Lana J. Anderson (Courtesy Des Moines Register)
Des Moines in Polk CountyLana Jane Anderson, a 43-year-old Waukon, Iowa native, was killed by blows to the head on Friday, May 10, 1991, as she worked in her manager’s office at the Landmark Apartments complex on Des Moines’ south side.
A maintenance worker discovered Anderson’s body inside her second-floor office in room # 197 in what was known as Building 204. Des Moines police said there were no signs of a struggle.
State Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Bennett ruled Anderson’s death a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head.
Anderson’s death was similar to the death of Maria Schuler, 41, who was killed in the apartment right next door to Anderson’s office seven months earlier on December 19. Both woman died from blow to the head.
Police had arrested and charged Schuler’s boyfriend, Roger Pegram, in her death, and Anderson had been scheduled as a minor witness in Pegram’s trial, the Des Moines Register reported on May 16, 1991.
Pegram had a history of violence toward Schuler, and lawyers argued over whether Anderson’s testimony was relevant. She never got the opportunity to testify, and her statements were excluded from the trial. Pegram walked away a free man.
Courtesy The Cedar Rapids GazetteSix years after her slaying, Anderson’s brother Ken Krambeer told The Cedar Rapids Gazette he held no grudges in his sister’s unsolved case and felt no detectives could have tried harder [to solve the murder].
“They call us periodically yet today,” Krambeer said in The Gazette story published September 5, 1997. “It’s been six years. And they call. They don’t forget it.”
Julie Bell Davis
The August 28, 1997 murder of Julie Bell Davis in Des Moines prompted Krambeer to leave a voice message for Polk County Attorney John Sarcone.
“I just told him we’re sorry to hear about the young gal (from Marion) that was murdered,” Krambeer is quoted as saying, “And just don’t forget our sister’s murder when you’re down at the police homicide department.”
The 33-year-old Davis — the mother of two young children and the wife of Cedar Rapids firefighter Frank Davis — had a successful career selling trade show displays through her company’s Cedar Rapids and Des Moines offices. She was found inside Skyline Display’s satellite office, stabbed several times, her throat slashed. Des Moines detectives don’t believe the two cases are related.
Krambeer told The Gazette Des Moines police were professional and did everything the family asked them to do, and that [family members] decided early on they needed to put their trust in the detectives.
“You have to trust the detectives. There’s just nobody else,” Krambeer said. “And this family in Marion that lost their mother and wife will have to do the same.”
Krambeer, however, said he doesn’t much believe in rewards. The family posted a $20,000 reward in his sister’s murder; it didn’t elicit a single phone call.
Davis’s murder also remains unsolved.
Lana J. (Krambeer) Anderson was born January 6, 1948 in Monona, Iowa, to Carol Gilson and Burnell Krambeer. Her father passed away when Lana was 5, and her stepfather, Dale Reeder, helped raise her. She grew up in Waukon and moved to Iowa City in 1966.
Courtesy photo Erin PavlisLana married Warren “Tom” Anderson, and the couple had been married for 25 years at the time of Lana’s death. They had three children: Lisa, Lea, and Lonnie. Lana and Tom had lived in Norwalk, Iowa since 1980.
A memorial service was held at the Hamilton Funeral Home in Des Moines on Monday, May 13, 1991, with funeral services following on Wednesday, May 15 at the First Presbyterian Church in Waukon. Lana was buried in the Oakland Cemetery.
Lana was survived by her husband, Warren of Norwalk; two daughters, Lisa Nicholson of Des Moines and Lea of Norwalk; a son, Lonnie of Norwalk; her mother, Carol Reeder of Waukon; three brothers, Dean Krambeer of Pine Island, Minn., and Ken and Brad Krambeer, both of Waukon; two sisters, Janet Baumgartner of Waukon and Kim Sylvester of Cedar Rapids.
If you have any information regarding Lana Anderson’s unsolved murder please contact the Des Moines Police Department at (515) 283-4864.
I worked with Lana from time to time for Trison Corp as a maintenance tech/heating-cooling & plumbing tech, I worked the West Desmoines properties, Lana was a very nice lady to work with. If you slacked off on your job then she had no problem letting you know, this came from a couple of her maintenance techs that worked there then but I vehemently disagreed, she was always pleasant to me, her techs were lazy to a point, thus myself & another tech were called there to help out from time to time. Her husband Tom was very kind also & was like the vice president I beleive at the time, very nice people, we were sick to our stomachs as the news spread that day from property to property. Great family! Not sure if there was ever a connection but the other tech I worked with every day was Raymond Countryman, he is the maintenance super at 3000 grand who murdered the Milotech (sp?) elderly sisters there. That happened after leaving the property we worked at together for Trison. He had stolen a large tractor from there for mowing, he had been in prison prior to that, he was also on meth as we come to find out later. The building he lived in also “just” happened to burn to the ground even before that, he received a insurance settlement from that also. Ray was a small man but violent as the murders of the 2 sisters showed, he & his wife were sentenced to 2 life terms, he kept the bodies there for some time behind a false wall in that case, it was violent. I remember once that he came back from landmark south apartments after being told to report there to help the other techs, he came back ranting & raving about Lana being a “b” to him, he said he couldn’t stand her & would never work that property again, that they could fire him, he didn’t care. He was always in need of quick money, I’m not sure why because Trison Corp paid us very well but found out after the murders it was likely due to his meth use. Many residents would state that he creeped them out. I’d put my money on Ray for Lana’s murder, I really would. As I said Tom, Lana & the kids were very nice & always was kind to me & other techs, landmark was a very large property & it was a tough property but Lana was turning the place around for the good. I miss those days as it seemed all who worked for Trison were great people & seemed like family. I weeped for 2 days for this family & still think of them often. Tom, if you or the kids read this I pray all has been good for you folks, I felt horrible for you guys, &Lana was a pro, I admired how she was turning that rough property, rough properties such as landmark south are very, very tough to get under control, I admired her work ethic & intelligence & commitment. She was a great lady, R.I.P. my friend & co-worker😪
Rick, I wonder if the police ever interviewed you. Since you and the other repairman worked there and had contact with Lana.
Plus the fact you point to a fellow repairman as a possible suspect, because of his anger at Lana, his apparent drug use, and his conviction on the murders.
Have they ever looked into the maintenance worker?
Paragraph #6 ends with: “Pegram walked away a free man.” Yet the Des Moines Register reported on 24 May 91 that Pegram was convicted in the death of Maria Schuler. ~ https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35607202/the-des-moines-register/
I remember this. Thought it was so sad and wondered why. The criminal must have been so smart.to leave no clues or our police just aren’t like the crimesolvers on TV,
We love you Grandma Lana and think of you always ❤️ ❤️❤️
💗
Is that the same complex Marilyn Sheets was beaten to death twenty some years ago?
I grew up with her. No, it wasn’t. My first apartment was at Landmark South, which was a really great place to live at the time. I’ve heard it’s really gone downhill.
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