Black Hawk County in Iowa

Black Hawk County in Iowa

Cold Cases in Black Hawk County, Iowa

 
*Please Note: The cases listed below are within Black Hawk County but may fall under a city police department’s jurisdiction. They are included here for cross-reference purposes. More specific information may be found on each victim’s individual page.

With the help of Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers, we have posted information that may assist in solving these crimes. 

 

Friedrich "Fred" Widmann

Fred Widmann

Homicide
Friedrich Paul “Fred” Widmann
30 YOA
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
October 11, 1908

Fred Widmann, a Waterloo Police Department patrolman, was shot at approximately 3:10 a.m. on October 11, 1908, when he discovered burglars trying to break into the Coburn and Son Bicycle and Gun Shop behind East 4th Street in Waterloo.


Melvin Gallagher

Homicide
Melvin James (Regan) Gallagher
22 YOA
Clark Super 100 Service Station
210 Falls Ave.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
January 3, 1959

At about 5:15 a.m. on a bitterly cold Saturday morning, January 3, 1959, Melvin Gallagher was killed by a shotgun blast to the head as he prepared to end his night-shift at the Clark Super 100 service station located at 210 Falls Ave. in Waterloo.


Dale Redman

Dale Redman

Homicide
Dale Redman
57 YOA
La Porte City, IA
Black Hawk County
March 5, 1968

Dale Redman, a La Porte City dairy businessman, was shot twice in the face at close range and six times in the back of the head with a .22 caliber gun on March 5, 1968. Redman’s billfold was missing and robbery may have been a motive.


Dennis Clougherty

Dennis Clougherty

Homicide
Dennis Michael Clougherty
23 years of age
U.S. Highway 20
Cedar Falls, IA
Black Hawk County
August 12, 1974

At 6:18 a.m. on Tuesday, August 13, 1974, a motorist discovered the body of a man lying in the ditch of Union Road just south of U.S. Highway 20 (now Highway 57 or W. 1st Street) located in the extreme northwest corner of Cedar Falls. The victim was Dennis Michael Clougherty, date of birth 1-31-51. A coroner’s report indicated Clougherty died from five gunshot wounds.


Steven Kirchhoff

Steven Kirchhoff

Missing Person
Steven Dick Kirchhoff
Age at Report: 22
Missing From: Cedar Falls, IA
Black Hawk County
Case Number: W78-850
Last Seen Alive: January 24, 1978

Steven Kirchhoff was last seen at his Cedar Falls, Iowa home on January 24, 1978, and reported missing to the Waterloo Police Department on February 5. He is missing under suspicious circumstances and believed to have been taken against his will and killed. Authorities think his disappearance may have been drug-related.


Mattie Zabel

Mattie Zabel

Missing Person
Mattie Lou Zabel
Age at Report: 45
Missing From: Cedar Falls, IA
Black Hawk County
Missing Since: March 21, 1978

Mattie Zabel was last seen by her family on March 21, 1978, in her hometown of Cedar Falls, Iowa. She left behind not only her husband, Jack, and three children, but also a frozen chicken thawing in the kitchen sink that was to be the family’s dinner.


Willie Ann Rucker

Willie Ann Rucker

Missing Person: Presumed Homicide
Willie Ann Rucker
Age at Report: 27
Incident Type: Involuntary
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Missing Since: April 8, 1979

On April 8, 1979, Willie Ann Rucker called her sister from a grocery store after working late and asked her to take Rucker’s three children to her apartment on West Donald Street in Waterloo, where she would meet them. She never arrived.


Viola Findley

Viola Findley

Missing Person
Viola Marie Findley
NamUS MP # 2914
Age at Report: 29
Date of Birth: December 17, 1954
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Date Missing: September 6, 1983

Viola Marie Findley left Florida in September 1983 to head back to Waterloo, Iowa, where she resided with her children. She disappeared somewhere between Florida and Iowa and was last seen alive Sept. 6, 1983.


Joyce Jefferson

Joyce Jefferson

Homicide
Joyce Ann Jefferson
23 YOA
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Reported Missing: September 29, 1983
Body Found Deceased: October 8, 1983

Joyce Ann Jefferson, a 23-year-old mother of three young children, was reported missing from Waterloo, Iowa on Sept. 29, 1983. Her body was found in a ditch along Black Hawk Road in southwest Waterloo on Oct. 8, 1983.


Jo Jo Zolliecoffer

Jo Jo Zolliecoffer

Homicide
Jeffery “Jo Jo” Zolliecoffer
23 YOA
Cedar River
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
September 7, 1989

The body of 23-year-old Waterloo resident Jeffery “Jo Jo” Zolliecoffer — weighted down with concrete blocks — was pulled from the Cedar River north of Waterloo’s business district on September 15, 1989. Missing since September 7, Zolliecoffer had been shot three times, including once in the back of the head.


Missing Person
Daniel John Andersen
DOB: July 9, 1987
Age At Report: 4
Weight: 50 lbs.
Height: 3’00″
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Sex: Male
Incident Type: Child lost/wandered away
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Agency: Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office
Missing Since: January 25, 1992

Daniel J. Andersen, four years of age, was reported missing to the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office in Waterloo, Iowa, on January 25, 1992.


Cartha “Jack” Pearson

Homicide
Cartha “Jack” Pearson
26 YOA
Alley between 100 block of Sumner and Cottage Streets
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
July 29, 1993

Cartha “Jack” Pearson, 26, of 714 South View Drive in Waterloo, Iowa, was found dead in his car Thursday, July 29, 1993, from bullet wounds to his stomach and chest.


Diane Courbat

Diane Courbat

Homicide
Diane Courbat
34 YOA
Cedar River Exchange Park parking lot
Waterloo, Iowa
Black Hawk County
Crime Date: Tuesday August 3, 1993
Date of Death: Friday, August 6, 1993

Diane Courbat, 34, was shot in the head in the early morning hours on Tuesday, August 3, 1993. Two Waterloo police officers on routine patrol found Courbat lying in the northwest parking lot of the Cedar River Exchange Park about 2:30 a.m.


Dariusz Szczeponek

Dariusz Szczeponek

Homicide
Dariusz “Darek” Szczeponek
25 YOA
Annie’s Launderette
819 Sycamore St.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
September 29, 1993

Dariusz “Darek” Szczeponek, a 25-year-old University of Northern Iowa student, was shot to death Wednesday night, September 29, 1993, at Annie’s Launderette on 819 Sycamore St. in Waterloo, Iowa, during an apparent robbery attempt.


Homicide
Gladys Dorothy Held
83 YOA
Walnut Court Retirement Home
315 Walnut St., Apt. 321
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
December 8, 1993

Gladys D. Held, an 83-year-old retired personal secretary, was beaten and strangled at a Waterloo senior citizens home around 11 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8, 1993.


Homicide
Jacob “Jake” Biretz
87 YOA
311 Lafayette St., Apt. B
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
December 10, 1993

Jacob “Jake” Biretz, an 87-year-old retired mechanic, was found dead in his apartment at a Waterloo retirement home on Friday, December 10, 1993. Biretz was found on his sofa, his arms crossed over his chest. He’d been suffocated with a pillow. According to his death certificate, it took several minutes for him to die.


Richard Forsyth

Richard Forsyth

Missing Person
Richard Neil Forsyth
Age at Report: 41
DOB: Aug. 11, 1952
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Case Number: W78-850
Missing Since: January 13, 1994

Richard Forsyth was seen in Waterloo, Iowa on Oct. 18, 1979, leaving his apartment and carrying something wrapped in a rug. He disappeared around the same time another Waterloo man, Steven Kirchhoff, vanished. Kirchhoff’s family tracked Forsyth to an uncle’s home in Arizona, but Forsyth vanished again and was reported missing to Waterloo police Jan. 13, 1994.


Angela Buck

Angela Buck

Homicide
Angela Renee Buck
37 YOA
Waterloo/Dunkerton, IA
Black Hawk County
August 9, 1995

Angela Buck, 37, of Waterloo, was shot in the chest on Wednesday, August 9, 1995, and dumped under a bridge near a creek on N. Pilot Grove Road east of Waterloo, Iowa. Two men looking to set turtle traps stumbled upon her body two days later.


Hit-and-Run Homicide
Ruben Lara, Jr.
40 YOA
Highway 218
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
December 8, 2000

Ruben Lara Jr., a 40-year-old construction worker who lived at 3450 Ellington St. in Waterloo, was killed in a hit-and-run homicide early Friday morning, Dec. 8, 2000, while walking along Highway 218 south of Shaulis Road.


Shawn Michael North

Shawn M. North

Homicide
Shawn Michael North
30 YOA (at time of crime)
45 YOA (at time of death)
1200 block of Doreen Ave.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Date of Death: August 30, 2016
Date of Crime: May 21, 2001

Shawn Michael North, 30, was shot in the 1200 block of Doreen Avenue in Waterloo around 1:35 a.m. on May 21, 2001. The shooting left Shawn a paraplegic, and 15 years later on Aug. 30, 2016, Shawn died at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital from complications arising from the 15-year-old gunshot wounds. Waterloo police shifted his case from an aggravated assault to a homicide.


Double Homicide
Martavious “Tay” DeShaun Robinson, 20
Calvin Maurice Rash, 29
408 Thompson Ave.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
September 21, 2002

On Saturday, September 21, 2002, Martavious “Tay” DeShaun Robinson, 20, of Waterloo, and Calvin Maurice Rash, 29, of Chicago, were shot to death as they left the home of an acquaintance at 408 Thompson Ave. in Waterloo.


Rhiannon Olson

Rhiannon Olson

Alonzo Quinn

Alonzo Quinn

Double Homicide
Alonzo Nakia Quinn, 27
Rhiannon Marie Olsen, 22
Full-term (9 months) unborn child
1001 Hartman Avenue
Waterloo, Iowa
Black Hawk County
January 2, 2003

On January 3, 2003, Waterloo police discovered the bodies of Alonzo Nakia Quinn, 27, and Rhiannon Marie Olsen, 22, inside Quinn’s home on Hartman Avenue. Olsen was nine months pregnant with Quinn’s child. Both Quinn and Olsen had been shot to death. The full-term unborn child did not survive. The medical examiner placed their deaths as some time on January 2.


Terence Currington

Terence Currington

Homicide
Terence Dwayne Currington
20 YOA
400 block of Adams St.
Waterloo, Iowa
Black Hawk County
August 7, 2003

Terence Dwayne Currington, 20, was shot about six blocks from his Waterloo, Iowa home after stopping his car to talk to friends. Currington, who lived at 1019 Adams Street, had stopped in the middle of the 400 block of Adams Street about 11:30 p.m. when another car pulled up beside him. Shouts between the two vehicles were exchanged and then shots rang out. Currington’s vehicle traveled a short distance down the block before hitting a tree on the parking strip of 415 Adams Street.


L.C. Matlock

L.C. Matlock

Missing Person
L.C. Matlock
Age at Report: 37
DOB: August 15, 1966
Missing From: Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Incident Type: Endangered/physical
Missing Since: July 5, 2004

On July 5, 2004, 37-year-old L.C. Matlock walked across the Mullen Avenue Bridge in Waterloo, Iowa, and was never seen nor heard from again.


Taveros Galloway

Homicide
Taveros “Dino” DeShaun Galloway
29 YOA
500 block of Courtland St.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
February 10, 2009

Taveros “Dino” Galloway, a 29-year-old father of four, was shot in the head about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, February 10, 2009, while driving his GMC Yukon in the 500 block of Courtland Street in Waterloo, Iowa. The SUV kept moving for about two blocks before coming to a stop in a yard.


John Parham, Jr.

John Parham, Jr.

Homicide
John Marvin Parham, Jr.
58 YOA
413 Ricker Street
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
June 24, 2010

On June 24th, 2010, officers with the Waterloo Police Department responded to a report of a shooting in progress at 413 Ricker Street. Upon their arrival, they located John Parham Jr. shot in the front yard.


Rodricus Jones

Homicide
Rodricus Keith Jones
aka Rodricus Echols
23 YOA
912 Broadway St.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
September 12, 2010

Robert Keith Echols Jones, 23, was shot in the 900 block of Broadway St. in Waterloo, Iowa, about 2:15 a.m. on Sunday, September 12, 2010.


Martavious Johnson

Martavious Johnson

Homicide
Martavious Taveros Johnson
17 YOA
500 block Sumner St.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Thursday, January 5, 2012

Martavious Taveros “Tay Tay” Johnson, a 17-year-old former football player for East High School in Waterloo, was shot in the back on Thursday, January 5, 2012, after cracking a joke.


Becky Lawless

Becky Lawless

Hit-and-Run Homicide
Becky Simpson Lawless
59 YOA
Washington St. and W. Mullan Ave.
Waterloo, IA
April 9, 2012

Becky Simpson Lawless, 59, of Waterloo, was apparently walking home from a tavern in the early morning hours on Monday, April 9, 2012, when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver in the area of Washington Street and West Mullan Avenue.


Lyric Cook

Double Homicide
Lyric R. Cook
10 YOA
July 13, 2012: Went Missing from Meyers Lake
Evansdale, IA in Black Hawk County
Body Found in Seven Bridges Park in
Bremer County, December 5, 2012

Lyric R. Cook, 10, and her cousin, Elizabeth Collins, 8, were reported missing to the Evansdale Police Department in Evansdale, Iowa, on Friday, July 13, 2012. The girls’ bodies were discovered by hunters December 5, 2012, in Seven Bridges Park near Readlyn in Bremer County.


Elizabeth Collins

Double Homicide
Elizabeth J. Collins
8 YOA
July 13, 2012: Went Missing from Meyers Lake
Evansdale, IA in Black Hawk County
Body Found in Seven Bridges Park in
Bremer County, December 5, 2012

Elizabeth Collins, 8, and her cousin, Lyric Cook, 10, were reported missing to the Evansdale Police Department in Evansdale, Iowa, on Friday, July 13, 2012. The girls’ bodies were discovered by hunters December 5, 2012, in Seven Bridges Park near Readlyn in Bremer County.


Shantorio Evans

Shantorio Evans

Homicide
Shantorio Vashawn “Shaun” Evans
22 YOA
1600 Block of Broadway St.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
December 2, 2012

On Sunday morning, December 2, 2012, Shantorio Vashawn Evans, 22, was a passenger in a westbound minivan traveling in the 1600 block of Broadway Street in Waterloo when a second vehicle pulled up alongside the van and opened fire, hitting Evans multiple times.


Dennis Washburn

Dennis Washburn

Undetermined
Dennis D. Washburn
69 YOA
Edwards Street near
Longfellow Elementary School
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
May 25, 2014

Dennis Dwaine Washburn — a 69-year-old United States Navy and Vietnam War veteran who didn’t have a vehicle and walked with the assistance of a walker — was found unconscious with head injuries near Longfellow Elementary School in Waterloo, Iowa, on Memorial Day, May 26, 2014. Washburn sustained blunt force trauma injuries and a broken neck, and died from his injuries early Thursday, June 5, 2014.


Norman Gant Jr.

Norman Gant Jr.

Homicide
Norman Carroll Gant Jr.
21 YOA
1800 block of Tremont Street
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Black Hawk County
June 1, 2014

Norman Carroll Gant Jr., 21, of Waterloo, Iowa, was shot in the 1800 block of Tremont Street in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Sunday, June 1, 2014, following a neighborhood party.


Randy Dawson

Randy Dawson

Homicide
Randall “Randy” Scott Dawson
52 YOA
302 E. 10th St.
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
December 24, 2014

Randall “Randy” Scott Dawson, 52, was shot multiple times at his Waterloo home on Christmas Eve, 2014.


Justin Dollen

Justin Dollen

Homicide
Justin M. Dollen
27 YOA
Fantasy Theater
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
August 30, 2015

Justin Montravious Dollen, 27, was shot outside the Fantasy Theater on Airline Highway in Waterloo early Sunday morning, Aug. 30, 2015. Authorities said the shooting happened around 3:30 a.m. Sunday and that Dollen sustained multiple gunshot wounds. He was transferred to Iowa City from an area hospital and died a short time later from his injuries.


Darrell D. Lanier

Homicide
Darrell De’Shaye Lanier
22 YOA
400 block of Rhey Street
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
Crime Date: Nov. 1, 2016
Died: Nov. 4, 2016

Darrell De’Shaye Lanier, 22, of Waterloo, was shot multiple times on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, after leaving his cousin’s house to walk home. The lifelong Waterloo resident was about three blocks from his home when he was shot and collapsed. He lingered unconscious at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital for three days and underwent two surgeries before dying early Friday from internal injuries associated with the bullet wounds, police said.


Denelius Nesby

Denelius Nesby

Homicide
Denelius “House” Nesby
55 YOA
700 block of Logan Avenue
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
January 22, 2017

Denelius Nesby, 55, was shot multiple times in a Waterloo, Iowa, parking lot on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Officers were called to the 700 block of Logan Avenue for a report of gunfire around 5:05 a.m. Sunday, and found Nesby on the ground near a car parked in the lot to the south of Greer Funeral Home. Late in March 2017, Waterloo police released several surveillance camera images taken the night of Nesby’s murder and asked the public for help in identifying the people in the photos. Investigators believe the men pictured have information about the case.


Mikaela Bond Hill

Mikaela Bond Hill

Homicide
Mikaela Bond Hill
22 YOA
717 Hope Avenue
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
June 3, 2017

Mikaela Bond Hill, a 22-year-old mother of three young children, was shot early on Saturday, June 3, 2017, in her Waterloo home. Police said someone fired into the bedroom window of Mikaela Bond Hill’s rented Hope Avenue home in the early morning hours of June 3. Bond’s boyfriend and her three children were in the house, but she was the only one hit by the gunfire.


Fredrick Webber

Fredrick Webber

Homicide
Fredrick Dewayne Webber
33 YOA
100 block of Center Street
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
July 14, 2017

Fredrick “Dewayne” Webber, a 33-year-old passenger in a sport utility vehicle, died after being struck by gunfire around 3:55 p.m. Friday, July 14, 2017, in Waterloo, Iowa. Webber, a father of three who resided in Waterloo, was taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City where he was pronounced dead. Officials identified the wounded driver as 20-year-old Robert Coffer, who was being treated at the same Iowa City hospital but expected to survive.


Alex Bullerman

Alex Bullerman

Homicide
Alex Michael Bullerman
18 YOA
2303 Olive St.
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Black Hawk County
November 11, 2017

Alex Michael Bullerman, 18, of Waterloo, Iowa, was shot in the College Hill commercial district adjacent to the University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls early on Saturday, November 11, 2017.


Jake Wilson

Jake Wilson

Jake A. Wilson
Age at Report: 16
Incident Type: Endangered / physical
Went Missing From: La Porte City, Iowa
Black Hawk County
Missing Date: April 7, 2018
Remains Found: August 14, 2018

Jake A. Wilson, a 16-year-old autistic teen, went missing from his La Porte City, Iowa home around 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, 2018, after telling his family he was going for a walk to nearby Wolf Creek. A search began less than an hour later when he didn’t return home, and he was reported as missing to the La Porte City Police Department.

On Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, recreational kayakers discovered human remains in and around the Wolf Creek waterway near where the teen went missing. Authorities announced Aug. 29 the remains found in Wolf Creek were those of Jake, but have yet to confirm how he died.


Gregory Walker Jr.

Greg Walker

Homicide
Gregory K. Walker Jr.
33 YOA
639 Gable Street
Waterloo, IA
Black Hawk County
May 19, 2018

Gregory Kent Walker Jr., a 33-year-old father of four, was shot in Waterloo in the early morning hours on Saturday, May 19, 2018. Officers responded to the shooting at 639 Gable Street around 5:16 a.m., treated the victim at the scene and then rushed Walker to Allen Hospital, where he died.


Diane Martin

Diane Martin

Homicide
Diane Martin
48 YOA
84 Ricker St.
Waterloo, Iowa
Black Hawk County
September 10, 2018

Diane Martin, 48, was shot in her Waterloo home around 9:45 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. She was later pronounced dead at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital. On September 12th, 2018 an autopsy was conducted by the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office and determined Diane Martin died as the result of a single gunshot wound, police announced in a press release. Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information in Diane’s death.


Micalla Rettinger

Micalla Rettinger

Homicide
Micalla Rettinger
25 YOA
U.S. Highway 218
Waterloo, Iowa
Black Hawk County
April 28, 2019

Micalla A. Rettinger, a 25-year-old former star UNI softball player, was driving south on Highway 218 near the Brinker Lake and Cedar River bridges in Waterloo when a single bullet pierced through her driver’s side window and hit her in the neck early Sunday, April 28, 2019. She died instantly.

The bullet then struck her boyfriend, 32-year-old Adam Kimball, in the face. A second passenger, along with Rettinger and Kimball’s dog, King, were riding in the vehicle’s back seat but were not injured. There is a significant reward offered for information in this case.


Marquavion Brown

Homicide
Marquavion D. Brown
19 YOA
265 Madison St.
Waterloo, Iowa
Black Hawk County
November 23, 2019

Marquavion D. Brown, 19, was shot to death in Waterloo, Iowa, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, while sitting in a car with a friend. Also injured in the shooting was 21-year-old Quintorey Farshawn D’Quan Kemp, who, along with Brown, was transported to UnityPoint-Allen Hospital, where Brown was pronounced dead. Kemp was then transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City for further treatment.

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