This website features unsolved Iowa homicides from 1847 to 1965. It is the proverbial work in progress — articles are being researched, written, and posted on a continuing basis as victims are discovered in the dusty archives of history.
Because of individual and special circumstances, a small number of articles about post-1965 murders are also included.
All articles were researched and written by Nancy Bowers between 2009 and the present time, some with the assistance of David Jindrich, who has also authored special contributions.
For many of the victims, these stories were the first preservation of the facts other than newspaper articles from the times of the murders.
This is the only legal and authorized site for these articles — most never seen before.
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“Old Feud Fueled by Drink”: Murder of Nathaniel Carnagy 1847
Narrowly Escaping the Lynch Mob: Murder of Mr. Knisley 1848
Dying For Land: Murder of Andrew Brown 1852
Highwaymen: Murders of Andrew and Nancy Casteel 1856
A Dream of Murder: Mysterious Disappearance of Mr. Thomas 1857
West of Coffin’s Grove: Unresolved Murder of J.N. Covey 1856
The Battered Corpse: Murder of John Doe 1858
Driftwood: Murder of an Unknown Child 1859
Death by Politics: Unresolved Murder of Silas McCart 1860
Flesh and Blood: Murder of Aaron Smith 1864
The “Peaceable Negro”: Murder of John Allen 1864
Death Going West: Murder of Apple Grove John Doe 1866
Pointblank: Unavenged Murder of James Alfrey 1866
The Broken Clevis: Murder of Samuel Cronk 1867
The Dead Horse Trader: Murder of William Clugston 1867
Bullied and Bantered: Unresolved Murder of Jesse Wilkerson 1869
Miller’s Toll: Murder of John Smith Ross 1869
Poison Kiss: Murder of Edwin Hodges 1869
Taken to the Grave: Murder of Juliette Thomas 1871
Blood by Lamplight: Murder of Esther Alger 1872
Too Long at the Fair: Murder of Robert McQuestian 1873
Two Coffins: Death of Mary and Murder of Eli T. Coffin 1873
Assassination: Murders of Lizzie and Andrew Brownlie 1874
The Veteran Who Lived Alone: Murder of Henry Millard 1874
Unwitnessed: Murder of Washington Irving Crow 1875
Christmas Day Death on Mud Creek: Murder of Henry Stephens 1876
The “Menial Drudge”: Murder of Lovina Kneeskern 1876
Strictly Strychnine: Murder of John P. Stickles 1876
The Brave Girl: Murder of Augusta Kading 1877
Dead In Bed: Murder of Thomas Tolbert 1877
Lynch Law: Murder of Reuben Proctor 1877
The Czech Marble Cutter: Murder of Matej Straka 1878
“A Vaudeville of Troubles”: Murder of Deborah Simmons 1879
Stealing Away: Murder of John Ford 1880
“Walking Corpse”: Suspicious Death of Nancy Duncan 1880
Baby in the Pasteboard Box: Murder of a Newborn Girl 1881
The Body in the Pasture: Murder of Elmer Penderson 1881
The Money Lender: Murder of Gustav Rechfus 1881
Death Comes to the Mayor: Murder of Robert W. Stubbs 1882
“Violent Excitement”: Murder of Robert Lee Clingan 1883
“A Miserly Life”: Suspicious Death of Gideon Hall 1884
The Irish Carpenter: Murder of William Martin 1885
The Cooler: Suspicious Death of David T. Todd 1887
Bright, Bold Blackmailer: Murder of Alice Kelley 1888
The Fatal Glass of Beer: Murder of George Diggle 1888
The Wrong Man: Murder of Joseph Hair 1888
Last Accounts: Murder of Henry Nurre 1890
“Thick Veil of Mystery” On New Year’s Eve: Murder of C.H. Wessell 1891
“Foully Treated”: Murder of Thomas McGary 1892
The Gun in the Privy: Murder of Louisa Fritzsche 1893
Killer in the Tombstone: Murder of Lena and Martin Schultz 1893
Murder Behind the Meat Market: David P. Sutton 1893
“None But a Frenzied Women”: Murder of Anna Wiese 1893
The One-Armed Man: Murder of William A. Hunt 1893
“That Old —“: Murder of John Rohrer 1893
The Wabash Trestle: Murder of James Chamberlain 1893
Wages in Gold: Murder of John Hill Beal 1893
Death In the Rail Yard: Murder of Bill Dayton 1894
“Furiously Angry”: Murder of Wesley Wilson 1894
Boxcar Hanging: Murder of Leopold Glatzer 1895
Dead at the Gate: Murder of Jeremiah Zollinger 1895
Dead In a Cornfield: Murder of David Conners 1895
The Frozen Body: Murder of James Edgar “Ed” Knotts 1895
“Lilies of Soul-Less Sin”: Murders of Max Noack and Ora Minter 1895
“A Splendid Gentleman, A Good Scholar”: Murder of Price V. Evans 1895
The Well Digger: Murder of Peter Hendrickson 1895
“A Bitter Taste”: Murders of Alta Paul and Maria Dulin 1896
Corpse in the Pump House: Murder of Mary Gilfillan 1896
Lumberyard Tramps: Murder of Officer Jacob Neibert 1896
Obsession: Murder of Mamie Peterson 1896
Picture Imperfect: Suspicious Death of Oliver Pearson 1896
The Poison Strawberry: Murder of Lelia Long 1896
Poisoned and “Outraged”: Murder of Maud Straw 1896
Riding the Blinds: Murder of Elmer Dudrey 1896
The Tramp at Breakfast: Murder of Andrew Hart 1896
The Clue in the Dress Pattern: Murder of Fred Quade 1897
The “Criminal Operation”: Murder of Belle Sutliff 1897
Down in Darkness: Murder of Officer Pitt McClellan Doxsie 1897
Green Corn Dance Tragedy: Murder of Se-Ton-a-Qua 1897
“Ground Into a Hundred Pieces”: Murder of Elmer Anderson 1897
The Insane Tramp: Murder of Will Sargent 1897
“Shot Into Eternity”: Murder of John Legall 1897
A Spoonful of Medicine Makes the Poison Go Down: Murder of Sarah Kirker 1897
Two Guns, Two Policies, One Woman: Murder of Henry Duffy 1897
“The Whole Affair is a Deep Mystery”: Murder of Adelbert Rowland 1897
Apparition: Murder of Edward Hughes 1898
Death of the Photographer’s Daughter: Murder of Clara Gray 1898
Drinking Bout: Suspicious Death of John F. Brennan 1898
In the Corner Under a Blanket: Murder of George Sulzberger 1898
Sandbagged: Murder of George Carter 1898
Shot Down in the Street: Murder of William F. Swisher 1898
Tracks in the Night: Murder of Edward Moore 1898
Below the Melan Arch Bridge: Murder of Baby John Doe 1898
Deadly Holiday Excursion: Murder of Alexander McArthur 1899
Mangled Bodies: Murders of Jack Wilson and Con Matthews 1899
“All Around Crook”: Murder of Joplin Red 1900
The Christmas Eve Brawl: Murder of Charles Johnson 1901
Delirium Tremens: Suspicious Death of Sam Anderson 1901
“Trio of Thugs”: Murder of Officer Rolland P. Smith 1901
After Church: Murders of Lena and Tommy Peterson 1902
Back to the Window: Murder of William Mullikin 1902
A Woman and Her Dog: Murder of Maude Lambert 1902
Halloween Homicide: Murder of Walter D. Schenck 1902
“Bones In A Haystack”: Murder of Justus Herwig 1903
“Love and Absence of Love”: Suspicious Death Of William F. Lewis 1903
“Sensational and Cold-Blooded Affair”: Murder of Arthur Mead 1903
The White-Spotted Woman: Suspicious Death of Kate Slifer 1903
Acting Oddly: Murder of Daniel Kelleher 1904
The Coffee That Killed the Frog: Murder of Winfield Carpenter 1904
Horse Medicine: Murder of James Banda 1904
The “Inoffensive, Harmless Man”: Murder of John Murphy 1904
Knockout Drugs: Murder of Harry Salisbury 1904
Poison in the Whiskey: Murder of Leonard DeLong 1904
Struck Down: Murder of Frank Sandquist 1904
Under the Willows: Murder of John Doe 1904
What the Medium Saw: Murder of John Pierson 1904
The Beckoning Hand: Murder of Alma Harrison: 1905
“Belle of the Tribe”: Murder of Ma-Sha-Che 1905
The Boy on the Train: Murder of Addis Lyman 1905
Double Identity: Murder of George Griswold 1905
The Interrupted Funeral Procession: Murder of Josiah Pratt 1905
Taking the Waters: Murder of Frank Callahan 1905
Coldblooded Desperado: Murder of Officer George W. Wilson 1907
“Very Maw of Death”: Murder of Officer Fred P. Widmann 1908
Mistaken Identity: Murder of Peter Ross 1909
Babe in the Woods: Murder of an Infant Girl 1910
The Dead Bulgarian: Murder of Welio Tsnoff 1910
Elgin Watch Number 138033: Murder of John Doe 1910 (Delaware County)
Family Annihilation: Murders of James, Earl, and Mary Hardy 1910
Dark Byway: Murder of Marshal Joseph Kashmetter (Kaeshmetter, Kashmitter) 1911
“He’s Got A Roll”: Murder of Jared Ham 1911
“Slay Utterly”: Villisca Axe Murders 1912
Dead From a “Wallop”: Murder of John Schnellbacker 1913
“Thin Veil Over Her Face”: Murder of Chester N. Van Horn 1914
Leave Town or Die: Murder of Richard Huggins 1914
Letters in Russian: Murder of Ben Mikovitch 1914
Ancient Vendetta: Murder of Joseph Busemi 1915
Blood in the Barn: Suspicious Death of John L. Rogers 1915
Butcher, Baker: Murder of Otto H. Samp 1916
After the Merry-Go-Round: Murder of Alta Marie Braun 1917
Black Hand at the Bridge: Murder of Francis “Frank” Oliverio 1917
The Eccentric Baggage Hauler: Murder of William Kniffin 1917
In the Head and Heart: Murder of John Doe 1917
“True Disciple of Pollyanna”: Murder of Thecla Gerken 1917
At Closing Time: Murder of Officer George W. Mattern 1918
Alleyway Robbery: The Murder of Carlisle Hunter 1919
The Gardener and the Black Hand: Murder of Dominic Sposeto 1919
Black Hand and the Coal Miner: Murder of Nicollo Vinceri 1920
“Hacked to Pieces”: Murder of John McGill 1920
Gas Light: Suspicious Deaths of Clara & Alfred Mellor, Jr. 1920
Skull By the River: Murder of Jane Doe 1920
Strangled With His Own Necktie: Murder of David Faulkner 1920
The Wrong Brother? Murder of William VandeBrake 1920
All Souls’ Day: Murders of Sister Mary Virginis and Sister Mary Rosalita 1921
Charred Remains: Murder of Jane Otis 1921
“Fear of the Dread Black Hand”: Murder of Domenico Baretto 1921
Neither Rain, Nor Snow, Nor Death: Murder of Walter Baldwin 1921
Deadly Taxi Party: Murder of Thaddeus Mitchell 1922
Death Along the Lincoln Highway: Murders of Rose and Homer Brownfield 1922
“The King of Little Italy”: Murder of Angelo Ferrari 1922
65 Cents: Murder of “Smitty” Smith 1924
The Apron in the Shack: Murder of Erma (Irma) Caldwell 1924
Chinese Tong Ritual: Murder of John “Jack” Fong-1924
Lonely Hearts Scam and the Veteran: Murder of Michael Featherstone 1924
The Big Swede: Murder of Carl Axel Deer 1925
The Burning Shack: Murder of Martin Cummins 1925
Deadly Tramps: Murder of Allan F. Shoemaker 1925
Death at the Hardware Store: Murders of Harry Jones and William Laugesen 1925
Mayhem: Murder of W.A. Davies 1925
“No Necking Here”: Murder of Harry Overturf 1925
The Redhead in the Strawstack: Murder of Jane Doe 1925
Sisters Act: Suspicious Deaths of Josephine Goodwin and Elizabeth Anthony 1925
Slaughter of Innocents: Sioux City Babies 1925
Teatotaling Klanswoman: Murder of Myrtle Cook 1925
Third Time, No Charm: Murder of Benjamin “Barney” Kaplan 1925
Black Hand Vendetta? Murder of Phoebe Jane Vigoletti 1926
Death at the Box Company: Murder of Earl Paris 1928
At the Crossroads Store: Murder of George Hardy 1929
Never Three Without Four? Murder of George G. Shackell 1929
“No Women Or Children Allowed”: Murder of Winfield Scott Rouse 1929
Undercover: Murder of Louis H. Dayton 1929
“Myself, Meadow, Hawk”: Murder of Evelyn Lee 1930
“‘Stick ’em Up, Louie'”: Murder of Louis Friedman 1930
Gun Battle in the Night: Murder of Virgil Untied 1931
Summer Night in the Park: Murder of J.H. Peck 1931
Butter and Egg Day: Murder of Nels Louvring 1933
The Secret Diary: Murder of Fred Hollingsworth 1933
What the Poultry Men Found: Murder of Ashley Downing 1933
The Gentle Man: Murder of Charles Englehart 1935
In the Big Muddy: Murder of Sherman Casper 1935
The Woman Who Bought Her Own Tombstone: Murder of Sarah Tracy 1935
Coal Mine Plunge: Suspicious Death of Robert Ruby 1936
Staged Scene: Murder of Charles Shamblen 1936
Grifters and Cons: Murder of “Lucille Marvin” 1937
Last Day of Work: Murder of Floyd Alloway 1937
In the Garage: Murder of Henry Christensen 1941
Giving Away Money: Murder of John Zauhar 1947
“My God, It’s a Man”: Murder of Robert McCullough 1947
“The Tattooed Lady”: Murder of Margaret Treese 1947
After a Game of Bridge: Murder of Anne M. McGrevey 1948
The Poisoned Family: Rhode-Elefson Murders 1948-1949
Who Killed the Corn Canning Czar? Murder of Henry Chavis 1948
The Defective Shotgun: Murders of Claud and Anna Miller 1949
Shock: Suspicious Death of Neva Andrews 1950
Taxi Ride to Death: Murder of George Massouris 1950
The Widow in the Alley: Murder of Lillian Chapman 1950
Cab in the Snow-Filled Ditch: Murder of Leon Groves 1951
“Brutal Killer”: Murders of Beverly Brenneman and Ruby Ciler 1953
Under the Court Avenue Bridge: Murder of Charles Sanders 1954
“Maniac” in the Drugstore: Murder of Lucille Bacher 1955
On the Front Porch: Murder of Rose Grandanette 1958
The Aspiring Actress: Murder of Marlene Padfield 1959
Death in a Cubicle: Murder of Fred Coste 1959
Brothel Double Homicide: Murders of Willard Woodring and Richard Buchanan 1960
A Daughter’s Quest For Justice: Murder of Clarence Raymond Case: 1961
Explosion in the Night: Murder of William Meadows 1961
Burning Murder?: Death of Lucille DeVries 1962
“Cold-Blooded Sadistic Type”: Murder of Ramona Jean Cox 1962
Nearly Home: Murder of Anna Marie Medici 1962
“Right Place, Wrong Time”: Murder of Edward Kriz 1962
Below Zero: Murder of George Geary 1963
Burning Mystery: Murder of Henry Hults 1963
Deadly Shot: Murder of Roscoe D. Harris 1963
Bound and Gagged: Murder of Francis Rafferty 1964
Among the Tropical Fish: Murder of Myrtle Cumpston 1965
Cold Night Out: Murder of Donald Nervig 1965
Mother’s Day Death: Murder of Lillian Randolph 1965
“A Real Nice Girl”: Murder of Janice Snow 1965
Valentine Death: Murder of Catherine Decora 1965
Crossing the Line: Murder of Arlene Adler 1967 Written by David Jindrich
Death at the Chamberlain: Murder of Judy Ann Corbin 1967
“Heaven Is My Home”: Murder of Gloria Slump 1967
Death at the Dairy: Murder of Dale Redman 1968
Death of the American Dream: Murder of Andrew Hatges 1968
Destination Unknown: Murder of Geraldine Maggert 1968
A Story Yet to be Told: Murder of Sheila Jean Collins 1968
Appointment With Death: Murder of Dorothy Miller 1969
Foul Play: Murder of Paula Oberbroeckling: 1970
Long Creek Close to Home: Murder of Mary Lange 1970
Shooting at “Ike’s Peak”: Murder of Edwin Jacobs 1972
Stingiest Man in Town: Murder of Edward Schmidt 1972
The Neighborhood Grocer: Murder of David R. Morris 1973
Sarah Ann Ottens: A Remembrance and Tribute by David Jindrich
Spring Break Killer: Murder of Sarah Ottens 1973
The Gruff Good Man: Murder of Ewald Bandixen 1974
Gunfire At the Holiday Inn: Murders of Danny Peters and Luis Trujillo, Jr. 1974
Outside the Welcome Inn: Murder of Judith Reed 1974
Cold Deep Waters: Murder of Connie Craft 1975
Death on the Way to Sturgis: Murder of James M. Bailey, Jr. 1975
Dying For Drugs: Murder of Terry Vanden Hull 1975
The Neighbors: Murder of Hulda Emma Fischer 1975 Written by David Jindrich
The Shy, Quiet Victim: Murder of Emma Lewis 1976
Good Neighborhood Kid: Murder of Ronald Butler 1977
Death at the Morticians’ Convention: Murders of Rose Burkert and Roger Atkison 1980
Thrown Away: Murder of Sandra Jo Pittman 1980
A Mother Never Forgotten: Murder of Angela Altman 1981
When the Dogs Didn’t Bark: Murder of Robert M. Clary 1982
Forgotten and Unsolved: Murder of Melvin Royale Adams 1983
The Scarred Man: Murder of Arnold Sansgaard 1984