Pottawattamie County in Iowa
Council Bluffs in
Pottawattamie County
Joseph “Joe Junior” Floyd
Homicide
Joe Junior Floyd, 42, of Council Bluffs, was shot in the head in the early morning hours on Saturday, July 1, 1967. Police found Floyd’s body lying in some water near railroad tracks on Tenth Avenue between Ninth and Tenth streets with bullet wounds to his head.
Making Plaster Casts…of footprints at scene where body of Joe Floyd was found is D.L. Clark, police identification officer as Patrolman R.L. Shaw watches. — Nonpareil Photo.
According to a Nonpareil article dated July 2, 1967, a trail of blood near the middle of Tenth Avenue led to the place where Floyd’s body was found. A blood-stained handkerchief was found at the edge of the street next to the railroad tracks.
Floyd, a World War II veteran who resided at 908 Fourteenth Ave., was employed by Odell’s Clean Up Shop.
The officer’s report states there was a considerable amount of blood loss, and that a trail of blood led from the street, across the tracks and to the location of the deceased.
Police weren’t certain how long Floyd’s body had been beside the tracks, but County Attorney George Knoke said it was believed Floyd had been killed some time during a 12-hour period prior to when police were notified at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Edward L. Stephen, 1000 Cathy Lane, a Union Pacific Railroad switchman, called police after seeing the body by the tracks, the Nonpareil said.
Floyd appeared to have been shot with a small caliber handgun.
A post-mortem examination conducted by Dr. Arthur Sciortino, acting for the county medical examiner, showed fragments of small caliber bullets lodged in Floyd’s head. The weapon–possibly a .22 or .25 caliber gun–had not been recovered by police.
Sciortino told authorities one bullet entered the rear of the head and traveled toward the front; the other entered at the front and went toward the rear.
The Nonpareil reported that when police arrived at the scene, Floyd’s body was at the edge of a shallow pool of water with his right arm and his wrist partially immersed. He was found lying face up.
At this time the offender is unknown and this case is active.
About Joseph Floyd, Jr.
Joseph J. Floyd, Jr., was born November 24, 1924, and served as a Private First Class with the United States Army during World War II.
Courtesy photo Jim Herring, findagrave.com
Joseph “Joe Junior” Floyd is buried in the Garner Cemetery in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
He resided at 908 Fourteenth Ave. in Council Bluffs.
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.
He was buried in Garner Cemetery in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Information Needed
Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact the Council Bluffs Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at (712) 328-4765 or Crime Stoppers at (712) 328-7867.
Sources:
- Council Bluffs Police Department
- “Unsolved murder cases remain on city, county books,” by Courtney Brummer, The Daily Nonpareil, Sunday, April 28, 2002, Page 42
- “Floyd’s Rites Are Wednesday,” The Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Monday, July 3, 1967
- “Police Lack Clues In Shooting Death,” The Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Sunday, July 2, 1967, Page 1
- Joseph J. Floyd, Jr. (1924 – 1967) Find a Grave Memorial
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Praying for justice!
Thank you! From Joe Floyd’s Niece.