Website offers hope to victims’ families

On July 13, 2012, in , by Jody Ewing

Iowa’s cold cases: Website offers hope to victims’ families Three women run the nonprofit organization from their homes 12:09 AM, May 31, 2012 Written by DANIEL P. FINNEY   Online collection of Iowa cold cases: Jody Ewing started the website iowacoldcases.org. The website has information on hundreds of Iowa cold cases. She hopes it helps […]

Don’t Let Iowa’s Cold Case Unit Fade From Existence

On October 18, 2011, in Letters, by Eileen Meier

(This piece was published in the Des Moines Register on October 18, 2011.) The funding for the Iowa Cold Case Unit, established with a $500,000 National Institute of Justice grant and $194,000 federal Community Oriented Policing Service grant, is due to expire in November, and with it my hopes that the unit would be given […]

A Hit-and-Run Homicide

On May 6, 2011, in Anniversaries, The Families, by Eileen Meier

My sister Valerie Peterson was killed 40 years ago today. It is still my hope that a task force pulled from Iowa law enforcement, legislators and community groups will be formed in Iowa, as it has been done in other states, to examine and put forth best practices in Iowa for the prioritization of cold cases, evidence extraction and bulk evidence […]

Valerie Peterson

On December 28, 2010, in , by Jody Ewing

Elna Maria “Valerie” Peterson Homicide Elna Maria “Valerie” Peterson 8 YOA Manson, IA Calhoun County May 6, 1971   Case Summary by Jody Ewing   On Thursday, May 6, 1971, 8-year-old Valerie Peterson was killed by a hit-and-run driver around 4 p.m. while riding her bicycle off the side of the road in front of […]

Manson

On November 21, 2010, in , by Jody Ewing

Cold Cases in Manson, Iowa         Homicide: Elna Maria “Valerie” Peterson 8 YOA Manson, IA Calhoun County May 6, 1971 On May 6, 1971, eight-year-old Valerie Peterson was killed by a hit-and-run driver at 4 p.m. while riding her bicycle along the road at the Manson Lutheran Church.  

Calhoun County

On November 6, 2010, in , by Jody Ewing

Cold Cases in Calhoun County, IA *Please Note: The cases listed below are within Calhoun 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: Elna Maria “Valerie” Peterson 8 YOA Manson, IA Calhoun County […]

Homicides – 1970s

On October 12, 2010, in , by Jody Ewing

The Cases – Homicides (1970 – 1979) BY ERA: Up through 1899 | 1900s | 1910s | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000 – present | Missing Persons The cases below include unsolved Iowa homicides from 1970 – 1979, and are listed in chronological […]

Iowa’s Murdered Children, No Voice, No Choice

On June 9, 2010, in Anniversaries, The Families, by Jody Ewing

Today marks 22 years since 7-1/2-month-old Amber Marie Hayes of Muscatine, Iowa, was decapitated, dismembered, and her remains strewn in a remote area near Lake Odessa. Two boys riding all-terrain vehicles discovered the infant’s body, her pink diaper bag and blanket four days later. The lake area, just south of Muscatine, is located about one-half […]

Breaking Through Walls of Silence and Shame

On May 6, 2010, in Anniversaries, The Families, by Eileen Meier

My only sister, Valerie Peterson, was killed 39 years ago today on a Thursday afternoon.  She was just 8 years old. We had been late that morning — in a rush out of the car for school with no foreshadowing of the terrible events that would happen that afternoon. No goodbyes or looks backward. The […]

Today’s Cold Case Anniversaries: Valerie Peterson and Barbara Lenz

On May 6, 2009, in Anniversaries, Young Women, by Jody Ewing

Today marks the anniversaries of two Iowa cold cases — that of eight-year-old Elna Maria “Valerie” Peterson in 1971 and 31-year-old Barbara Lealyn Lenz in 1989. Valerie Peterson of Manson, IA, was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding her bicycle along the road at the Manson Lutheran Church. One other girl riding ahead of […]