Marion County

Cold Cases in Marion County, Iowa

 
*Please Note: The cases listed below are within Marion 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.
 

William Hamilton’s gravestone

Homicide
Dr. William Orson Hamilton
33 YOA
Liberty Township
Marysville, Iowa
Marion County
November 26, 1900

Dr. William O. Hamilton was shot to death in Marysville, Iowa, on November 26, 1900. Domestic trouble was said to have been brewing for some time in the Fred Ahn family and rumor had it that Dr. Hamilton was involved.

Donald Murphy

Homicide
Donald John Murphy
39 YOA
Knoxville, Iowa
Marion County
July 20, 1984

On Friday, July 20, 1984, Donald Murphy was reported missing from a Knoxville hospital. In November hunters found his skeletal remains in northern Polk County just a few days prior to what would have been Murphy’s 40th birthday.

Shirley Carter

Homicide
Shirley Dene Carter
68 YOA
132 Perry St.
Lacona, IA
Marion County
June 19, 2015

Shirley Carter, a 68-year-old grandmother, suffered two gunshot wounds to her back on Friday, June 19, 2015, inside her rural Lacona home in Marion County. Her husband, Bill Carter, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the couple’s youngest son, Jason Carter. On Friday, Dec. 15, 2017, a Marion County jury sided with Bill Carter and decided Jason Carter would have to pay $10 million to his slain mother’s estate.

Two days after the civil trial verdict, Marion County officials and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation brought Jason in for booking and charged him with first-degree murder in his mother’s death. The criminal trial was moved to Pottawattamie County due to media attention. On Thursday, March 21, 2019, Pottawattamie County jurors returned a unanimous not guilty verdict.