Roger Joynt (Courtesy Globe Gazette)
Mason City in Cerro Gordo CountyOn Friday, September 29, 1978, the body of Roger Joynt, 26, was found in a ditch 2.5 miles east of Interstate-35 on County Road B-20 around the Mason City area in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa.
Joynt, who resided at 509 N. Jefferson Avenue in Mason City, had been shot eight times with a small-caliber weapon.
When the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) established a Cold Case Unit in 2009, Roger Joynt’s murder was one of approximately 150 cases listed on the Cold Case Unit’s new website as those the DCI hoped to solve using latest advancements in DNA technology.
Although federal grant funding for the DCI Cold Case Unit was exhausted in December 2011, the DCI continues to assign agents to investigate cold cases as new leads develop or as technological advances allow for additional forensic testing of original evidence.
The DCI remains committed to resolving Iowa’s cold cases and will continue to work diligently with local law enforcement partners to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice for the victims and their families.
Courtesy photo Jen Shaffer, findagrave.comRoger Thomas Joynt was born September 9, 1952, the son of Eugene C. “Gene” and Rita (Girres) Joynt of Mason City.
He graduated from Newman Catholic School in 1971, and graduated from North Iowa Area Community College in 1973.
Roger was buried in Clear Lake Cemetery in Clear Lake, Iowa, in Cerro Gordo County.
If you have any information about Roger Joynt’s unsolved murder, please contact the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office at (641) 421-3000 or the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010 or email dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us.
I wonder what caliber the firearm was. In Chicago, two young teenagers were found murdered in Washington Park, on the Southeast side of the city in the 1970’s. They had been shot with a .32 caliber firearm. Someone said their murder was connected to the Chicago Mob.
One of the girls worked as a waitress at a restaurant and motel for truckers, that was owned by a mob guy. Also some senior mob leaders from Bridgeport section of Chicago, hung out there. So one of the girls may have overheard something.
There were several murders in that time frame, where a .32 caliber firearm was used. It would be nice if they released that information and other details.
At the time this occurred the talk was it was drug related. I wonder if the Mason City police dept ever thinks about this murder.
Hope never dies. I wish for the the Joynt family Justice for Roger and a sense of closure for them.
I wonder if they found drugs in his system?
They must have some DNA id DCI was hoping to solve it using DNA.
Praying for justice!