Mahaska County

Cold Cases in Mahaska County, Iowa

 
Please Note: Some cases may fall under a city police department’s jurisdiction. They are listed here for cross-reference purposes. For more information, please visit the individual victim’s case summary page.

Edward A. Schmidt

Homicide
Edward A. Schmidt
85 YOA
506 High Avenue East
Oskaloosa, IA
Mahaska County
January 13, 1972

Edward A. Schmidt, a reclusive and eccentric 85-year-old bachelor, was found beaten and stabbed to death in his basement law office in Oskaloosa on Thursday, January 13, 1972.

Homicide
Lloyd John Patrick
85 YOA
Rural Route, IA
Mahaska County
Case # 82-05758
October 27, 1982

On October 27, 1982, Lloyd John Patrick’s body was found in his house after a fire consumed it. The autopsy revealed Patrick died from gunshot wounds and not injuries sustained during the fire.

Rick Lynne Davis

Suicide, or Murder?
Rick Lynne Davis
36 YOA
Oskaloosa, Iowa
Mahaska County
July 20, 1986

Rick Lynne Davis, 36, died July 20, 1986, at his Oskaloosa residence from a gunshot wound to the head. Police ruled the death a suicide, but while reviewing police and autopsy records, his daughter, Monica Speaks, began to ask questions. So did The Des Moines Register.

Denease Latham

Suspected Homicide
Denease Monson Latham
24 YOA
Creek bed beneath bridge
Half mile north of Rose Hill, Iowa
Mahaska County
October 5, 1986

On Sunday, Oct. 5, 1986 — just 15 days before her 25th birthday — Denease (Monson) Latham of What Cheer, Iowa, suffered blunt force trauma injuries to her head before allegedly drowning in two inches of water beneath a bridge about a half mile north of Rose Hill in Mahaska County.

Mary Ann Green

Homicide
Mary Ann Green
59 YOA
Spring Creek Mobile Park
Highway 23 South
Oskaloosa, IA
Mahaska County (Jurisdiction)
September 27, 1987

On September 27, 1987, Mary Ann Green was found stabbed to death in her Oskaloosa, Iowa, mobile home, located in the Spring Creek Mobile Park on Highway 23 South in Mahaska County. Mary Ann’s murder fell under the jurisdiction of the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office, who investigated and arrested Green’s stepson, Richard Lee Green, and his acquaintance, David Kelly Yant, in connection with Green’s murder. The first trial in Mahaska County resulted in a hung jury. The second trial, held in Polk County, ended with a hopelessly deadlocked jury. In the third and final trial, a Washington County District Court jury acquitted the two men on March 2, 1989.