Gregg Nimmo (Courtesy Pence Funeral Home)

Gregg Nimmo (Courtesy Pence Funeral Home)

Gregg Andrew Nimmo

Homicide

Gregg Andrew Nimmo
44 YOA
Beaver Lake Campground
Dexter, IA
Dallas County (jurisdiction)
Date of Crime: August 28, 2011
Date of Death: August 30, 2011
Case Summary compiled by Jody Ewing

Gregg Andrew Nimmo, 44, of Adel, Iowa, was found with severe head injuries on a gravel road in Dexter, Iowa, on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. Nimmo lay bleeding from head wounds on a gravel road just outside Beaver Lake Campground in Dallas County.

Several individuals allegedly witnessed the manner in which a known female killed Nimmo. Tire tracks ran up and down both ditch sides as the driver attempted to throw Nimmo from the truck and then deliberately ran him over.

According to one eyewitness (name on file and information already submitted to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation), a female driving a pickup truck repeatedly drove down into the right-side ditch, and then circled back, crossed the road and quickly drove down into the ditch on the road’s opposite side. After multiple attempts to throw Nimmo from the truck’s bed, the woman allegedly finally succeeded in throwing Nimmo from the pickup and then willfully ran over his body in the road at least once.

The witness said once Nimmo lay motionless in the road, the pickup driver angrily jumped out of the truck, and as she stormed toward the spot behind the pickup where Nimmo lay unconscious in the road, she cursed aloud, “By God, that M—– F—– better be dead!”

It was only after the woman got back in her pickup and left the scene that someone from the campground phoned the sheriff’s office. Not a single witness told the sheriff’s office what really happened, and authorities were left wondering whether Nimmo had been the victim of a hit-and-run or whether the incident was purely an accident.

Dallas County in Iowa
Dallas County in Iowa
 
Dexter in Dallas County

Nimmo died two days later on Aug. 30, 2011, at Mercy Medical Center.

His family in Newton, Iowa, maintained from the beginning that Nimmo’s death was no accident but that authorities didn’t have enough evidence in the case to charge anyone with a crime.

“I feel like somebody got away with something,” Nimmo’s older sister, Linda Cook, told WHO-TV Channel 13 News in a story that aired Oct. 20, 2014.

According to Lt. Adam Infante of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, a new detective took over Nimmo’s case in September 2014.

In a Des Moines Register article dated Oct. 5, 2014, Infante, who previously worked the case, said authorities didn’t yet have enough information to determine whether Nimmo’s death was accidental or intentional.

“I would love to solve it,” Infante told the Register. “There’s just not a lot of information to act upon.” (Note: this may now change since officials have the alleged pickup driver’s name as well as names of bystanders who watched the incident unfold and watched the driver intentionally throw Nimmo from the truck before running over his body.)

ike-and-carolyn-nimmo-family-findagraveCourtesy photo Sylvia L. Nimmo, findagrave.com
This 1974 family photo shows Gregg Nimmo (front, right) with his parents Ike & Carolyn Nimmo, brother Bruce, and sisters Brenda, Linda, and Laura.

In a KCRG TV-9 story that aired Sept. 14, 2011, Nimmo’s mother, Carolyn Livengood, said her son’s head had been severely fractured and nearly crushed. Livengood said that while it was initially thought Nimmo had fallen from a moving vehicle, that he had no abrasions on his body, which he would have had if he had fallen onto the road.

Dallas County Sheriff Chad Leonard said it was too early in the investigation to confirm whether Nimmo’s death was an accident or foul play, KCRG reported.

Family seeks help from renowned forensic pathologist

When nearly three years passed with no criminal charges filed, Cook sought out the help of well-known forensic pathologist, Dr. Cyril Wecht, in July 2014.

Wecht has been featured on several national television shows including Dateline and 48 hours. He investigated the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, as well as the 1996 Colorado murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey.

CYRIL-WECHT-unitedfor-truthCourtesy photo
Forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril H. Wecht has served as a consultant in numerous high-profile cases.

Cook said she’s spoken to Wecht, and that he, too, believes Nimmo’s death is suspicious.

“I think this doctor will be able to figure out what happened and I just want the truth,” Cook told Channel 13.

Cook said she believes her brother was in the bed of a truck and that the driver deliberately “fishtailed” so that Nimmo would fall out of it. She said her brother’s injuries, and the tire tracks near where his body was found, support her conclusion that the fatal injury occurred before he fell from the truck. (According to statements from those at the scene, Nimmo was killed after being thrown from the truck.)

“We know he didn’t accidentally fall nor was he hit by another vehicle,” Cook told the Register, adding that she thinks she knows who was driving the truck.

Infante initially said witnesses reported the truck as being in the area at the time of the incident, but at that time the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office couldn’t confirm the truck driver’s identity or whether the person intended to hurt Nimmo. Authorities, did, however, have suspects in mind.

Witnesses described Nimmo’s head injuries as particularly gruesome, and less than a year after the unsolved murder, Nimmo’s 15-year-old son, Justin Nimmo, took his own life.

gregg-nimmo-whotv-year-before-deathCourtesy photo WHO-TV
Gregg Nimmo, about a year before his death.

In efforts to help the family raise the $5,000 needed to hire Wecht to look at Gregg Nimmo’s case, Clem Vestal and the 515 Riders Motorcycle Club hosted a “Justice for Gregg and Son” potluck dinner and silent auction on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014 at the Maingate Bar and Grill in Des Moines.

“My main goal is just to help lift the spirits. Just show them, man, there’s people out there that we don’t even know you, but we care,” Vestal told WHO-TV.

The Nimmo family has set up a fund at US Bank called “Justice for Gregg and Son,” and donations may be made at any branch.

Gregg Nimmo was an organ donor, and his family said he lives on in the life-saving gifts he gave to others.

About Gregg Nimmo

Gregg Andrew Nimmo was born February 4, 1967, in Des Moines to Carolyn (Mayhew) and Howard Arthur “Ike” Nimmo, and graduated from Adel High School.

gregg-nimmo-gravestone-findagraveCourtesy photo RRiggan, findagrave.com
Gregg Nimmo is buried in the Silent City Cemetery in Monroe.

He enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren, and was an adventurous person and outdoorsman. He enjoyed boating, hunting and camping, and was often complimented on his campfire chili.

He died Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011, at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, from serious brain trauma.

Survivors included his children, Tami Lee (Steve) Duff of DeSoto, Samantha Nimmo of Ames, and sons Kolton Grissom and Justin Nimmo of Urbandale; his four grandchildren; one brother, Bruce; three sisters, Brenda, Linda, and Laura; and his mother, Carolyn Mayhew-Livengood of Newton.

His father, Howard “Ike” Nimmo, Jr., and both sets of his grandparents preceded him in death.

Justin Nimmo's gravestone
Courtesy photo Roxanne Riggan, findagrave.com
Justin Nimmo, like his father, is buried at Monroe Cemetery in Jasper County, Iowa.

Visitation was held at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, at First United Methodist Church, 210 N. 2nd Avenue East, Newton, IA, with a memorial service following at 10 a.m. A celebration of his life was held at 6 p.m. Tuesday night in Adel at the Home Health Center.

Pence-Reese Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Gregg was laid to rest in the Silent City Cemetery in Monroe, Iowa.

Unable to cope with his father’s death, Nimmo’s 15-year-old son Justin A. Nimmo took his own life eight months later on May 24, 2012.

Information Needed

Anyone with information about Gregg Nimmo’s unsolved death is urged to contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010, or call the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office at (515) 993-4771 or email dcsheriff@co.dallas.ia.us.

Sources:

9 Responses to Gregg Nimmo

  1. Patrick Kerrigan says:

    A terrible story and all these people kept their mouth’s shut. But, then I would expect the authorities to conduct a death investigation, until a competent medical examiner determined there was no foul play in his death.

    Then we have his son committ suicide because these gutless individuals stood by and never came forward

    I would sue them, for obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting, and throw on pain and suffering. Hit them in the pocket books. That include the campground.

    • LakeLife says:

      I agree!
      They are hampering justice & should be charged & tried for it!
      How you can not come forward when you have info about the murder of an innocent man is beyond me!
      I wonder what events lead up to the incident in the truck?!
      Praying for justice!!

  2. Mark says:

    So why hasn’t the female driver been identified?

  3. Phil Ziebol says:

    I'm not sure what it is that you are trying to imply, but it sounds like you are saying that his son is responsible for his death. Wild assumptions like that are incredibly hurtful to those that actually know the family, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would remove your comment.

    • Jody Ewing says:

      Phil, I don’t think Laura was trying to be hurtful but rather just offering a theory. She and many others are now fully aware that Justin had nothing whatsoever to do with his father’s death, and that a female was responsible for deliberately running down Nimmo with her pickup truck.

      This whole case became doubly tragic when Justin took his own life just eight months after his father’s murder. Perhaps Justin’s death could have been avoided had one of the (many) eyewitnesses stepped forward to provide details about who killed his father so an arrest could be made.

      When witnesses remain silent, the killer is free to go on to commit other crimes — even other murders. When several individuals witness a murder, there is simply no excuse for all to remain silent. I greatly admire the person (who was *not* present at the crime scene but had reliable evidence about the incident) who came forward and provided ICC with the information that we in turn passed on to the DCI. I personally believe the tipster had solid information that will hold up in a court of law. I only wish some of these “tipster heroes” could be publicly thanked, but doing so would only put another life in jeopardy. I consider these people “heroic” because they have absolutely nothing to gain by providing the information, and do so simply because they have a conscience and want to do what’s right.

      • Lisa says:

        So sorry for your loss! Not only Mr. Nimmo but his son.. A hard one to swallow for one family. I do have a question.
        I understand that the police and detectives said they didn’t think that at the time there was any foul play. But even in accidents , hit and runs, don’t they always do investigation anyway? Also collecting evidence .. Hence the tire tracks. At any case, these people who have come forward…Is this not enough evidence to pick em up? The guilty party…

  4. Laura Edmondson says:

    Is anyone looking into he and the son who committed suicide having a accident that day. A fourteen year old would certainly know how to drive from a community of that size.

  5. Diana Wilson says:

    I’d love stories on these….and hearing they were solved!

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