Council Bluffs in
World War II veteran Joseph J. Floyd Jr., 42, was shot in the head in the early morning hours on Saturday, July 1, 1967, in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Union Pacific Railroad switchman Edward L. Stephen, 1000 Cathy Lane, contacted authorities around 10:30 a.m. Saturday after finding the body.
Police Identification Officer D.L. Clark makes plaster casts of footprints found at the scene where Joe Floyd’s body was found as Patrolman R.L. Shaw looks on. (Courtesy photo Daily Nonpareil)
City and county officials responded to the call near the tracks on Tenth Avenue between Ninth and Tenth Streets. A bloody trail began near the middle of Tenth Avenue, crossed over the railroad tracks, and led directly to the body.
Floyd lay face up at the edge of a shallow pool of water, his right arm and wrist partially immersed in the water.
A blood-stained handkerchief lay near the edge of the street next to the railroad tracks.
Officers noted what appeared to be small caliber wounds about the man’s head and a considerable amount of blood loss.
The body was taken to Meyer Funeral Home, and identified as Joseph J. Floyd Jr., 42, by his half-brother, Clyde Peoples.
Council Bluffs Police Identification Officer D.L. Clark made plaster casts of footprints found at the scene where Floyd’s body was discovered.
Police weren’t certain how long Floyd had lain by the tracks, but County Attorney George Knoke said officers believed he had been killed sometime during a 12-hour period prior to when police were notified Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m.
Acting County Medical Examiner Dr. Arthur Sciortino conducted the post-mortem examination and reported he found fragments of small caliber bullets lodged in Floyd’s head.
Sciortino told authorities one bullet entered the back of Floyd’s head and traveled toward the front; another bullet entered through the front and moved to the back of the skull.
Police were unable to find or recover the weapon — possibly a .22 or .25 caliber gun.
Joseph J. Floyd Jr. was born on November 24, 1924, and served as a Private First Class with the US Army during World War II.
He resided at 908 Fourteenth Avenue in Council Bluffs and was employed by Odell’s Clean Up Shop.
Courtesy photo Jim Herring, findagrave.comSurvivors included two daughters, Hattie Mae Floyd and Jo Ethel Floyd, Greenwood, Miss.; a son, Frank James Floyd, Edinburgh, Ind.; two sisters, Mrs. Lillie Corrine Freeman and Mrs. Edie Lynn Jones, both of Council Bluffs; a brother Charles Floyd and half-brother Clyde Peoples.
Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 5, 1967, at Beulah Baptist Church, with the Rev. C. W. Wiggins officiating and interment at Garner Township Cemetery.
Floyd was laid to rest in Garner Cemetery in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
At this time the offender is unknown and this case is active.
Anyone with information regarding this unsolved murder is encouraged to contact the Council Bluffs Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at (712) 328-4765 or Crime Stoppers at (712) 328-7867.
Praying for justice!
Thank you! From Joe Floyd’s Niece.