Polk County in Iowa

Polk County in Iowa

Des Moines map

Des Moines in Polk County

Cold Cases in Des Moines, Iowa

 

 

 

 

  • Note: Individual pages and case summaries for many of these victims are currently being compiled. If you have any information or photos you’d be willing to share, please email us or send via our Contact form. You may also contact the Des Moines Police Department at 515-237-1554.

 

Officer George Mattern

Officer George Mattern

Homicide
Officer George William Mattern
27 YOA
Des Moines Police Department
Killed in Line of Duty
Badge #: 54
Shot: August 7, 1917
Died: May 12, 1918

On August 7, 1917, Des Moines police officer George Mattern was shot in the abdomen by a man who had just tried to rob a local bar. Mattern died of his injuries on May 12, 1918.


Thaddeus Mitchell 165

Thaddeus Mitchell

Homicide
Thaddeus Mitchell
44 YOA
St. Joseph Avenue near 20th Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
December 7, 1922

Thaddeus William “Thad” Mitchell was shot to death in his taxi cab in a remote and deserted area of north central Des Moines on Thursday, December 7, 1922.


Leon Groves

Leon Groves

Homicide
Leon Groves
40 YOA
SE 18th & Scott
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1951-9296
December 22, 1951

The body of Leon Groves, a Ruan cab driver, was found on the floor of his taxicab in a ditch at S.E. Eighteenth Street and Scott Avenue in Des Moines on December 22, 1951. He was shot three times and his billfold was missing.


Baby FeetHomicide
Unidentified Newborn Baby, White Male
Newborn
Des Moines River
Pok County, Iowa
ME/C Case # 10-1397
NamUs UP # 10855
December 12, 1953

On Saturday, December 12, 1953, officials recovered a white male infant from the Des Moines River in Polk County, Iowa. The newborn had been struck in the skull and burned and charred beyond recognition before being tossed into the river.


Charles Sanders

Charles Sanders

Homicide
Charles Sanders
67 YOA
Court Avenue River Bridge
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1954-33401
April 15, 1954

The 67-year-old Charles Edward Sanders was found murdered and robbed under the Court Avenue Bridge in Des Moines on April 15, 1954 — the day before Good Friday.


Rose Grandanette

Rose Grandanette

Homicide
Rose Grandanette
33 YOA
Sunrise Blvd. and 73rd St.
Windsor Heights, IA
Polk County
September 14, 1958

Rose Grandanette, a 33-year-old mother of three children, was shot in the head with a .38-caliber pistol on Sunday evening, September 14, 1958, after answering the door of her Windsor Heights, Iowa, home.


Darleen Fitchett

Darleen Fitchett

Homicide
Darleen Fitchett
28 YOA
608 East Pleasant View Dr.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1960-1563
January 19, 1960

Darleen May Fitchett, a 28-year-old mother of three young children, was stabbed to death in her 608 East Pleasant View Drive home in Des Moines on January 19, 1960, and her body taken elsewhere for disposal. Her husband, Alanson “Lance” Malcolm Fitchett Jr., told his mother-in-law, Frances Boyd of Dexter, he killed Darleen because he “hated her.” Lance Fitchett, whom police long considered the primary suspect in his wife’s disappearance and murder, died March 21, 2005. Darleen’s remains have yet to be recovered.


Dorothy Coon

Dorothy Coon

Homicide
Dorothy Ruth Coon
38 YOA
2017 61st St., Des Moines, IA
Body found in rural Chariton, IA (Lucas County)
Des Moines PD Case # 1960-10204
DCI Case # 60-07871
Disappeared: August 26, 1960
Body Found: August 29, 1960

On Monday evening, August 29, 1960, Dorthy Coon was found dead in a ditch alongside a road in Lucas County, Iowa, 12 miles north of Chariton. Her body — clad in a dark green dress and white shoes — was discovered by a farmer mowing weeds. Mrs. Coon’s purse was found one mile away.


Homicide
Floyd Cramer
612 14th St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1960-14495
December 9, 1960

Floyd Cramer was killed in Des Moines, Iowa, on December 9, 1960.


Ramona Jean Cox

Ramona Jean Cox

Homicide
Ramona Jean Cox
24 YOA
1526 Woodland Ave.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 62-00508
April 22, 1962

Ramona Jean Cox, 24, was found dead in her first-floor apartment at 1526 Woodland Ave. in Des Moines on Sunday morning, April 22, 1962. Cox, who was from Moravia, Iowa, but worked as a secretary in Des Moines, had been raped and slashed across the throat with a hook-billed linoleum knife.


Homicide
Earl J. Lambert
58 YOA
Under E. 14th St. viaduct bridge
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1962-12962
October 1, 1962

Earl J. Lambert, 58, was found dead beneath the E. 14th Street Viaduct bridge in Des Moines at about 1 a.m. on October 1, 1962. Railroad employees found Lambert’s body on railroad tracks, but authorities said they did not believe Lambert — who worked for the Des Moines Central Railroad — had been struck by a train. They also said they did not believe he fell from a moving train.


George Geary

George Geary

Homicide
George Geary
40 YOA
Keo & Crocker
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Des Moines Case # 1963-601
DCI Case # 63-00218
January 13, 1963

George Geary was shot about 1:30 a.m. on January 13, 1963, during a robbery at the service station where he worked.


Lillian Randolph

Lillian Randolph

Homicide
Lillian Randolph
57 YOA
Des Moines Airport
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1965-7249
May 2, 1965

On May 7, 1965, Lillian Elizabeth Randolph was reported missing from her farm home near Guthrie Center. On May 11, 1965, state authorities found her body stuffed in the trunk of her car at the Polk County Municipal Airport in Des Moines. She was stabbed 13 times in the chest.


Donald Nervig

Homicide
Donald Amos Nervig
52 YOA
7380 6th Ave.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1965-20581
December 15, 1965

Donald Nervig, 52, was killed on December 15, 1965, by a blow to the back of his head. His body was discovered frozen at the bottom of a ravine in rural Polk County on January 26, 1966.


Harold Holt gravestone

Harold Holt gravestone

Homicide
Harold Holt
24 YOA
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 66-00274
Date of Crime: January 1, 1966
Date of Death: January 17, 1966

Harold Holt was shot in the abdomen in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 1966, while attending a party. He died from his wounds two weeks later on January 17.


Judy Corbin

Judy Corbin

Homicide
Judy Ann Corbin
17 YOA
Hotel Chamberlain, Rm 522
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
April 19, 1967

Judy Ann Corbin, 17, was stabbed to death at the Hotel Chamberlain in Des Moines on Wednesday, April 19, 1967. Corbin, who’d been stabbed in the neck, was left to bleed to death in room 522 at the same hotel where her alleged killer worked.


Leota Camp

Leota Camp

Homicide
Leota Camp
25 YOA
3213 Flemming Ave.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1967-10836
July 10, 1967

Just after 12:00 noon on Monday, July 10, 1967, Mrs. Raymond (Leota) Camp, 25, was discovered in her home — stabbed four times in the back — while her two older children played outside and her three-month-old daughter Christine lay on the living room floor, nursing a warm bottle of milk.


Patricia Veach

Patricia Veach

Homicide
Patricia Ann Veach
8 YOA
805 SW Lally
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1969-12925
July 10, 1969

On Thursday morning, July 10, 1969, 8-year-old Patricia Ann Veach was found dead in her bedroom at her Des Moines home. She was sexually molested and smothered in her bed.


Ross McConnell

Ross McConnell

Homicide
Ross R. McConnell
47 YOA
1604 Tichenor
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1971-29236
June 26, 1971

Ross R. McConnell, 47, died July 7, 1971, of burns sustained at his home June 26 in a fire that investigators later ruled as arson. The fire began when someone threw a flammable liquid through a window onto the bed in which McConnell was sleeping.


Shawna Johnson's gravestone

Shawna Johnson’s gravestone

Homicide
Shawna Marie Johnson
2 years old
1336 18th St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1972-2562
January 4, 1972

Two-year-old Shawna Marie Johnson died on January 4, 1972, after becoming a victim of foul play at 1336 18th St. in Des Moines. The child allegedly lived at 1407 18th Street.


Homicide
Tommy Morris
68 YOA
1800 Blk. Des Moines St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1972-15347
March 9, 1972

According to a report from the Des Moines Police Department sent to Iowa Cold Cases on July 10, 2009, Tommy Morris was found dead in the 1800 block of Des Moines Street in Des Moines on Thursday, March 9, 1972, and his death ruled a homicide.


Homicide
Roy Madison
69 YOA
223 Raccoon St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1972-87405
December 18, 1972

Early Monday morning, December 18, 1972, Roy Madison was found dead in his Des Moines, Iowa home with stab wounds to his face and chest. Several friends — who’d come by to visit the 69-year-old Madison — discovered the body and notified authorities.


Homicide
David Morris
68 YOA
Morris Foods
2550 Maury Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1973-12106
February 22, 1973

On the evening of February 22, 1973, David Morris, 68, was robbed and shot to death in his grocery store, Morris Foods at 2550 Maury Street.


Timothy Friedel gravestoneSuspicious Death
Timothy Friedel
25 YOA
Wooded Area
Northwest Des Moines
Polk County
June 6, 1974

Timothy Friedel, 25, of Des Moines was found dead in a water-filled ditch in northwest Des Moines on Thursday, June 6, 1974. Friedel, a known drug-dealer in the area, allegedly had been fleeing from another vehicle when he crashed his car and tried to flee on foot. The individual in pursuit allegedly followed him down an embankment to a creek where Friedel was then severely beaten and drowned.


Ernest Lilly Sr.

Homicide
Ernest H. Lilly Sr.
50 YOA
3940 McDonald Ave.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1973-46114
September 11, 1973

Ernest Harold Lilly Sr. — a 50-year-old US Navy World War II veteran — was shot Sept. 11, 1973, during an attempted robbery at “Frank’s Place,” a tavern located at 3940 McDonald Ave. in Des Moines. Lilly was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he remained for just over three months before passing away on Dec. 19, 1973.


Mary K. Senne

Mary K. Senne

Homicide
Mary K. Senne
21 YOA
4119 E. University Ave.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1973-51704
October 22, 1973

On Monday, October 22, 1973, Mary K. Senne, 21, was stabbed to death in her east Des Moines home between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. Senne was stabbed twice in the stomach and one time in the throat. The telephone line was cut.


Homicide
Cecil L. DuBois
73 YOA
1322 23rd St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1974-42891
November 15, 1974

On November 15, 1974, 73-year-old Des Moines resident Cecil L. DuBois was robbed and beaten in his home at 1322 23rd Street. He later died at a local hospital.


Diane Schofield

Diane Schofield

Homicide
Diane Marie Schofield
21 YOA
2000 Blk. Porter
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1975-24048
July 4, 1975

On Thursday afternoon, July 10, 1975, the body of a young woman was found in the trunk of a tan 1966 Rambler in a parking lot near the Des Moines airport and later identified as 21-year-old Diane Marie Schofield of 2931 Cottage Grove in Des Moines. The young mother had been dead for several days.


Geralyn Kean

Geralyn “Gigi” Kean

Homicide
Geralyn Kean
17 YOA
446 SE Hart
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1975-26584
July 29, 1975

On Tuesday, July 29, 1975, 17-year-old Geralyn Jean Kean’s nude and bullet-ridden body was found lying face down on a waterbed in her Des Moines home.


Tommy Lee McConkey

Tommy Lee McConkey

Homicide
Tommy Lee McConkey
38 YOA
2929 E. University
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1975-30748
August 27, 1975

On August 27, 1975, Tommy Lee was fixing the back door of Sondy’s Lounge at 2929 E. University Avenue in Des Moines. When he went to his pickup truck to get some materials at about 4:25 p.m., an unknown person drove up and shot him in the left cheek. McConkey died the following day.


Homicides
Four Dead
1128 6th
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1975-34651
September 27, 1975

One woman and three children were killed in a suspected arson fire in the early morning hours on Saturday, Sept. 27, 1975, at an apartment house located at 1128 6th Avenue in Des Moines.

The building was owned by Gregory L. and Dona J. Nepstad, who were not present when the third and fatal blaze took place.

The victims were identified as Sharion Owens, 21, and her 2-year-old son, Christopher Owens, who lived in the building. The two other victims, Barbara (J.B.) Gill and Shawn (J.S.) Gill, were staying with a babysitter while their parents were in New York.


Alice Van Alstine

Alice Van Alstine

Missing Person, Presumed Homicide
Alice Mae Van Alstine
28 YOA
DOB: May 23, 1947
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case Number: 76-2184
March 26, 1976

Alice Van Alstine, a former “Minutemen” sympathizer who’d recently abandoned the right-wing paramilitary organization, tucked her children into bed at their 29th Street apartment in Des Moines on March 26, 1976, and then vanished into thin air, never to be seen nor heard from again. Her purse and money were found in the apartment, and despite the near-freezing outside temperature, she’d also disappeared without her coat or shoes.


Mary Ann Scovel

Mary Ann Scovel

Homicide
Mary Ann Scovel
18 YOA
661 Seventeenth St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
April 14, 1976

Mary Ann Scovel, 18, was strangled in her Des Moines apartment Wednesday night, April 14, 1976. Jeffrey Robert Calvert, Scovel’s 22-year-old next-door neighbor, was charged with murder in her slaying, but a judge dismissed the case after Dale Grunewald, assistant Polk County Medical Examiner, changed the time of Scovel’s death based on additional evidence that had come to light.


Frank Goff

Frank Goff

Homicide
Earl “Frank” Goff
36 YOA
612 SE Jackson Ave.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1977-35047
September 23, 1977

On September 23, 1977, Frank Goff’s brothers, Jerry and George, taunted him into coming to their parents’ home on Southeast Jackson Avenue in Des Moines. As Frank walked in the door, he immediately was shot in the neck. He died the following day.


Steve Gardner tombstone for cases page

Steve Gardner: 1950-1978

Homicide
Steven Eugene Gardner
27 YOA
1037 23rd Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1978-11923
April 8, 1978

Steven Eugene Gardner, 27, was shot three times in the head as he sat behind the wheel of his pickup near the intersection of 23rd Street and Cottage Grove on Friday, April 8, 1978.


Homicide
Anna T. Miller
57 YOA
3531 54th Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1978-25150
July 8, 1978

Anna Titje Miller, 57, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer or ax on Saturday, July 8, 1978 in the home at 3531 54th Street where she lived alone.


Camille Njus

Camille Njus

Homicide
Camille Njus
20 YOA
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 78-06827
August 4, 1978 (approximate DOD)

Camille Njus, a 20-year-old Grinnell College student and Department of Transportation intern, was reported missing in August 1978 after failing to return home for a weekend visit. On October 18, 74 days after her disappearance, her body was discovered by a city employee buried beneath brush and logs near an access road to the Des Moines River.


Glenn Turner tombstone 165

Glenn Turner: 1918-1978

Homicide
Glenn W. Turner
59 YOA
2222 Hubbell Avenue
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1978-29909
August 9, 1978

On Thursday night, August 10, 1978, an employee of the popular Latin King Restaurant at 2222 Hubbell Avenue on the east side of Des Moines found the blood-covered body of Glenn Turner slumped in the back of a van in the restaurant’s parking lot. Turner was killed by blunt force trauma to the head and had been dead at least 24 hours.


John E. Clinton

Homicide
John “Johnie” Edward Clinton
68 YOA
1525 Walker Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1978-41681
Body Found: October 27, 1978
Est. Date of Death: October 20, 1978

The stabbed and bludgeoned body of 68-year-old Johnie E. “John” Clinton — a World War II veteran — was found in the kitchen of his 1525 Walker Street home in Des Moines on October 27, 1978. He had been dead for seven to nine days.


Gene Williamson

Homicide
Gene W. Williamson
23 YOA
1311 21st Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1979-5278
February 9, 1979

Gene W. Williamson, 23, was found shot to death in his car in the driveway of an apartment building at 1311 21st Street.


Homicide
William Thomas
70 YOA
1213 Jefferson Avenue
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1979-35742
September 9, 1979

William Thomas, 70, was beaten on the head near his home at 1213 Jefferson Avenue on September 9, 1979. He died the next day.


Homicide
Jane Doe
River Area SE
Des Moines, IA
Case # 1980-20704
May 26, 1980

An unidentified female body was found in the Des Moines River in southeast Des Moines on May 26, 1980.


Donald Hebert

Donald Hebert

Homicide
Donald Hebert
43 YOA
3115 SW McKinley Avenue
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1980-38313
September 8, 1980

Forty-three-year-old Donald “Don” Hebert was shot to death in the bathroom of his home at 3115 SW McKinley Avenue.


Johnny Gosch

Johnny Gosch

Missing Person
Johnny Gosch
12 YOA
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Case # 82-04613
Missing Since: September 5, 1982

On September 5, 1982, Johnny Gosch left his home to work his Des Moines Register paper route. What happened after that has been the subject of speculation. Five witnesses saw and spoke to a man who they say approached and kidnapped the boy.


Pennye Watson

Pennye Watson

Homicide
Pennye Watson
18 YOA
1054 21st
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1983-32787
September 10, 1983

Pennye Watson, an 18-year-old Technical High School student, was found strangled in September 1983 about four blocks from her home. The shy student’s nude body was discovered by a passing motorist.


Jeffrey Deaver

Jeffrey Thomas Deaver

Homicide
Jeffrey Thomas Deaver
25 YOA
1132 5th
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1983-37472
October 15, 1983

Jeffrey Thomas “Jeff” Deaver, 25, was stabbed to death at his Des Moines apartment sometime on Saturday, October 15, 1983. Co-workers discovered his body Monday, October 17, 1983 after Deaver failed to show up for his job at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.


UNIDd White Male

John Clifton Downey

Homicide
John Clifton Downey
59 YOA
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 84-0162 DOE
February 28, 1984

On February 28, 1984, the skeletal remains of an unidentified white male were found in a brushy area along a dirt trail in Des Moines. Cause of death was blunt force trauma, and police believe he was killed sometime during the summer of 1983. The man remained unidentified for 33 years, and on June 1, 2017, the FBI’s national database for fingerprints matched him to 39-year-old John Clifton Downey of Texas.


Eugene Martin

Eugene Martin

Missing Person
Eugene W. Martin
13 YOA
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 84-03891
August 12, 1984

On August 12, 1984, Eugene left his home at approximately 5 a.m. to deliver newspapers. Between 5:45 and 6:05 a.m., he was seen folding papers and talking to a white male “about the age of his father” on the corner a few blocks from his home. Between 6:10 and 6:15 a.m., Eugene’s bag was found on the ground outside of Des Moines with 10 folded papers still inside.


Warren Swanson

Homicide
Warren Swanson
53 YOA
709 25th Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1984-37964
October 1, 1984

Fifty-three-year-old Korean Conflict veteran Warren Swanson was murdered at his home at 709 25th Street in Des Moines on October 1, 1984. He died from injuries to his head and neck.


Homicide
John Shuey
26 YOA
1427 23rd Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1986-12024
March 24, 1986

The body of 26-year-old John Shuey was found in his upstairs apartment at 1427 23rd Street on March 24, 1986. He was stabbed during a robbery sometime in the preceding days.


Marc Warren Allen

Marc Warren Allen

Missing Person
Marc James-Warren Allen
Age at Report: 13
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Missing Since: March 29, 1986

Marc J. Allen, 13, told his mother he planned to walk to a friend’s house down the street from their Des Moines home on March 29, 1986, but never arrived at the neighbor’s home. He was last seen wearing a light blue t-shirt, blue jean shorts, white socks, and gray tennis shoes with velcro tabs.


Homicide
Kristine Lee Mitchell
27 YOA
100 Forest
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1986-17433
April 27, 1986

Kristine Lee Mitchell, 27, was found dead Sunday night, April 27, 1986, by a man looking for auto parts in a Des Moines wooded lot littered with junk.


Bryan Pence

Bryan Pence

Homicide
Bryan Pence
21 YOA
3725 Hubbell Avenue
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1986-22875
May 29, 1986

On Thursday, May 29, 1986, Bryan E. Pence, 21, was shot and killed during a robbery of the Sinclair Service Station at 3725 Frederick M. Hubbell Avenue in Des Moines where he worked.


Homicide
Morris Wright
52 YOA
1426 10th
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1986-41137
September 15, 1986

Morris Wright — a 52-year-old Korean War veteran — was killed in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday, September 15, 1986.


Jamedia Hines

Jamedia Hines

Homicide
Jamedia Hines
22 YOA
1700 Oakland Ave.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1987-37149
September 5, 1987

On Saturday, September 5, 1987, a 7-year-old boy playing hide-and-seek found a body lying in weeds behind an apartment building located at 1700 Oakland Avenue on Des Moines’ north side. The victim was identified as Jamedia Hines, a 22-year-old mother of three small children, including a 33-day-old infant.


John Jeffery

John Jeffery

Homicide
John Wayne Jeffery
31 YOA
1018 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1990-21313
May 29, 1990

At 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 30, 1990, 31-year-old John Wayne Jeffery was found dead in his car outside Leo’s Lounge at 1018 E. 12th Street in Des Moines. He was shot in the head with a small caliber weapon.


Homicide
Pamela Carter
Des Moines River
2300 block of Euclid Avenue
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1990-32639
July 10, 1990

On August 8, 1990, after receiving an anonymous tip, police found the body of 24-year-old Pamela Carter in the Des Moines River. She had been strangled. Carter had been reported missing on July 10, 1990, and the state medical examiner determined she had been dead about one month.


Homicide
Becky Palmer
1300 E. 25th Ct.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1990-40843
November 16, 1990

Becky Palmer was killed in Des Moines, Iowa, on November 16, 1990.


Matthew Ferris

Matthew Ferris

Missing Person
Matthew John Ferris
Age at Report: 20
DOB: Nov. 15, 1970
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
NCIC Number: M-478282492
Missing Since: March 7, 1991

Matthew Ferris was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department on March 7, 1991. Ferris disappeared on July 25, 1990.


Keith Clayborne, II

Keith Clayborne, II

Jerry Cooper

Jerry Cooper

Double Homicide
Keith Clayborne II, 20 YOA
Jerry Cooper, 23 YOA

3205 Kingman Blvd. #208
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1991-12517
March 27, 1991

On March 27, 1991, Keith Clayborne II, 20, and Jerry Cooper, 23, were shot execution style at 3205 Kingman Blvd. #208 in Des Moines, Iowa. The deaths were believed to be drug-related.


Lana Anderson

Homicide
Lana Jane Anderson
43 YOA
Landmark South Apartments
200 Dickman Avenue
Bldg 204
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1991-19466
May 10, 1991

On Friday afternoon, May 10, 1991, Lana J. Anderson, 43, was bludgeoned in the head as she worked in the manager’s office at the Landmark South apartment complex office on Des Moines’ south side. She’d been preparing to testify in the murder trial of a woman killed in the apartment right next door to Anderson’s office.  


Homicide
Lois Arlene Bradley
74 YOA
1729 Grand #204
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1991-27537
June 27, 1991

Lois Bradley, 74, was strangled in the apartment where she lived alone at 1729 Grand Avenue in Des Moines. Although her body was not discovered until June 29, authorities believed she was murdered on June 27.


Homicide
Dennis Moore
46 YOA
1535 7th St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1992-26312
June 19, 1992

Dennis Moore, a 46-year-old homeless man living in Des Moines, was shot in the chest while sleeping in his car in the early morning hours on Friday, June 19, 1992.


Homicide
Eric Jones
7 months old
510 SW Payton
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1993-17587
May 3, 1993


Phil Terrell

Phil Terrell

Homicide
Phil Terrell
42 YOA
Des Moines, IA
Body found in Warren County
December 24, 1993

Just before Christmas 1993, Phil Terrell’s family reported him missing from Des Moines. On March 2, 1994, at approximately 2 p.m., a horseback rider found Terrell’s snow-covered, decomposed body in a creek bed just inside Warren County. Assistant Medical Examiner Francis Garrity determined Terrell died after being struck on the head with a blunt instrument.


Kathleen Stith

Kathleen Stith

Homicide
Kathleen “Kathy” Stith
47 YOA
966 E. 6th Avenue
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1994-7200
February 24, 1994

At 5:30 p.m. on February 24, 1994, 47-year-old Kathleen “Kathy” Stith was found dead on a sofa by the boyfriend she shared a townhouse with at 966 E. 6th Avenue in Des Moines.


Steven Graves

Homicide
Steven Wesley Graves, Jr.
19 YOA
1600 Blk. 16th Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1994-46422
November 8, 1994

Former Hoover High School football star and musician Steven Wesley Graves, Jr., 19, died on November 8, 1994 after being shot in the stomach while in a troubled area near 16th Street and Mondamin Avenue in Des Moines.


Connie Choate Bodensteiner

Connie Choate Bodensteiner

Homicide
Connie Jo Choate Bodensteiner
24 YOA
2800 Fleur Drive
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
August 8, 1995

On Tuesday, August 8, 1995, Connie Jo Choate Bodensteiner was found locked in a basement storage bin at a south-side Des Moines apartment complex. An autopsy showed the 24-year-old had been strangled.


Mark Atkins

Mark Atkins

Homicide
Mark Atkins
22 YOA
1814 6th Street
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1995-36612
August 14, 1995

Mark Atkins, 23, was shot in the head and neck at 1814 6th Street on August 14, 1995 while trying to break up an altercation over ownership of a ring.


Billy Talbert

Billy Talbert

Homicide
William R. Talbert, Jr.
18 YOA
1400 21st
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1995-40323
September 3, 1995

William Ralph Talbert, Jr., of Des Moines, IA, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Des Moines early Sunday morning, September 3, 1995, as he stood on a sidewalk.


Darrell Lewis, Sr.

Darrell Lewis, Sr.

Homicide
Darrell Romain Lewis
39 YOA
2100 block Carpenter Avenue
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1995-58887
December 24, 1995

At 12:40 a.m. Sunday, December 24, 1995, 39-year-old Darrell R. Lewis was found shot to death between two parked cars in the 2100 block of Carpenter Avenue in Des Moines. He was clutching two bags of crack cocaine.


Homicide
Robert Furnish
1215 6th
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1996-30538
July 18, 1996


Rafael Robinson

Rafael Robinson

Homicide
Rafael Robinson
926 Oak Ridge
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1996-32331
July 31, 1996

On July 31, 1996, Iowa 90 Crips gang member Rafael Robinson was shot multiple times in the back outside a public housing complex at 926 Oakridge in Des Moines. Gunshots from more than one weapon were heard, but no one admitted witnessing the shooting.


Robert Scott

Homicide
Robert Scott
43 YOA
1000 Blk. E. 12th
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1996-22677
May 30, 1996

Taxi driver Robert D. “Bob” Scott was murdered while on duty May 30, 1996 in Des Moines.


Raul Camacho

Raul Camacho

Homicide
Raul Camacho
18 YOA
1820 E. Army Post Road
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1996-39840
September 14, 1996

At approximately 1:15 a.m. on Saturday, September 14, 1996, 18-year-old Raul Camacho was shot several times outside the El Aragan bar on Des Moines’s east side by a Hispanic subject who fled the scene.


Earl Hamilton

Earl Hamilton

Homicide
Earl “Big Earl” Hamilton
53 YOA
Big Earl’s Goldmine
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
September 29, 1996

At approximately 3 a.m. on Sunday, September 29, 1996, Earl “Big Earl” Hamilton was shot in the head outside the strip club he owned and operated on the outskirts of Des Moines. Hamilton was air-lifted to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.


John Johnson

John Johnson

Missing Person
John Johnson
Age at Report: 71
DOB: Oct. 23, 1925
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Incident Type: Endangered/Physical
Missing Since: December 11, 1996

John Johnson was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department on December 11, 1996.


Michael Booth 165

Michael Booth

Homicide
Mike Booth
45 YOA
510 15th #21
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1997-17132
April 26, 1997

The body of 45-year-old Michael Booth was found April 26, 1997 in his apartment at 510 15th Street. He had been bludgeoned to death during a drug robbery.


julie-davis-165px

Julie Bell Davis

Homicide
Julie Bell Davis
33 YOA
613 E. 2nd
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1997-37722
August 28, 1997

On Thursday evening, August 28, 1997, Julie Davis, a 33-year-old Marion, Iowa, mother of two, was found with her throat slashed and fatally stabbed at Skyline Display’s satellite office in east Des Moines, where she worked.


Beth Ricketts

Beth Ricketts

Homicide
Beth Ann Ricketts
31 YOA
4000 Dubuque
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1997-57018
December 22, 1997

Beth Ricketts was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department on December 22, 1997. She was last seen wearing black pants, a white shirt, a zebra belt, a black leather blazer and carrying a medium-sized black purse.


Homicide
Anthony Williams
1436 22nd
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1998-1045
January 8, 1998


Homicide
Mariana Redrovan
15 YOA
Case Number: 98-00744
Walnut Creek Inn
West Des Moines, IA
Polk County
January 23, 1998

On January 23, 1998, Mariana Redrovan, 15, was stabbed to death in a room at the West Des Moines Walnut Creek Inn where she worked as a housekeeper.


Susan Hagen

Homicide
Susan Hagen
600 Blk. Birdland Dr.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1998-6532
February 12, 1998

Susan Diane Hagen, 44, was murdered and her body set on fire and left under the 2nd Avenue bridge over the Des Moines River on February 12, 1998.


Homicide
Ky Van Luong
6th & Birdland
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1998-6829
February 14, 1998

Ky Van Luong, 20, was found shot to death on February 14, 1998 on the bike path along Birdland Drive near 6th Avenue. His body had been dumped there.


Rodrigo Duran Sr.

Rodrigo Duran Sr.

Homicide
Rodrigo Duran Sr.
59 YOA
1820 E. Army Post Road
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1999-11835
April 3, 1999

On April 3, 1999, 59-year-old Rodrigo Duran was shot in the chest in the parking lot of El Palacio, a dance hall located at 1820 E. Army Post Road on the south side of Des Moines. He died at 2:00 a.m. in a local hospital.


Homicide
Cordell Kirby
46 YOA
1400 E. 18th
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1999-28964
August 2, 1999


John and Janet Taylor

John and Janet Taylor

Double Homicide
John Budd Taylor, 54 YOA
Janet Faye Taylor, 52 YOA
2223 E. Maple
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1999-29020
August 3, 1999

At 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, August 3, 1999, John and Janet Taylor — both in their 50s — were found dead in the bedroom of their burning home. Both had been stabbed to death.


David L. Shumpert

David L. Shumpert

Homicide
David L. Shumpert
27 YOA
400 blk. E. Locust
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 1999-46557
December 2, 1999

David L. Shumpert, a 27-year-old US Navy veteran and father of two young sons, was shot in the chest in the 400 block of E. Locust Street in Des Moines shortly after 10 p.m. on Thursday, December 2, 1999.


David Marchan

David Marchan

Missing Person
David Marchan
Age at Report: 18
Weight: 168 lbs.
Height: 5’08″
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Sex: Male
Incident Type: Other adult missing
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Missing Since: January 1, 2001

David Marchan was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department in Des Moines on January 1, 2001. He usually wears Docker-type pants and button-down collar shirts. His left ear is pierced.


Homicide
Harland Shuey
3310 E. 42nd
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 2001-1532
January 11, 2001

On Thursday, January 11, 2001, Harland S. Shuey, 79, was killed at 3310 E. 42nd Street in Des Moines.


Missing Person
Bryan Ashley Howser
Age At Report: 33
DOB: March 17, 1968
Weight: 155 lbs.
Height: 5’06″
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Sex: Male
Incident Type: Disability – physical / mental
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Missing Since: April 4, 2001

Bryan Ashley Howser, 33, was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department on April 4, 2001. He was last seen wearing black jeans and a black Hawkeye sweatshirt.


Missing Person
Riccardo R. Bowers
Age at Report: 44
Incident Type: Endangered / physical
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Missing Since: May 15, 2001

Riccardo Bowers was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 15, 2001.


Burgs

Emanuel Burgs

Celestina Payano

Celestina Payano

Double Homicide
Emanuel Burgs, Jr., II, 21 YOA
Celestina Payano, 22 YOA

1831 Mondamin
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 2002-36527
September 12, 2002

Emanuel Burgs, Jr., II, 21, and 22-year-old Celestina Payano were found bound and shot to death at 1831 Mondamin on September 12, 2002.


Melissa Hasley

Melissa Hasley

Missing Person
Melissa Dawn Hasley
Age at Report: 31
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Missing Since: October 18, 2002

Melissa “Missy” Hasley was last seen at a party between 11:45 p.m. and 1:45 a.m. at an apartment complex in the vicinity of the 1700 block of Grand Avenue in Des Moines.


Homicide
Donald Eugene Graspy
46 YOA
1104 Fremont
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 2003-27457
July 17, 2003

Donald Eugene Graspy, 46, was found dead in the garage of a vacant house at 1104 Fremont in Des Moines on July 17, 2003.


Christopher Stewart

Christopher Stewart

Missing Person
Christopher Lee Stewart
Age at Report: 36
DOB: Nov. 13, 1966
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Incident Type: Endangered/Physical
Missing Since: August 17, 2003

Christopher Stewart was last seen after 10:30 p.m. on August 17, 2003 outside his apartment in the vicinity of the 600 block of 18th Street in Des Moines.


Corey Poffenberger

Corey Poffenberger

Homicide
Robert “Corey” Poffenberger
30 YOA
2211 East 37th St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 2003-42059
October 24, 2003

Robert Corey Poffenberger was murdered early Friday morning October 24, 2003, in the driveway of his home at 2211 East 37th Street in Des Moines.


Jeremy Spencer

Jeremy J. Spencer

Homicide
Jeremy J. Spencer
27 YOA
Tommy’s Hickman Pub
2335 Hickman
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 04-03548
January 28, 2004

Jeremy J. Spencer, 28, was shot and killed outside Tommy’s Hickman Pub on January 28, 2004. Another man was wounded.


Ruth Kingery Pohlmeier

Ruth Kingery-Pohlmeier

Homicide
Ruthie Ann Pohlmeier
37 YOA
3839 E. 14th St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case # 04-14785
April 25, 2004

The body of Ruthie Ann (Kingery) Pohlmeier, 37, was found wrapped in a blanket next to the AMF Des Moines Lanes bowling alley on the city’s northeast side on Sunday evening, April 25, 2004. According to police, Kingery-Pohlmeier was the victim of a brutal attack and died from severe blunt trauma injuries to her head and face.


Home where Miguel Vasquez killed

Home where Miguel Vasquez killed

Homicide
Miguel Vasquez
19 YOA
1172 19th St.
Des Moines, IA
Case Number: 05-16833
May 8, 2005

Miquel Vasquez of Des Moines was shot and killed in the early morning hours on Sunday, May 8, 2005, when he went outside to confront individuals in a small, dark car who were throwing rocks at Vasquez’s home.


Jeannie Hernandez

Jeannie Hernandez

Missing Person
Jeannie Elizabeth Hernandez
Age At Report: 20
Date of Birth: March 25, 1985
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Investigative Case #: 2006-2350
NCIC #: M-595469829
Missing Since: December 31, 2005

Jeannie Hernandez was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department on December 31, 2005. She was last seen at approximately 11:00 p.m. in the vicinity of SE 22nd and King in Des Moines, IA.


Missing Person
Gustavo Beranza Cruz
Age at Report: 31
Weight: 180 lbs.
Height: 5’08”
Race: White
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Sex: Male
Incident Type: Other adult missing
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Missing Since: April 1, 2008

Gustavo Cruz was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 1, 2008.


Margaret Feige

Margaret Feige

Homicide
Margaret Feige
88 YOA
Saylor Township north of Des Moines
Polk County
May 22, 2008

Margaret Feige, 88, was found dead in the early morning hours on Thursday, May 22, 2008, in the laundry room of the Saylor Township home she shared with several other adults. Feige was beaten to death.


Hazel Reimann

Hazel Reimann

Homicide
Hazel Reimann
87 YOA
131 S.E. Watrous Ave.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
September 2, 2008

On Tuesday, September 2, 2008, the sister of Hazel Reimann, 87, found Reimann dead in her basement at what police described as a bloody crime scene. Reimann was beaten and stabbed. Blood was found in the kitchen and on the walls, but there were no signs of forced entry.


Brandy Ratliff Jr.

Brandy Ratliff Jr.

Homicide
Brandy Ratliff, Jr.
31 YOA
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
October 19, 2008

Brandy Ratliff, Jr. was killed in a drive-by shooting while sitting on a couch inside his cousin’s home at 1608 E. Capitol Ave. in Des Moines on October 19, 2008. Jesus Garcia, 35, and his nephew, Alfredo Garcia, 13, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder shortly after the shooting, but police later determined witnesses lied to them and charges were dropped.


Missing Person
Larry Odell Martin
44 YOA
Missing from Des Moines
Endangered / physical
Missing Since: Dec. 15, 2009

Larry Odell Martin, 44, was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department in Des Moines on December 15, 2009.


Cyrus "C.J." Hicks

Cyrus “C.J.” Hicks

Homicide
Cyrus James “C.J.” Hicks
24 YOA
Oakview Terrace Apartments
2907 Boston Ave.
Des Moines, IA (jurisdiction)
Polk County
March 3, 2011

On Thursday, March 3, 2011, Cyrus James “C.J.” Hicks, 24, became Des Moines’ first 2011 homicide when he was shot in the head and killed outside an apartment building near 29th Street and Boston Avenue.


Missing Person
Colleen K. Wright
Age at Report: 53
Weight: 200 lbs.
Height: 5’06″
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Sex: Female
Incident Type: Other adult missing
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Missing Since: July 21, 2011

Colleen Wright was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department in Des Moines on July 21, 2011. She was last seen wearing a flowered blouse, blue jean shorts and red flip flops. She has a tattoo on her left shoulder.


Marion Harris

Marion Harris

Homicide
Marion Harris
32 YOA
Courtside Bar & Grill
1014 E. 14th St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case Number: 11-33199
October 9, 2011

Marion Harris, 32, was shot October 9, 2011 at about 1 a.m. while sitting at the Courtside Bar & Grill located at 1014 E. 14th St. in Des Moines. Police said someone approached Harris and shot him where he sat.


Missing Person
Louise Cruise
Age At Report: 15
DOB: May 2, 1997
Weight: 140 lbs.
Height: 5’01”
Race: White
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Sex: Female
Incident Type: Juvenile
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Missing Since: May 8, 2012

Louise Cruise, 15, was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 8, 2012.


Nick White

Nick White

Homicide
Nicholas “Nick” David White
20 YOA
1511 29th St.
Des Moines, Iowa
Polk County
Investigating Agency: Des Moines Police Department
Case Number: 12-37248
November 26, 2012

Nicholas “Nick” David White, a 20-year-old Drake University student, was murdered on Monday, November 26, 2012, in a Des Moines home he shared with two other young men. Des Moines police said the 20-year-old student died of undisclosed trauma in the basement of a house located 1511 29th Street. The home is located about one block away from Drake’s main campus.


Rashad Adair

Rashad Adair

Homicide
Rashad Demarco Adair, Sr.
31 YOA
1410 Washington Avenue
Des Moines, IA
Case Number: 12-38444
Shot: December 6, 2012
Died: Christmas Day, 2012

Rashad Adair, a 31-year-old father of four, was shot six times on December 6, 2012, while sitting in a parked car at 14th Street and Washington Avenue in Des Moines. He died 19 days later on Christmas Day.


Reginald Bryan Jr.

Reginald Bryan Jr.

Homicide
Reginald R. Bryan Jr.
23 YOA
Big Earl’s Gold Mine
4745 NW 2nd Ave.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County (jurisdiction)
April 28, 2013

Reginald Renard Bryan Jr., 23, of Orange City, Florida, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of April 28, 2013, as several hundred people gathered outside Big Earl’s Gold Mine, a club just north of Des Moines’ city limits on N.W. Second Avenue.


Fredrick Workman

Fredrick Workman

Missing Person
Fredrick J. Workman
Age at Report: 15
DOB: May 4, 1998
Sex: Male
Race: White
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Blue
Height: 5’3″ – 5’7″
Weight: 126 – 145 lbs.
Missing From: Des Moines, IA
Polk County
NamUs MP Number: 25671
NCMEC Number: 1222001
Missing Since: August 2, 2013

Fredrick “Fred” Workman, 15, was last seen in Des Moines, Iowa, in August 2013. He was reported missing to the Des Moines Police Department on August 2, 2013, and may be using the alias last name Shields.


Leroy Gordon III

Leroy Gordon III

Homicide
Leroy Gordon III
21 YOA
2104 Forest Ave.
Des Moines, IA (jurisdiction)
Polk County
Case Number: 13-35261
November 7, 2013

Leroy “Boo” Gordon III, 21, was shot and killed outside a townhouse at 2104 Forest Ave. in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, November 7, 2013. Des Moines police responded to several reports of shots fired on 21st Street and Forest Avenue at around 6:30 p.m., and found Gordon, shot more than once with at least one bullet wound to the torso, lying on the sidewalk in front of a shattered glass door. Gordon was taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.


Johnita Clemons

Johnita Clemons

Homicide
Johnita Larie Clemons
34 YOA
1801 Francis Ave.
Des Moines, IA (jurisdiction)
Polk County
Case Number: 13-40014
December 24, 2013

Johnita Clemons, a 34-year-old mother of two, was shot and killed inside her Francis Avenue residence in Des Moines on Tuesday, December 24, 2013. At 9:35 p.m. officers responded to a call of shots fired at 1801 Francis Ave. on the city’s north side.


Joan Haggar

Joan Haggar

Homicide
Joan Marie Haggar
52 YOA
900 Block of E. Euclid Ave. & Cornell St.
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
February 14, 2014

Joan Marie Haggar, 52, was struck by a hit-and-run driver in the 900 block of E. Euclid Avenue in Des Moines on Friday night, Feb. 14, 2014. She died early the next morning at Mercy Medical Center.


Juanita Lagrone

Juanita Lagrone

Homicide
Juanita Lagrone
2809 E. Douglas
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
Case Number: 14-9857
April 13, 2014

On Sunday, April 13, 2014 — Juanita Lagrone’s 56th birthday — she was beaten to death with a baseball bat inside her 2809 E. Douglas Avenue home in Des Moines.


Scott Perez

Scott Perez Sr.

Homicide
Scott Allan Perez Sr.
44 YOA
4000 block of Crocker St. & 40th Place
Des Moines, IA
May 26, 2016

Scott Allan Perez, Sr., 44, was shot to death May 26, 2016, in the intersection of Crocker Street and 40th Place in Des Moines. The victim in Des Moines’ latest homicide was the father to a young woman, Scalicity Angel Boyd, 22, killed six months earlier when her boyfriend, alleged ex-gang member Troy Mure Jr. crashed his car into a pole during a November 2015 chase.


Victor Robinson

Victor Robinson Jr.

Homicide
Victor Robinson Jr.
AKA aka Bipp, Big Butter and Butta
41 YOA
3720 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway
Des Moines
Polk County
June 22, 2016

Victor Robinson Jr., 41, of Des Moines, was shot multiple times in the early morning hours on Wednesday, June 22, 2016, in the Summerwoods Apartment Complex parking lot. He died from his injuries at a local hospital a short time later.


Dennis Strable

Dennis Strable

Homicide
Dennis Dean Strable
59 YOA
45th Street & Kingman Boulevard
Des Moines, IA
July 24, 2016

Dennis Dean Strable, 59, was shot and killed at approximately 4:33 a.m. Sunday, July 24, 2016, while riding his bicycle near 45th Street and Kingman Boulevard in Des Moines while on his way to visit a friend.


Barbara Perry

Homicide
Barbara Ann Perry
60 YOA
Family Dollar parking lot
1251 University Ave.
Des Moines, IA
September 2, 2016

Barbara Perry, 61, was struck in the head by a stray bullet at 3:23 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, while waiting for her 10-year-old granddaughter in the parking lot of the Family Dollar at 1251 University Ave. in Des Moines.


Yore Jieng

Homicide
Yore Thuok Jieng
14 YOA
Keosauqua Way and 12th St.
Des Moines, IA
Shot Oct. 24, 2016
Died Oct. 29, 2016

Yore Thuok Jieng, a 14-year-old Roosevelt High School freshman, was shot in the head Oct. 24, 2016, by a stray bullet as he rode in a car with his sister near Keosauqua Way and 12th Street in Des Moines.


Adriel Ward

Adriel Ward

Homicide
Adriel Thomas Ward
33 YOA
1700 block of Delaware Ave.
Des Moines, Iowa
Polk County
February 11, 2017

On Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, Adriel Ward, 33, was shot at about 9:37 p.m. before he crashed into a utility pole in the 1700 block of Delaware Avenue on Des Moines’ northeast side. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died the next day.


Trey Lee

Trey Leon Lee

Homicide
Trey Leon Lee
24 YOA
1200 block of 15th Place
Des Moines, Iowa
King Irving neighborhood
March 17, 2017

Trey Leon Lee, 24, was fatally shot on Friday, March 17, 2017, in the 1200 block of 15th Place near Evelyn Davis Park in Des Moines’ King Irving neighborhood. Lee, whose girlfriend was pregnant with their second son, was rushed to a hospital, where he later died. His death marked the city’s ninth of 25 homicides in 2017.


Stephen Kim

Stephen Kim

Homicide
Stephen P. Kim
41 YOA
Near 3523 University Ave.
Drake neighborhood
Des Moines, Iowa
April 21, 2017

Stephen Kim, a 41-year-old Burmese-American immigrant, was fatally shot in front of his three young children during an attempted robbery near 3523 University Ave. in Des Moines’ Drake neighborhood on Friday, April 21, 2017, shortly before 10:30 p.m.


Darnell Lee

Darnell Lee

Double Homicide
Darnell Lee, 26
1800 blk Easton Blvd.
Des Moines, Iowa
Polk County
June 17, 2017

Darnell Lee, 26, and Jason A. Smith, 30, were killed in a shooting in the 1800 block of Easton Boulevard in Des Moines on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Police said the shooting, which occurred in the Martin Luther King Jr. Park neighborhood, apparently stemmed from a fight at an after-hours gathering.


Jason Smith

Jason Smith

Double Homicide
Jason Smith, 30
1800 blk Easton Blvd.
Des Moines, Iowa
Polk County
June 17, 2017

Darnell Lee, 26, and Jason A. Smith, 30, were killed in a shooting in the 1800 block of Easton Boulevard in Des Moines on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Police said the shooting, which occurred in the Martin Luther King Jr. Park neighborhood, apparently stemmed from a fight at an after-hours gathering.


Tyrese Parson

Tyrese Parson

Homicide
Tyrese R. Parson
17 YOA
800 block of East 27th Court
Des Moines, Iowa
June 8, 2018

Tyrese Robert Parson, 17, of Des Moines was shot dead on a sidewalk Friday morning, June 8, 2018, on the east side of Des Moines in the 800 block of East 27th Court in the city’s Fairground neighborhood.

 

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21 Responses to Des Moines

  1. Tyler says:

    Some of these need updated. Like Trey Lee. His killer wasn’t charged because he had an immunity deal but the guy admitted he shot him under oath. The prosecutors made a mistake with the forensic evidence and gave the wrong defendant the immunity deal.

  2. Elizabth Raife says:

    I asked Urbandale police in 2016/17 to consider my mother’s death a cold case, with possible autopsy and cremation despite Roman Catholic affiliation. Urbandale is also DSM in zip codes. They looked at me as if I were a public nuisance. I think technology and housing killed her – she had mercury fillings, not Alzheimer’s.

  3. Tony Gunnz says:

    Dashawn Smith who killed him? I want to know for I can do my job as the Equalizer

  4. Mujahed says:

    WHAT HAPPEND TO ABDI SHARIFF

  5. Leif says:

    Seems to be a dearth of unsolved murders in DSM between the years of 1922 and 1951. Was there ever any resolution to the strangulation of schoolgirl Evelyn Lee in 1930, Floyd Alloway’s shooting in 1937, or Anne McGrevey’s arson death in 1948?

  6. Rikka says:

    I came across Emanuel burgs my high school friend wow 😢he has been missed his murder still has been unsolved even with all the technology being so advanced RIP J.R🙏🏽

  7. Shonda lee says:

    Des Monies police dept should not have closed Johnita Clemons case for the sake of her children. The killer Maryann Gatewoid Gatewood there in des Moines on the run from Oklahoma judicial for human trafficking. Please community help close this case the house she was murdered in has been torn down. Is the police was smart Deron Humes Maryann Gatewooda boyfriend at the time knows all the details currently inmate iowa dept of corrections. Please lets continue to fight for justice.

  8. Shonda lee says:

    I really need people in the sea Moines community that in Dec 24th 2013. Johnita Clemons was killed by her niece Maryann Gatewoid Drs Moines have the murdering right at hand . This should have never been a cold case. We the family will see justice prevail. Prayers up and blessings come down. In all are ways acknowledge him and he shall direct my path. Amen

  9. Magan says:

    What about Kendall Foster

  10. sentinelfox2 says:

    This kind of shooting looks to be done by some gang member who was paid for it.. basically hitman. There are sites on Deep Web like Besa Mafia with hitmen for hire for as low as $5000. One needs the Tor Browser to access deep web and can visit special urls like . These are accessible only in Tor Browser. Hitmen on deep web usually use escrow for payment with Bitcoin, they don’t ask for advances of cash those who ask are scams. I hope police is able to shot down the Besa Mafia site…

  11. Robert Siepker says:

    Can anyone find Melissa or Michelle Gardner/Siepker

  12. Bill says:

    Looking at this site I’m wondering if someone should edit the postings and make sure the photos match with the cases.

  13. jean grey says:

    does anyone remember 3 children getting murdered in downtown des moines in late 60 or 70’s if i remember right they were tied up and shot

    • Kim says:

      Jean, is it this case:
      http://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/munro-daniel-russell.htm

      Daniel Munro, a drifter and prison escapee out of Alabama, shot and killed Gerald Hoffman Jr. (15), his brother Geoffrey (14), and their friend Jeffrey Beavers (14) on February 19, 1978, in a downtown Des Moines office building the boys were cleaning. Munro was also charged in the same-day murder of William Baldwin (30), a clerk who worked in an adult bookstore just around the corner from the office building where the boys were shot. The charge in Baldwin’s death was later dropped due to lack of evidence. Munro was found guilty in the deaths of the boys and is serving 3 life terms.

  14. Larissa says:

    this is so sad for loved ones that want answers. my prayers go to those who are still searchin for answers of justice. May God bless and keep !u

  15. Todd says:

    I never realized so many cold cases in little old Des Moines

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