Davenport in Scott County
John Gail Rude, 51, was shot and killed in the basement of his Davenport, Iowa home on Wednesday, December 11, 1974.
Rude’s wife, Dorothy, told police she discovered her husband’s body the morning of December 14 after returning home from a trip out of town.
Scott County Medical Examiner Dr. Rollin M. Perkins reported that Rude died from a gunshot fired from a .22 or .25 caliber weapon, and that he’d been dead at least 48 hours.
John Rude was buried at Pine Hill Cemetery in Davenport. (Courtesy photo Dustin Oliver, findagrave.com)
John Gail Rude was born in Clear Creek, Jasper County, Iowa on October 16, 1923, to John Rude and Flossie Irene Neal.
He married Dorothy Marie Osterkamp on Oct. 2, 1946.
John was laid to rest in the Pine Hill Cemetery in Davenport.
If you have any information about John Rude’s unsolved homicide, please contact the Davenport Police Department at 563-326-7979.
John Rude was electrician
Praying for justice!
I can’t imagine coming home to find your husband dead.
Justin, I agree. When I forced heard about the two girls in Chicago, the use of .32 caliber firearm seemed odd. However, they were popular for a time. Also, a 15 year old boy from Zion, Illinois, disappeared possibly in December 1970. He was found shot to death in a ditch in Racine County, Wisconsin. He was shot in the head three times with a .32 caliber firearm. This is similar to the murder of the two girls.
However, some Chicago Mob hitman, also used .22 caliber firearms. However, two of them used a .22 caliber firearm on a Ken Eto, who ran a gambling operation for the Mob. Well, he survived, and rolled over to the Feds. The two hitman, were found murdered in the trunk of a stolen car.
So, I wonder about the use of small caliber firearms in a few unsolved murders.
I find it interesting that there is no mention of forced entry. So, if no forced entry, then it points to Mr. Rude possibly knowing his killer. This is somewhat supported by the fact that he was found shot to death in the basement, and not somewhere else in the house.
Also, we don’t know much about the victim. We don’t know what he did for a living, if he had problems with anyone. But, would he let them into his home willingly. Also, I assume authorities verified his wife’s story, that she was out of town.
Also, the use of a .22 or .25 caliber firearm, points to a female as a potential offender. I would expect a man, to use a higher caliber firearm, such as a .38 caliber, or higher.
However, two young women in Chicago, were shot to death in 1972, with a .32 caliber firearm. Their bodies were found sort of posed in a large park on the southeast side of Chicago. Their murder is still unsolved. However, there were a number of shootings involving .32 caliber firearms in the Chicago area, in that time frame.
One of the most interesting was a young man, in his 20’s, who was driving through Kansas, after visiting an aunt out west. He was speeding on the interstate, and after a 25 mile chase, the Kansas Highway Patrol, forced him off the roadway. When they approached his car, they found him dead of a self inflicted wound from .32 caliber firearm. He had a shoulder holster. He lived in a suburb of Chicago. There was no mention of him being depressed in the newspaper story.
Im willing to bet they made more than one .32 cal gun