Union County in Iowa
Union County in Iowa
 
Creston in Union CountyCreston in Union County

Doris “Elaine” Konecne

Homicide

Doris Elaine Konecne
38 YOA
Ken-Lee Apartments
North Cherry Street
Creston, IA
Union County
October 27, 1973

 
 
 

Case Summary compiled by Jody Ewing

Doris “Elaine” Konecne, 38, the legal secretary for Union County Attorney Robert Rolfe, was found deceased on the kitchen floor of her apartment at the Ken-Lee apartments on north Cherry Street in Creston, Iowa, early Sunday morning, October 28, 1973. Ms. Konecne’s brother, who discovered his sister’s body, immediately contacted authorities.

Jim HildebrandCourtesy photo
Union County Deputy Sheriff Jim Hildebrand was one of two officials who first arrived at Konecne’s apartment and processed the crime scene.

Though cause of death was listed as asphyxiation, the tampering of crime scene evidence — along with an autopsy denial and refusal by local elected officials to involve the Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) — would eventually lead to a case gone cold for more years than Ms. Konecne was alive.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office and the Creston Police Department conducted a joint jurisdictional investigation because the Ken-Lee apartment building straddled the city and county line.

Union County Deputy Sheriff James Hildebrand and Marion Manley, acting chief of police for the Creston Police Department, arrived first on scene and conducted a walk-through of the apartment before working the crime scene.

Overturned and broken furniture as well as numerous bruises around Ms. Konecne’s neck indicated she had been strangled after a struggle.

With foul play clearly evident, the two began taking evidentiary crime scene photos, which included but were not limited to the following:

  • A non-filter-tip cigarette in the bathroom toilet
  • Two drinking glasses sitting on the kitchen counter near the sink; the sink contained dishwater
  • The body of the deceased, found lying on its left side facing north with the head near the west wall; from the waist down the body was twisted with the legs spread apart
  • Between the victim’s open legs, bizarrely staged, a fifth of whiskey standing on its base

Shortly after Hildebrand and Manley finished photographing the full crime scene, County Attorney Robert Rolfe and Union County Sheriff Don Loy arrived on scene and said they would conduct their own walk-through. Hildebrand and Manley complied with the request and stepped outside the apartment.

Once Rolfe and Loy exited the apartment and left the premises, Hildebrand and Manley returned to their posts inside the apartment, where they found the crime scene had been tampered with and differed from all the photos they’d just taken.

Don LoyCourtesy photo
Konecne’s murder came less than one year after Union County Sheriff Don Loy took office.

One stark discrepancy stood out in particular; the two drinking tumblers next to the kitchen sink — indicating Konecne had consumed a drink with a guest — had been moved from the countertop and placed into the kitchen sink’s dishwater.

There also were a number of other modifications.

The non-filter-tip cigarette in the bathroom toilet had vanished. Sheriff Don Loy smoked non-filter Pall Mall cigarettes.

The overturned coffee table with one broken leg had been moved and repositioned to stand in an upright position.

Hildebrand and Manley took a second set of photos to document how the crime scene had been altered.

Neither set of photos — including those showing black and blue finger marks around Elaine Konecne’s throat — would make their way into state officials’ hands or files during the brief investigation.

No Outside Help, No Autopsy

Dr. John Hoyt, the Union County medical examiner who pronounced Konecne dead, estimated the victim apparently “died of suffocation” about 11 p.m. Saturday.

Hildebrand and Manley asked that an autopsy be conducted, but Sheriff Loy and County Attorney Rolfe denied the request, insisting there had been no foul play. The sheriff and county attorney also suppressed appeals to seek investigative assistance from the BCI, now known as the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). Loy and Rolfe wanted no one else involved — certainly not the state or the medical examiner’s office.

Local allegations swirled of extramarital affairs having long taken place in both the county sheriff’s and the county attorney’s office involving the men’s respective secretaries, with the deceased allegedly having been involved with both men.

The county sheriff and county attorney were quick to debunk and dismiss the declarations. Ms. Konecne, they insisted, had been drinking alone, had become intoxicated and then fallen from a kitchen chair and against the wall, thus shutting off her own airway. So unfortunate. An accident, they said.

Both the deputy sheriff and assistant police chief, however, knew better. In addition to the positioning of the victim’s body, the probability of a whiskey bottle falling from the table and not only “not spilling or breaking,” but landing “upright” on its base between Konecne’s twisted legs would have been virtually impossible. And, although anyone could have broken the table, the victim certainly had not made the choke marks around her neck, Hildebrand said.

Explosive Cover-up
Jule SturzeneggerCourtesy photo
Jule Sturzenegger worked as Loy’s secretary before becoming deputized. She and Loy married after Loy and his wife, Imogene, divorced.

Perhaps most revealing is an eyewitness account to the aftermath by the sheriff’s 15-year-old daughter, who, in the pre-dawn hours early Sunday morning — long before Ms. Konecne’s brother discovered his sister’s body — witnessed an explosive argument in her parents’ home (which doubled as the county jail) between her parents and her father’s secretary/mistress, Jule Sturzenegger.

The three fought over what had transpired late Saturday night after Elaine Konece placed a teasing phone call to Loy’s wife, Imogene. Furious, Imogene allegedly stormed out of the house and across the street to the courthouse to let her husband know what Ms. Konecne had done. From there, Imogene made her way through the dark to Konecne’s apartment, her husband and Sturzenegger following closely behind.

Several hours passed before Imogene returned to the Loy residence, and she immediately lay down on the sofa, pretending to be asleep. Her husband and Sturzenegger, however, had followed her back to the house, and they walked through the door — Don Loy wearing Sturzenegger’s dark wig — just moments after Imogene arrived home; the two knew Imogene wasn’t asleep.

Don Loy allegedly threatened his wife and told her to keep her mouth shut about what had transpired that night or she would regret it. Imogene, still furious and raving mad that her husband had brought his mistress home with him, wasn’t about to give in to either of them, and the three-way argument soon exploded into a physical altercation.

A shaking young teen sat on the staircase just out of sight, peeking through the bannister while the war of words and pushing and shoving continued below. As light began to seep through the windows, County Attorney Rolfe arrived and the discussion allegedly turned to how all of them should handle the whole unfortunate incident.

Adjudication

Immediately following Konecne’s death, the decisions made were swift and not open for debate.

There would be no calls to the Iowa BCI to request investigative assistance into Konecne’s suspicious death.

GONE-COLD-EXPLORING-IOWAS-UNSOLVED-MURDERS-logoThere would be no need for an autopsy.

There would be no criminal investigation.

Cause of death would be listed as asphyxiation; the manner of death: accidental.

Three days after officials recovered her body, Doris Elaine Konecne was buried in a turtleneck sweater to hide the choke marks on her neck.

No one was ever charged in her death.

Rearranged Lives

Sheriff Don Loy and his wife Imogene later divorced and Loy married his mistress, Jule Sturzenegger.

Donald Grant Loy died of cancer on Oct. 7, 1992. His daughter, now a published author, lives at an undisclosed location and, due to threats, writes under a pseudonym. She wrote three novels based almost entirely on growing up in the Loy household and Ms. Konecne’s murder; she and her publisher were later forced to pull all three books from the market based on further threats.

Robert Rolfe went on to become a magistrate judge in Iowa’s now-defunct Fifth Congressional District.

Imogene Loy (Ransier) remarried and now lives in eastern Iowa.

Doris Elaine Konecne gravestone

Elaine Konecne is buried at Graceland Cemetery in Creston, Iowa. (Courtesy findagrave.com)

Jule Loy-Gray also remarried; she kept Loy’s name as part of her new surname.

Detailed eyewitness reports concerning Ms. Konecne’s death were later submitted to state and federal officials, along with a request to disinter the decedent’s body in order to conduct a proper criminal investigation.

No decision has ever been made.

UPDATE

In 2015, Iowa Cold Cases partnered with the Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) for “Gone Cold: Exploring Iowa’s Unsolved Murders,” a year-long weekly project that launched in July 2015. The series featured some of the state’s most horrific cases that still posed opportunities to be solved. More than 200 daily and weekly Iowa newspapers participated in the statewide project.

Newspapers began profiling Elaine’s case in October 2015, and as a result, two Iowa attorneys — each with his own current law practice — agreed to team up to work, pro bono, on Elaine’s unsolved homicide with the hope of finally seeing justice served in her death.

Iowa Cold Cases extends tremendous thanks to the Iowa Newspaper Association, Iowa newspapers, the law firms and attorneys dedicating time to this case, and a number of other individuals who never gave up and have long fought for a proper investigation into this young woman’s senseless murder.

About Elaine Konecne

More information is forthcoming about Elaine’s life and background.

Doris Elaine Konecne, born November 18, 1934, was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Creston, Iowa.

Information Needed

Anyone with information concerning Doris Elaine Konecne’s unsolved murder is encouraged to contact the FBI at (712) 258-1920 or contact Special Agent in Charge Mike Motsinger at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010 or email mmotsing@dps.state.ia.us.

Sources:

 

Copyright © 2024  Iowa Cold Cases, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

81 Responses to Elaine Konecne

  1. LakeLife says:

    Two of the four people involved in this are now dead.
    God will be their judge but there are still two others who need to be prosecuted!
    Doris needs to be exhumed & a murder investigation needs to take place!

    • Patti Fox says:

      Hoping Mr. Hildebrand and Jody Ewing are both well, Bless them. Please go to Readers’ Favorite website / readersfavorite.com You will find a
      recent review on the Book by Ruth Forrest Glenn, JUGGERNAUT
      Jule Sturzenegger (Loy) Gray, and Robert Rolfe should step up and own
      what they know and did that night/weekend as they complete the 4 people involved in Elaine’s death and coverup. Lake Life above is absolutely right! There are still 2 people living to answer for at least themselves and their illegal participation

  2. A. Haverkamp says:

    This case came to my attention as I was reading about Corrine Perry’s and Colleen Simpson’s cases. It is appalling to me that Robert A Rolfe, past Union County Attorney and attorney in Lamoni, Iowa, has an active law license, but it appears he has failed to come forth on this case. In addition, it appears that Jule A Sturzenegger Loy Gray continues to reside in the Des Moines/Ankeny area. Apparently Imogene Loy Ransier Kelly passed away November 2018? Was an obituary every found for her? Is this case being actively worked by the DCI or a cold case unit? It has been 5 years since the 2015 push on this case, the parties to the case are entering their elderly years with two being deceased, and it has been 47 years since Ms. Konecne was allegedly murdered. What can be done to push this case forward so that the truth can be brought to light? Ms. Konecne’s parents and brother are deceased but she has nieces and nephews that deserve the truth as to her demise. Thank you.

  3. me says:

    curious…why do they think Jules should be prosecuted ? Is it because (she was involved with (driving the sheriffs wife crazy) If so Don should also be prosecuted!

  4. gay anne appelhans says:

    I can tell you marion manley was the salt of the earth kind of guy he was a good man and I also remember as a kid Patti Loy she was a pretty blonde girl who has a lot of brothers I had heard back then that her mom was very very abusive and had issues i remember her being religious also….George Pattis brother was in my class in school,this is so sad that this murder went down and not prosecuted when the whole town of Creston knew what happened,it also breaks my heart that Reggie Moorehouse and Corrine Perry never were brought to justice I often wonder if the county doesnt was the expense of prosecuting it??

  5. Jami says:

    Can anyone tell me any Elaine’s other family names? I learned about this case recently when my uncle made a passing comment about a family member whose murder had never been solved – and I’m curious how (and if) we are related. My Uncle’s last name is the same as Elaine’s. This is such a tragic story – and I’m curious to learn more about it.

    • John D Konecne says:

      Jami, who is your uncle? Elaine is my great aunt. I too wish that I knew more. I only recently found out about this. My grandfather never talked about it and it seems like a sensitive subject to much of my family. My dad remembers Elaine fairly well but was away at college at the time and doesn’t know any of the details.

  6. upinomaha says:

    I have searched everywhere and can not find the address this took place at. I am curious at to the apt bldg supposedly straddling county lines or city/county lines. Could anyone provide an actual address so I can study the Creston map online?

    • MC Apodaca says:

      It has been a lot of years ago and my memory of exactly where this woman lived is very fuzzy in my mind. I can’t give you an exact address, but I believe she lived in a small apartment bldg on Townline Road.
      This street runs east/west at the north edge of Creston and at that time would have been the north city limits.
      Highway 25 runs north from US Highway 34 toward the west side of Creston, then makes a 90 degree turn to the west. This is Townline Road. The apt would have been a few blocks to the east.
      I hope someone can give you an exact address but hopefully this will help give you a general idea of where she lived.
      I did not know her but did know Sheriff Loy and also knew Marion Manley who was on the Police dept. Manley was from my home town 32 miles east of Creston (Osceola, Iowa)
      I knew both men personally. Totally trusted Manley. I had no idea of Loy’s affair and was very shocked when this came to light. He did not seem the sort to be anything but upstanding & honest.
      I am sickened by the fact that this woman’s death was called an accident and so much was done to cover up the affairs.
      She may well have died as the result of an accident, but the truth should have been told then. The cover-up was obviously, at the very least for the face saving of the County Attorney & the Sheriff.

  7. Ruth Ann Gugel says:

    This is so interesting and heartbreaking at the same time. I too wondered why her family didn’t insist on a autopsy or a more thorough investigation. Are any of her family still alive?

  8. MC Apodaca says:

    I hope it is acceptable to leave a message here for Zero.
    Marion Manley was from my hometown although I did not become acquainted with him until he started working for the Creston PD. I always admired & respected him. So sad to learn of his passing.

  9. gayanne appelhans says:

    Why hasnt the family of the victim in this murder pressed for justice this is so sad no one ever was held accountable?

  10. Rene Foster says:

    Where is Robert Rolfe now? Is it Robert A. Rolfe? Anyway that I could talk to Jim Hildebrand? I’m doing a paper for school on this case?

    • Shocked says:

      Last I knew, Robert Rolfe was a magistrate in Decatur County, and a professor at Graceland University. I took a class from him in college. My chin hit the floor when the realization hit me. Don’t know what to think now. The tampered crime scene, refusal of the autopsy are serious issues. This case needs to be re-examined. This poor woman deserves justice and this poor woman and her family deserve justice.

  11. Jim Hildbrad says:

    JODY WHO WAS THE OTHER PERSON WORKING ON THE CASE

    • Zero says:

      I was talking about my father, his step son is in prison , was just saying that he was one that new the truth and what was actually there before they change the scene of the murder

      • Jody Ewing says:

        Zero, oh my gosh, I am *so* sorry for your loss. I didn’t realize your father had passed away, and especially so recently. My heartfelt condolences go out to all of you, and it is indeed a loss not just for all of you, but those who, like you said, knew the truth and saw the real crime scene before the county sheriff and county attorney came in and altered the scene.

        To other readers — Zero’s dad was Marion Manley, the (at that time) acting chief of police of Creston and one of the two officials to first arrive and process the crime scene at Elaine’s apartment. (The other individual was then-deputy sheriff Jim Hildebrand, whose comments you’ll find up above.)

        Both men went on to have extremely successful careers in law enforcement. Marion joined the Creston Police Department in 1970 and retired as Captain in 1997 after 27 years of service. After his retirement, he went on to work for the Adams County Sheriff’s Department and other organizations.

        Hildebrand and Manley spent approximately 70 years (both careers combined) in law enforcement. I’m so saddened knowing Marion Manley died without ever seeing justice served in Elaine’s unsolved murder.

        Zero, do you happen to have a photo of your father you’d be willing to share with ICC? In all chronicles of Iowa cold cases, your father will always be remembered as a true hero who tried to do the right thing. Jim knows how difficult it would have been for him, with the two of them being forced to remain silent back then because of their respective superiors and the county attorney.

        I’m truly saddened by your father’s passing, and not just because of this cold case; he was one of the “good” ones, and we all know what that means.

        Jody

      • Nightmare says:

        Zero, I knew your father as I grew up in Creston and I can honestly say your father was one of the most honest and best friends the city ever had. So sorry for your loss, the world needs a lot more Marion Manley’s today.

    • Jody Ewing says:

      Jim, are you talking about the two practicing attorneys who’ve offered to work pro bono on this case? I will send you their names via regular email.

      Jody

  12. Jim Hildbrad says:

    I STILL DONT SEE ,Y LAST TWO POSTS?

  13. Jim Hildbrad says:

    ZERO; YOUR FATHER WAS A DEDICATED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. I REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS OUT OF THE CITY ON BUSINESS WITH ME AND YOUR HOUSE WAS SHOT UP. WE CAME HOME PRETTY FAST.

  14. Jim Hildbrad says:

    MY RECENT DELEATED POST ASKED WHO THE OTHER PERSON WAS THAT WAS WORKING THE CASE. HE HAD A SON IN POLITICS WHO HAD A PROBLEM BECAUSE OF THE CASE. HE ALSO HAD PASSED AWAY.I ALSO INVITED THOSE INVOLVED TO CONTACT ME IF THEY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE CASE.I ALSO ASKED TO BE KEPT UP ON THE CASE IT WILL EVENTUALLY BE IN THE CARROLL NEWSPAPER.

  15. Jim Hildbrad says:

    THANK YOU ZERO I HAVE ALL THREE BOOKS

  16. Jim Hildbrad says:

    MY LAST COMMENT IS GONE

  17. Jim Hildbrad says:

    This is Jim Hildebrand reviewing the articles and comments, If anyone can give any information about this murder please do.I am waiting for someone to come forth; these people are disguisting people and public officials and should be punished. This murder is the reason I resigned from the sheriff’s office and moved on.Imagine ltrying to work under these conditions. I was very active and like the position I had been committed to being a deputy there but it was impossible to work knowing I was working with murderers..I AM 74 YEARS OF AGE AND HOPE THIS WILL BE SOLVED DURING MY TIME.

    • Pappy says:

      Elaine ultimately paid heavily, being a target of murder by Imogene. Don Loy didn’t kill Elaine, although sure they would all blame the ‘dead guy’ I know Imogene, I am the daughter who suffered her beatings / abuse /domestic violence all in the sheriffs house..

      Besides Donald had more of a conscious
      Than Imogene and selfish Imogene would be afraid if she did the murder to point the finger of Justice at herself. However, if someone else had done the crime, she’d be the first one to turn the person over to authorities in her religious,arrogance she would brag on the great Christian she prided herself to be. In a pigs.eye.

      Imogene mind-set has been criminal. It hurts me every day that Jule, Imogene, haven’t been even charged. How horrible they took time to create a crime. Rob Rolfe where is his plea, he wasn’t part of the Explosive physical battle Don Jule, Imogene. Mr. Rolfe was in the kitchen, I came down stairs because of making breakfast for those in jail, and my younger brothers. Don and Rolfe covering, Dad said to kids. “everybody
      hurry get ready for Church which was Imogene’s mandatory order in .

      Everything is right on that Jody has the story just like I knew it to be with that night.The weeks after, Imogene whispering telling me “you know I saw the finger bruises on Elaine’s neck” “they buried her in a yellow turtleneck to hide them.” Imogene in how brazen of the murder of a crime, to go to see Elaine in her coffin, visitation.

      Jule and Imogene should at least be charged in Elaine’s murder, with obstruction of justice by not ever coming clean in their knowledge of they being at Elaine’s house. How horribly murder, Jule/Imogene, political overtones for Rolfe and Loy, damage control keeping Elaine ‘s paper work hidden out of sign out of mind.

      I hope with u Jim,that they take this case further. If still nothing is done, thumbs twiddling I will just believe that run amuck law officials can harm and kill lives, leading me to the conclusion that Iowa never was a field of dreams but a place of sorrow /night mares. Please Charge Jule, Imogene who hurt many others , accessories to murder. Imogene premeditated harm murder to Elaine! I was there I saw the shape and attitude, watching her hearing her as she stuffed her coat on going out the door.

      She made me to answer the sheriffs phone/etc.I too am discouraged to think of Jim not being able to see justice served for Elaine. Please don’t give up investigating this.

      • Zero says:

        Admin Note: Zero posted the following comment on May 16, 2016:

        Comment:
        Not sure if you knew or not Jim, the one other man that tried to get the truth out and facts about the case is gone now. Wish he could have been safe talking to the right people about this. He lost a son to the corrupt political system and was not healthy after that. He did tell me that you were a good man and hope that you are well.
        ———– Below is Zero’s comment from the 17th

        I was told that the book was stopped because of death threat, and that is why I can not find a copy of the second book. So I do not understand why that would not be investigated either? Would be nice to see something with this while some are still alive.

        • F R Thomas says:

          What happen to the two malt recent posts by ZERO AND JIM…. Did you take them down Jodi?

          • Zero says:

            Sorry this took me so long Jim, Marion was my father. I am not sure why they removed those other comments

          • F R Thomas says:

            Was Jody pressured by some of those involved??

          • Jody Ewing says:

            This is Jody, and I am 99.99% I did not remove any comments from Elaine’s page. In fact, the only comment on the site I ever “deliberately” removed was on the Jodi Huisentruit case because Mason City police told us the guy who kept posting all the stuff about where to find the body was wrong; they’d already investigated all that and ruled it out long ago.

            At one time, the comments that were left here via the Facebook app ended up getting “lost” when FB deprecated the app. Since then, I have a Pro ($$$) app that automatically takes comments posted on Facebook (about each and every case) and then it posts them here in the “regular” comments section so they will never “get lost” again. I recovered a great many that way.

            WordPress sends me an email when a new comment is posted, and I save ALL those emails. I’ll do a search on Elaine’s name and see if I can find the specific ones you say are missing.

        • Jody Ewing says:

          Oh my gosh! I seldom check the “spam” folder for comments because there are usually too many to sort through. I just started looking through it and found several comments that Akismet erroneously marked as Spam. I’m clicking the link that says “Not Spam” so hopefully they should start showing up on here.

        • Jody Ewing says:

          Zero (and anyone else who still has missing comments here), I’m still going back through my saved emails, and since I can’t “post” using someone else’s name, I’m taking the comments that made it thru email (but somehow got removed from this site), and like up above, I will just attach his/her missing comment(s) via “editing” the person’s comment.

          Yes, I know it’s weird. I can go in and “edit” someone’s comment, but I can’t make one “from them” from scratch. I truly apologize for the inconvenience. Just within the last month we left out old web hosting server (spent 10 years with them) and went with a better company, and they had what they called a propagation period, and not sure if comments slipped through the cracks there or not. It took a week to transfer over all the SQL files, so it’s possible some pages got overwritten with an older version. I’ll try my best to recover any other comments posted to Elaine’s page.

        • LakeLife says:

          What was the name of the book?
          Can you get it on Amazon??

      • Rene Foster says:

        I do not remember Jean ever drinking. I also do not remember said daughter saying anything about abuse from her mother when we were running around together. Although I do remember her telling me that her dad and his girlfriend were trying to drive her mother nuts, and telling me about the wig incedent, but not the rest of the story. So much for said dad having a concience and a girlfriend! We were neighbors and friends, don’t remember any of the stories of Jean being known for choking people!

    • LakeLife says:

      Thank you for your service!
      I’m so sorry you had to go through this too!!
      Praying this is still solved!
      VERY shocking that a murder could be covered up like this!!
      God will dispense his justice though & there is no way for them out of that!

  18. Mary Manley says:

    Was there three books written about this? Does anyone know the name of them, where to get copies?

  19. Diana Simons Morgan says:

    I can't believe such a case of dropping the ball for justice for this poor girl. How could the people surrounding this case have allowed two local low level law and order officials get away with this?

  20. Diana says:

    Please contact the Cold Case television show and let them investigate this matter.

  21. Don says:

    I was deputy for 10 years after this case and never did know anything about this until reading this article. I left the Union County sheriffs dept in 1981. for a position out of law enforcement, I now wonder why there was never anything about this case in all tha time

    dept

  22. there is just so much wrong in this homicide and cover up prehaps.

  23. This is just so messed up. Affairs, fights and murder….a teenage witness who could tell everything she heard and saw. How disgusting this was allowed to be handled this way. The victim may not have been an innocent piece in this game either, but murder is murder, we’ll unless you live in Creston I guess.

  24. Just another cover up Union co style I remember this I grew up in Creston knew the Loy kids so sad no justice for victum

  25. Jack Toomey says:

    Hold on. How can elected officials “forbid an autopsy”? Where were the police and medical examiner? This one needs a longer explanation.

    • There has got to be more to this story.

    • Holy crap! That is insane! I hope something can be done and these low lifes get thrown in jail. Makes me sick

    • Yes, there actually “is” [far] more to this story. Legally, elected officials (i.e. the county sheriff, the county attorney) cannot forbid an autopsy, particularly when the death is of a mysterious nature, but they did so anyway because they knew who’d killed her and neither of the two men wanted their personal lives dragged into the case. Three individuals were present at Elaine’s apt. the night she was killed: the county sheriff (Don Loy), the sheriff’s wife (Imogene), and the sheriff’s lover (his secretary, Jule Sturznegger, who later would become his wife after Don and Imogene divorced). Both Loy and Rolfe were *allegedly* having an affair with the decedent, which complicated matters further. Had an autopsy been conducted, it would have shown Elaine was strangled, and from there would be the obvious questions of who had motive to kill her? Put it this way — the night of Elaine’s death, she had called the Loy’s home and spoken to Imogene, and the decedent made a comment that infuriated Imogene, who, incidentally, was widely known in the community (and her own family) for employing “choking methods” when she got angry with someone. After the phone call, Imogene immediately left to go to Elaine’s apartment, and once Don Loy and Sturznegger found out, both she and Don went to Elaine’s apt. to ensure Imogene didn’t do something stupid. Nobody really knows what happened once all three were there with Elaine, or if Elaine was already dead by the time Don and Jule arrived, but in the (still dark) early morning hours on Sunday, County Attorney Rolfe showed up at the Loy’s home where an argument ensued amongst the four individuals, with Imogene trying to attack her husband, who instructed her to “keep her mouth shut” about what happened. This conversation all took place before Elaine’s brother even found her body. Deputy Sheriff Jim Hildebrand (who was first to arrive on scene, along with acting chief of police Marion Manley, both of whom instantly knew it was a homicide), tried to get both Loy and Rolfe to call in the state for assistance, but they refused. Hildebrand insisted on an autopsy, both but Loy and Rolfe denied that request, too, stating it was an accident and that Elaine had been drinking “alone” (despite the 2 glasses found there) and that she’d fallen from a chair and against the wall, thus “shutting off her own airway.” Despite the choke marks around her neck, they deemed it an unfortunate accident and didn’t call in the county medical examiner for an autopsy. Loy’s wife Imogene was all-too-aware of her husband’s extramarital affairs with both Jule and Elaine, but Rolfe’s wife (allegedly) knew nothing about his alleged affair with Elaine, and he had political ambitions — a lot to lose. By covering up Elaine’s murder and calling it an accident, both the county sheriff and attorney were able to go on with life as if nothing happened. Jim Hildebrand, who went on to serve 37 years with law enforcement (part in Iowa, part in Calif.) has been haunted for years over how his boss participated in the cover-up. Jim has tried for years to get the then-BCI and even the DCI to exhume Elaine’s body and *finally* conduct an investigation, but nothing has been done thus far.

    • All these actions were taken (insisting the county attorney apply for a court order requiring the body to be exhumed) but we already know who served then as the county attorney. Ignore things long enough, and some think things will just “go away.” Elaine’s murder is not going away, and there are several individuals working behind the scenes to exhume her body even today. Of the four who met that night in the Loy’s home to plan the cover-up, three are still alive. Don Loy passed away (from cancer) in 1992 at age 62.

  26. Diana Wilson says:

    Who can forbid an autopsy?

  27. This one needs to be memorialized on a different scale then the rest of these cases. Wow. I’m sure everyone involved is dead by now, so someone should be able to come clean.

  28. this stinks of an inside job…but hey, w/o an autopsy or investigation…we’ll never know…

  29. I remember this like yesterday good ole boy system in c town cover up

  30. marycannon apodaca says:

    This case must have been kept fairly quiet at the time. I do not recall having heard of anything about a suspicious death.
    I too would like to read the books written by the Loy woman. How sad she has had to carry these tormenting memories of her parents behavior.

  31. sue says:

    If anyone can find out where to get the books let me know my dads family is from there and I’ve always wanted to learn more about Creston

  32. Lori Card says:

    Being choked to death is definitely murder!

  33. Why isn’t this an actively investigated case? With the obvious tampering and officials involved, I’d think the state would intervene and make this right. At least make the investigation of a murder or possible murder require an autopsy. Also to hold those responsible who moved items in the crime scene area.

  34. Pappy says:

    I wake up everyday with Elaine’s name on my soul, praying that justice will come quickly, before the perpetrators grow much older! Manipulation of the law should never be flaunted, and that is exactly what is happening each day that Imogene, Jule and Rob Rolfe are allowed to live as if Elaine never existed, nor that her life mattered at all. Jule was forced to become a deputy, as Donald was fighting with the board of supervisors because Donald was having Jule ride with him to take prisoners to Annamosa, Iowa. It was Jule and Don’s affair time out of Creston! This is why Jule became a deputy, not much admirable of reasons. It is a mockery of justice how these perpetrators got away with many crimes including the murder of Elaine. I saw Mr. Hildebrand hatefully bullied with verbal and physical body language. Please make them answer for Elaine’s death, what happened, why they were around her as brutus/his accomplists stabbed ceasar, figuratively, Elaine had info bout county attorney’s office a powder cake of trouble for the sheriff’s office and county jail.. ie Unleashed the IMOGENE!

    • Jody Ewing says:

      Pappy, thanks so much for your additional insights into this case, and you’re absolutely right about the hateful bullying Deputy Sheriff Hildebrand endured after asking county officials to call in the BCI for assistance in the investigation. The county denied his requests to get the state involved, and when Hildebrand then requested an autopsy be conducted on Elaine’s body (a request also denied), someone entered Hildebrand’s back yard and slit his dog’s throat as a warning.

      Mr. Hildebrand exemplifies the best of qualities we all want in principled men and women who’ve pledged to protect and serve our communities. A great many, long after retirement, remain committed to seeing justice served for victims and families. Hildebrand knew one true thing: Elaine’s life mattered…as does her still unresolved death.

  35. staci pokorny says:

    Craziness!! This was b4 my time and I never heard about this.

  36. Jeff Furnald says:

    My guess is Imogene did it and Loy and the attorney covered it up to keep their dirty secrets from coming out.
    Imogene went over to Konecne’s to have words. Imogene interrupts Konecne while she is doing her dishes. Maybe Konecne, or the walk over got her calmed down. Konecne pours them some whiskey, they drink, but something is said, or Imogene just couldn’t hold her composure any more, and she loses it. A cat fight ensues and Imogene comes out the winner. Maybe Konecne was already half-drunk and just couldn’t put up a good enough fight to survive. I think the placement of the whiskey bottle also helps point the finger at Imogene. The two things that perhaps interested her husband more than she did.
    Since the case is so old, as are those involved, perhaps an offer of amnesty to those invovled, for a confession. Although, if Rolfe is still alive, he would probably be very opposed to that idea. I would alledge that he is the one who sent the death threats to Loys’ daughter. Although, Imogene, as per my depiction of her above, can apparently be pretty fiesty. Sucks that the evidence and this case got so convoluted. Hope you can get an actual, true chain of events and perpetrator(s).

  37. Stacy Miller says:

    Wow! Isn’t that very interesting! I think that’s very curious they nothing has ever come of this…

  38. Jim Farrell says:

    It appears this article implies Rolfe was heavily involved. Why no follow up on him?

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