Scott County in Iowa
 
Davenport in Scott County

Alfred W. Allen

Homicide

Alfred W. Allen
73 YOA
220 Warren St.
Davenport, IA
Scott County
Case Number: 88-00412
February 8, 1988

Alfred W. Allen, 73, who hadn’t been seen for several days, was found slain in his Davenport, Iowa apartment near downtown on Friday, Feb. 12, 1988.

Courtesy The Gazette, Feb. 15, 1988

Davenport police said Allen’s body was discovered by his landlord, who’d gone to check on the elderly man after not seeing him for several days.

Medical Examiner R.M. Perkins said Allen died sometime on Monday, Feb. 8, 1988, from a severe blow to the head.

In a Cedar Rapids Gazette article dated Feb. 15, 1988, Perkins said Allen’s apartment did not appear to have been disturbed, and police said a motive had not been established.

Allen lived alone, and family members speculated robbery may have been a motive since Allen frequently cashed his Social Security checks and then carried all the cash with him.

He had earlier been employed at International Harvester and Royal Neighbors of America. 

About Alfred Allen

Alfred W. Allen was born September 24, 1914, in Dubuque, Iowa, to Alfred L. and Elizabeth Allen.

He married Martha Flatman in 1939 in Wisconsin, and the couple had three daughters.

Survivors included daughters Betty Mueller, Bettendorf, and Kathy Kelting, and Jayne Ehrecke, both of Davenport.

The body was cremated, and Weerts Funeral Home in Davenport handled arrangements.

A 10 a.m. Mass was held February 21 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Davenport, with no other services planned.

Martha Allen died in Davenport on Feb. 28, 2006, at age 85.

Information Needed

If you have any information about Alfred Allen’s unsolved murder, please contact the Davenport Police Department at 563-326-7979.

If you have any information you’d like to share with Iowa Cold Cases (including photos), please contact us.

Sources:

• “Cold case murders 1935-2009,” Quad-Cities Online, March 27, 2010
• “Obituaries: Martha Allen,” qconline.com, Saturday, March 4, 2006
• Alfred W. Allen (1914 – 1988) Find a Grave Memorial
• “Iowa Briefs,” The Telegraph-Herald, Feb. 15, 1988
• “Few clues emerge in weekend killing,” Quad-City Times, Monday, Feb. 15, 1988, Page 4
• “Elderly Davenport man found slain,” The Cedar Rapids Gazette, Feb. 15, 1988
• “Daughter: Dead man was alcoholic,” by Linda Cook, Quad-City Times, Sunday, Feb. 14, 1988
• “Police probe murder: Elderly Davenport man took head blow,” by Cheri Bustos, Quad-City Times, Sat, Feb. 13, 1988, Page 1
• “United States Social Security Death Index,” index, FamilySearch.org, Alfred W Allen, 08 Feb 1988; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
• “United States Census, 1930,” index and images, FamilySearch.org, Alfred W Allen in household of Alfred L Allen, Julien, Dubuque, Iowa, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0025, sheet 7B, family 174, line 70, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 653; FHL microfilm 2,340,388.
• “United States Census, 1920,” index and images, FamilySearch.org, Alfred Allen in household of Alfred L Allen, Dubuque Ward 4, Dubuque, Iowa, United States; citing sheet 10A, family 223, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,820,488.