UPDATE

Cedar Rapids police close 1971 cold case of Maureen Brubaker-Farley

Fifty years later, DNA helped police identify George M. Smith, who died in 2013, as the suspect

Fifty years after 17-year-old Maureen Brubaker-Farley’s body was found in a ravine on Ely Road SW, Cedar Rapids investigators have closed the case.

George Merlin Smith (Obituary photo, courtesy Brosh Chapel)

Through investigation and DNA technology, the Cedar Rapids Police Department Cold Case Unit identified and confirmed George M. Smith as the suspect in the homicide cold case, police said in a news release on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021.

The case will be closed with no prosecution because Smith died in 2013 at the age of 94, police said.

“No matter how much time has passed, our officers are committed to seeking out justice for all victims of violent crime as well as their families,” Police Chief Wayne Jerman said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of the generations of Cedar Rapids Officers that contributed to bringing this once cold case to a resolution.”

Jerman said the current Cold Case Unit includes investigator Matt Denlinger, retired DCI Special Agent JD Smith and retired CRPD Police Lieutenant Ken Washburn.

Read the full story at The Gazette

We Remember … Upcoming Cold Case Anniversaries

We remember upcoming cold case anniversaries and birthdays the victims would have celebrated.
 

Dr. William Hamilton
33 YOA
Liberty Township
Marysville, IA
Marion County
November 26, 1900

Paul Joseph Knockel
Age at Report: 53
Missing From:
Dubuque, IA
Endangered/physical
November 26, 1990

Nicholas “Nick” White
20 YOA
1511 29th St.
Des Moines, IA
Case # 12-37248
November 26, 2012

Willie Junior Brocks
49 YOA
400 Blk 15th St. SE
Cedar Rapids, IA
Linn County
November 27, 1999

Julie Benning
18 YOA
Waverly, IA
Bremer County
Case # 76-00382
November 28, 1975

George Leonard, 53
Inn Tavern
902 S. 14th Street
Clinton, IA
Case # 81-06936
November 28, 1981

Matthew Carter, 21
Jones-Delaware Rd.
Hopkinton, IA
Killed July 9, 2006
Would have celebrated his 37th birthday Nov. 28

Lucile Bacher
43 YOA
Lincoln Ave. Pharmacy
Davenport, IA
Scott County
November 29, 1955

Scott Tompkins
23 YOA
Muscatine, IA
Muscatine County
Case # 95-13656
November 29, 1995

Triple Homicide
Jesse Hanni, 26
117 Morningside Ave.
Sioux City, IA
Woodbury County
December 2, 1974

Triple Homicide
Billy Isom II, 27
117 Morningside Ave.
Sioux City, IA
Woodbury County
December 2, 1974

Triple Homicide
Freta Bostic Isom, 24
117 Morningside Ave.
Sioux City, IA
Woodbury County
December 2, 1974