credible DNA samples from the bones. ”It probably will be a month or two before we are able to do DNA and other examinations, to match it with the person those remains belong to,” Uhlmeyer said Monday.
Jackie Douthart
March 19, 2012 | KCRG TV-9
Human Remains Found West of Mount Pleasant
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Human remains discovered by children riding their bikes in rural southeastern Iowa could be those of one of two missing women from Mount Pleasant, including a 24-year-old mother who vanished last year amid suggestions of foul play, investigators said Monday.
Courtesy photo Contra Costa TimesMarch 20, 2012 | Fayette Observer
Cold case investigators identify body found in 1974 as missing Iowa Marine
LONG BEACH, Calif. - A body found naked in 1974 at a California condominium complex is a U.S. Marine from Iowa who had been listed as a deserter from Camp Pendleton, authorities said Monday. The man known for more than 37 years as “John Doe #155″ is Oral Stuart Jr. of Des Moines, Long Beach police said in a statement.
March 19, 2012 | The Gazette
Human remains found in ditch could be one of two missing Iowa women, police say
Human remains discovered by children riding their bikes in rural southeastern Iowa could be those of one of two missing women from Mount Pleasant, including a 24-year-old mother who vanished last year amid suggestions of foul play, investigators said Monday.
Investigators are looking into whether the remains are those of either Jackie Leigh Douthart, who disappeared in May, or Elizabeth Syperda, who vanished in 2000 at age 22, Mount Pleasant Police Chief Terry Sammons said.
March 19, 2012 | Quad-City Times
Chief: Remains could be 1 of 2 missing women
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Human remains discovered by children riding their bikes in rural southeastern Iowa could be those of one of two missing women from Mount Pleasant, including a 24-year-old mother who vanished last year amid suggestions of foul play, investigators said Monday.
Investigators are looking into whether the remains are those of either Jackie Leigh Douthart, who disappeared in May, or Elizabeth Syperda, who vanished in 2000 at age 22, Mount Pleasant Police Chief Terry Sammons said. The women are the only two missing persons in Henry County, he said.
March 11, 2012 | Athens Banner-Herald
Psychic helps motivate author to finish book
When T.A. Powell took the challenge of writing a book about the 45-year-old unsolved murder of a federal agent in South Georgia, she reached an impasse — but then she heard from the dead man. The connection with the dead came through a psychic. That is the source, she said, that awakened her desire to finish the book.
February 29, 2012 | WHO-TV Channel 13 Des Moines
WOOD SEARCH: The family of a missing woman continues the search
Seven months after Warren County officials were first called to the burning home of Bill and Kay Wood, investigators say they now have more questions than answers. Kay is still missing.
February 22, 2012 | The Sioux City Journal
Second arrest made in Jordan Peterson death
TUCSON, Ariz. — A second man was identified and arrested Wednesday in connection with the slaying of a former Sioux City man whose remains were found in Pinal County, Ariz., last month, police said. Tucson police arrested Reed J. Marrone, 18, and booked him into Pima County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Jordan “JP” Peterson, said Sgt. Matt Ronstadt, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
February 16, 2012 | The Daily Iowan Editorial Board
Death penalty is costly and ineffective no matter the case
While one might think that killing a prisoner would be less expensive than housing the same person for remainder of her or his life, exactly the opposite is true. In New Jersey, the death penalty was found to costtaxpayers an additional $253 million over a 20-year period. In federal court death-penalty cases, the average cost is nearly eight times that of a murder case not seeking the death penalty. The total cost of Indiana’s death penalty was 38 percent greater than comparable cases not carrying out the capital sentence.
February 14, 2012 | Keokuk Daily Gate City
Feb. 14 heartbreaking for family
When Dolores (Toni Martinez) Hornung, 48, of Keokuk was found murdered on Feb. 14, 1999, in her Keokuk home, it changed Valentine’s Day forever for her loved ones.
January 17, 2012 | The Gazette
One-time suspect in unsolved Cedar Rapids homicide dies in prison
FORT MADISON – A convicted rapist once considered a prime suspect in the 1979 unsolved stabbing death of Cedar Rapids teen Michelle Martinko died this week in the Iowa State Penitentiary Hospice Care Unit, where he was serving a life sentence for an unrelated sexual crime.
Dennis Lee McKee, 61, died a natural death from metastatic colon cancer on Sunday, according to the Iowa Department of Corrections. His sentence for first degree sexual abuse out of Linn County began Aug. 6, 1980.
January 10, 2012 | Denver Post
Denver couple create victims assistance group after son’s unsolved slaying in 1975
Initially, a coroner said Guy Morton’s bones were those of a young Latina woman, setting off a review of missing-female case files. Two hunters had found the skeleton beneath a pile of rocks in a desert area 2 miles west of Interstate 17 and less than a mile north of New River in Maricopa County, Ariz., on Nov. 13, 1975. A broken knife was in the rib cage.
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