This section lists cases which have been unsolved for a substantial amount of time. With the help of IowaColdCases.org, we have posted information which may assist in solving these crimes.  |
Cold Cases
Unsolved Murder (Cold Case-2010) - Parham, John
$1,000.00 Reward- Unsolved Murder In the early hours of June 24th, 2010 John Parham was sitting with friends in his front yard when a subject appeared from behind his house and began firing into the group. Parham and another individual were struck and both were taken to the hospital. The other subject survived but Parham was pronounced dead. Due to the time of day witnesses were unable to get a good look at the shooter. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(from Iowacoldcases.org)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Marvin Parham, Jr.
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John Marvin Parham, Jr. (Courtesy WCF Courier)
Courtesy photo JEFF REINITZ / Courier Staff Writer
Courtesy photo JEFF REINITZ / Courier Staff Writer
Courtesy photo Chuck, findagrave.comMissing (Cold Case-2004) - Matlock, L.C.
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$1,000.00 Reward- Missing Person/ Suspicious Disappearance
Murder (Cold Case-1959) - Gallagher, Melvin James (Regan)
In 1959 a gas station clerk died of a shotgun blast to the head at the end of his shift. Although his murderer may be deceased his family still seeks answers. Anyone with information is asked to call the Waterloo Police Department at 319-291-4340 ext 7 or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at 855-300-TIPS (8477). Tips may also be sent with TipSoft or by texting the word CEDAR plus the information to CRIMES (274637). Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to opt out at any time. Text HELP for more information. Tips can also be left at WWW.CVCRIMESTOP.COM. Melvin James (Regan) GallagherHomicide Melvin James (Regan) Gallagher
On January 3, 2011, in Anniversaries, by Jody Ewing  Melvin Gallagher His young adult life had started out with a few uncertainties, but 22-year-old Melvin James Gallagher was finding his footing and making plans for what he hoped would be a bright future. He’d been deeply in love with two different women — Gloria and Patricia — and wanted to settle down with a good job and start raising a family. He’d first been engaged to Patricia, but after much soul searching, realized it was Gloria with whom he wanted to spend his life. He and Patricia broke off their engagement, and a short time after they went their separate ways, Patricia discovered she was pregnant with Gallagher’s child. Melvin and Gloria became engaged, and were to marry the following year on January 10, 1959. Some time during their engagement, Gloria also became pregnant. In the interim, Gallagher, who’d recently been discharged after serving with the Army, started working at the Clark Super 100 service station located at 210 Falls Ave. in Waterloo. He submitted an application for employment with the Waterloo Police Department, and also applied for entry to a chiropractic school. Now that that Army vet would have a wife and child, there would be expenses and he’d be leaving his mother and step-father’s home to make one of his own with his new family. He never got the chance to marry his girl. Never got the opportunity to meet his unborn children. Never got the time to fulfill any of his dreams. He’d been working at the service station just six month when, on a bitterly cold Saturday morning about 5:15 a.m., he was killed by a shotgun blast to the head as he prepared to end his night-shift. On January 3, 1959, exactly one week before his wedding day, Melvin James Gallagher lay dying on a filling station floor behind frost-covered windows — his left hand still in his pocket — as his life and all he’d ever hoped for ebbed away and vanished. The following month on February 19, Patricia gave birth to the couple’s son, Michael. Later that year, Gloria delivered their twin daughters. Melvin Gallagher’s three children are now 51 years old, and despite the half century since their father’s death, all still wait for answers as to who pulled the trigger that cold winter morning and why they had to grow up never getting to know their father. If you have any information about this crime, please contact the Waterloo Police Department’s Investigations Division at 319-291-4340 or e-mail pillackt@waterloopolice.com. |
Murder (Cold Case-2012) - Johnson, Martavious Taveros
 $1,000.00 Reward for Unsolved Murder Anyone with information is asked to call the Waterloo Police Department at 319-291-4340 ext 7 or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at 855-300-TIPS (8477). Tips may also be sent with TipSoft or by texting the word CEDAR plus the information to CRIMES (274637). Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to opt out at any time. Text HELP for more information. Tips can also be left at WWW.CVCRIMESTOP.COMMartavious Taveros JohnsonHomicide Martavious Taveros Johnson Case Summary by Jody EwingMartavious 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. According to a Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier article dated January 7, 2012, Johnson and his sister went to the 500 block of Sumner Street on Waterloo’s east side at about 8 p.m. to drop off the sister’s boyfriend. When a group walking down the street approached Johnson and inquired about his gang affiliation, Johnson apparently laughed and cracked a joke before turning to get back inside the vehicle.  Courtesy photo Matthew Putney / Courier Photo EditorWaterloo police search a home at 511 Sumner Street for evidence after a shooting that sent one person to the hospital Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012, in Waterloo, Iowa. Martavious Johnson, 17, was shot in the back and died a short time later at a nearby hospital. “He turned his back, and one of the dudes shot him in the back,” Johnson’s mother, Tanya Johnson, told the Courier. The teen was driven by friends to Allen Hospital where he later died. Investigators roped off part of Sumner Street on Thursday after the shooting and continued searching for clues at 511 Sumner Street into Friday morning. “We’re not sure what it (the argument) was about,” Lt. Michael McNamee told a reporter for the Courier. “We’re at the stage where we’re still interviewing people.” One resident claimed to have heard a shot, but couldn’t pinpoint the direction from which it came.  Courtesy photo Matthew Putney/Courier Photo EditorDuring a vigil held Friday evening for his son, Willie Johnson asked Waterloo residents to remain calm and not rush to judgment, and to let justice take its course. An autopsy conducted Friday confirmed Johnson died from a single gunshot wound. Waterloo Police brought in a 15-year-old for questioning, but wouldn’t say whether or not the teen was a suspect in Johnson’s murder. Waterloo police Sgt. Andrew Clark told KCRG Channel 9 on Saturday evening that no subject or subjects had been arrested or officially charged. All Sports, No GangsJohnson’s family members said they were given some details by people who were present when the shooting occurred. Willie Harrington, Jr., the victim’s uncle, told the Courier his nephew wasn’t involved with any gang and and believed he was shot because of his response to a question. According to family members, Johnson was far more interested in sports — particularly basketball and football — than he was in belonging to any gang. The former East High School student was more recently enrolled at Expo High. In the Johnson’s Waterloo home, football and basketball plaques from the teen’s days on the Logan Middle School teams stood next to portraits of a young man known to family and friends as “Tay Tay.” Johnson’s aunt, Steppie Perry, told the Courier her nephew was fast. “When he ran, you couldn’t catch him,” Perry said.  Courtesy photo WCF CourierMartavious Johnson, standing, helps trim his 4-year-old nephew’s hair. The slain teen was interested in either opening a barbershop or landing a job at John Deere. Johnson already had considered career options and was interested in either opening a barbershop or landing a job at John Deere, his mother said during the interview. On Friday evening, Jan. 6, between 150 and 200 friends and other individuals gathered outside the teen’s home for a vigil. Willie Johnson, father of the victim, spoke during the vigil and called on fellow parents to learn from the tragedy. “We want to turn that negative energy to positive energy,” Willie Johnson told the Courier the night of the vigil. “Use this as a stepping stone to teach your children to do better and know better.” Willie Johnson also asked residents to remain calm and not rush to judgment. “We want to let justice take its course, and we just want everybody to be at peace. That’s all we want,” he said. Davaris Morehead told the Courier he’d known Martavious his entire life. “He was everything that you want your kid to be,” he said. Person of interest arrested on unrelated charges, defense files motion to keep information from jurorsQueshandis Ramon Seals, a person of interest in Johnson’s unsolved murder, was approached by the Waterloo Police Department’s Violent Crime Apprehension Team at 12:03 a.m. on July 4, 2014, after Seals walked across West Fourth Street against a crossing light and a car nearly hit him.  Courtesy WCF CourierQueshandis Ramon Seals, 19, was convicted in August 2015 on drug and gun charges, but his defense filed a motion to keep information about Martavious Johnson’s unsolved murder from reaching the jury. A Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier article dated Aug. 23, 2015, said court records stated the officers recognized Seals when they made contact with him. Seals had lived in the 500 block of Sumner Street in January 2012 where Martavious Johnson had been shot. “Officers recognized the defendant from previous encounters. The defendant is a person of interest in a 2012 homicide,” police wrote in a report describing the arrest, according to the Courier’s Jeff Reinitz. Because of this and because of shootings nearby on Locust Street in prior days, officers patted Seals down for weapons and found a pistol in Seals’ pocket — an empty chamber and four rounds in the magazine — as well as a bag of marijuana in Seals’ cargo pocket. Seals admitted to selling marijuana and having paid $160 for the gun, a .22-caliber Sig Sauer, which had been reported stolen in a home burglary three months earlier. Police arrested Seals, charging him with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in proximity to a school while in possession of a firearm and carrying weapons, and trafficking stolen weapons and fourth-degree theft. Seals’ attorney filed a motion to keep information about Johnson’s unsolved homicide from the jury, who on Aug. 20, 2015 found Seals guilty of intent to distribute marijuana and possession of firearm charges but acquitted him of trafficking stolen weapons and fourth-degree theft. About Martavious JohnsonMartavious Tavarous “Tay Tay” Johnson was born July 6, 1994, the son of Willie Johnson and Tanya Faye Harrington-Johnson. He died Thursday, January 5, 2012, in Waterloo at age 17. He attended Expo High School and participated in football and basketball at Waterloo East High School. He was survived by his parents; 11 sisters, Whitney and Danielle Harrington, Ashley, Kendra, Diamond, Shaquinn, Raveone and Nevaeh Johnson, and LaToya McCullen, all of Waterloo, Briana Heffner of Tennessee and Kameelah Hardmon of Milwaukee; three brothers, Marquavious Johnson of St. Louis, Rodrecous Johnson of Waterloo and Ahamad Hardmon of Milwaukee; a nephew, Quaysshon Johnson, who was raised as a brother; his grandparents, Willie and Ethel Harrington Sr. and Mary Johnson, all of Waterloo; and great-grandparents, CillieMae Harrington and Tommie Harris, both of Jackson, Miss., and Charlotte Harrington of Waterloo. He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Willie Earl Roby; and great-grandfather, Walter Harrington Sr. Services were held at 11 a.m. Thursday, January 12, 2012, at Antioch Baptist Church, with burial in Garden of Memories Cemetery in Waterloo. Visitation was held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and for an hour before services Thursday, all at the church. Sanders Funeral Service assisted the family with arrangements. Memorials were to be directed to the family at 2207 E. Fourth St., where they received friends. Tay Tay enjoyed listening to and making music as well as being around family and friends. He favored his Uncle June and looked up to him as role model. He desired to do right, dreamed big and often talked about accomplishing great things. He was buried on his mother’s birthday. KCRG TV9 reports on the shooting of Martavious Johnson — Airdate Jan. 6, 2012 Information NeededIf you have any information regarding Martavious Johnson’s unsolved murder, please contact the Waterloo Police Department at (319) 291-4340 ext. 3, or the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at 855-300-TIPS. A $1,000 cash reward is available for any information that leads to an arrest in the case. You may also submit tips anonymously through the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers Confidential Web Tip Information System. Sources:
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Murder (Cold Case-2003) - Alonzo Nakia Quinn & Rhiannon Marie Olsen
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Alonzo Nakia Quinn
Courtesy photo Amber Wendt / Courier Staff Photographer
Courtesy photo WCF Courier
Courtesy photo Kim Menke, WCF Courier Staff PhotographerMurder (Cold Case-1993) - Gladys Dorothy Held
Anyone with information is asked to call the Waterloo Police Department at 319-291-4340 ext 3 or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers, 855-300-TIPS (8477). Tips may also be sent with TipSoft or by texting the word CEDAR plus the information to CRIMES (274637). Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to opt out at any time. Text HELP for more information. Anyone with information leading to an arrest is eligible for a cash reward.
 Black Hawk County in Iowa Waterloo in Black Hawk County Gladys Dorothy HeldHomicide Gladys Dorothy Held 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. Held resided alone in a third-floor apartment at the Walnut Court Retirement Community complex at 315 Walnut Street. A senior home companion became concerned when Held didn’t show up for an in-house worship service Thursday, and went Held’s apartment to check on her at approximately 11 a.m.  WCF Courier File PhotoGladys Held, 83, was killed inside her apartment at Walnut Court Apartments in Waterloo in December 1993. Her murder remains unsolved. The senior home companion found Held’s door unlocked, and once inside the apartment, discovered Held lying the wrong way in her bed, her room tossed. An autopsy concluded Held had been beaten in the head with a telephone and then strangled. In a Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier article dated Dec. 10, 1993, Police Chief Bernal Koehrsen said Held’s death was originally treated as an elderly person who died in her sleep. Waterloo Fire Department paramedics and the Waterloo Police Department were called in to investigate, and an autopsy report confirmed strangulation. Police told the Courier they knew how entry was gained to the building and to Held’s apartment, but were not releasing that information because of the ongoing investigation. Koehrsen said police also had determined a motive, but couldn’t release that information, either. The Dec. 10 story in the Courier also reported:
“She was such a nice woman, a really beautiful lady. She was always immaculately dressed and with her hair done,” Wenthe said. Held was a small woman at 5-foot-4 inches and weighing 110 pounds.  Courtesy The Gazette, Dec. 16, 1993 | Download the PDF document A resident on the first floor — who’d kept her own apartment unlocked so a woman she’d hired to help could get in — told officials a man had entered her apartment and asked for money, but left when she told him she didn’t have any. Also on the first floor, residents in another area reported that one of the glass panels of the locked door facing Iowa Street had been broken out, but the door was fixed early in the day on Thursday. A Courier story dated Friday, Dec. 31, 1993, said they had obtained a copy of Held’s death certificate, which showed Held’s time and date of death as 11 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 8. Dr. Mark Bickley, Black Hawk County medical examiner, signed the certificate and reported Held’s cause of death as “strangulation.” The certificate stated death was “immediate.” Another Retirement Home Resident KilledThe day after Held’s body was discovered at the Walnut St. facility, 87-year-old Jacob “Jake” Biretz was found dead three blocks away in another Waterloo retirement home. Biretz was found on his sofa, his arms crossed over his chest, and his death was also ruled a homicide. He’d been suffocated with a pillow. According to his death certificate, signed by Black Hawk County Medical Examiner Dr. Albert Dolan, it took several minutes for Biretz to die. On Monday, Dec. 13, 1993, Waterloo police released the following statement concerning Held’s and Biretz’s murders:
No suspects were ever arrested in either case, though Waterloo police later said they believed the murders may have been committed by the same person. Reward OfferedIn January 1994, Held’s son, Donald Newberry — owner of Newberry’s Ice Cream Shop in Cedar Falls — offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or people responsible for his mother’s murder. “The longer you go, the harder it is to get the person,” Newberry said during a Jan. 7, 1994 press conference held at the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce. Newberry, who became choked up during the press conference, told the Courier he and his family were “repulsed at the cowardly act” of the killing. “Nobody should die the way she died,” Newberry said. “She did fight, as best as an elderly woman can fight, I guess.” In the Courier’s January 1994 story, Newberry said his family wasn’t allowed into the apartment until eight days after the murder. “So many strange things” were done in the apartment, he said, alluding to items that were in the wrong place but not taken from the apartment. Newberry also praised the Waterloo Police Department for what he called “excellent” work in their ongoing efforts to locate his mother’s killer or killers. About Gladys HeldGladys Dorothy (Rogers) Held was born in Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa, on July 19, 1910 to Burt Rogers and Minnie Louells (Baumgartner) Rogers. She and her husband, Lester Eugene Held, who died in 1971, had both worked at Rath Packing in Waterloo. Mrs. Held had been George Rath’s personal secretary. Gladys later married James Elwood Newberry. He passed away Dec. 27, 1976. Her murder remains unsolved. Information NeededCedar Valley Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000.00 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call the Waterloo Police Department at 319-291-4340 ext. 7 or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at 855-300-TIPS (8477). Tips also may be left at www.cvcrimestop.com, sent with TipSoft or by texting the word CEDAR plus the information to CRIMES (274637). Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to opt out at any time. Text HELP for more information. Anonymous tips may be sent through the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers Confidential Web Tip Information System. Sources:
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Murder (Cold Case-2002) - Martavious “Tay” DeShaun Robinson and Calvin Maurice Rash
Martavious “Tay” DeShaun Robinson |
Courtesy photo Chuck, findagrave.comMurder (Cold Case-1995) - Angela Renee Buck
 Angela Buck (photo courtesy Korene Shelton) Angela Renee BuckHomicide Angela Renee Buck Case Summary by Jody EwingOn Friday, August 11, 1995, two men hunting for turtles discovered a body in a ditch near a creek on North Pilot Grove Road in Black Hawk County, Iowa. The body — clad in a greenish halter top, jean shorts and muddy white socks but no shoes — lay just below a short bridge in a wooded area about one and one-half miles east of Independence Avenue in Waterloo and south of Dunkerton.
Black Hawk County sheriff’s office officials on Saturday identified the body as Angela Renee Buck, 37, of Waterloo, Iowa, after comparing fingerprints and dental records. They believed she had been dead not more than two days, and released her identity on Sunday after contacting Buck’s relatives. State Medical Examiner Dr. Francis Garrity conducted the autopsy at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines on Saturday, and ruled cause of death as a single gunshot wound to the chest. The manner of death was ruled a homicide. No Attempt to Hide BodyAccording to an August 12 story published in the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, Jeff Edgar, 33, of Waterloo, and Brad Hague, 34, of Jesup, worked together at Eagle Tanning Co. in Waterloo and had just finished working the third shift about 10 a.m. Friday when they decided to go looking for places to set turtle traps. As they crossed the North Pilot Grove Road bridge around 10:45 a.m., they saw the body lying about six feet from the water. “We just kind of looked at each other, with goosebumps,” Hague told the Courier about the discovery, adding that neither of them went near the body. “We stayed away,” he said. The men went to Laura Hansen’s nearby farmhouse to call police, and later provided officials with written statements.  Courtesy Waterloo Cedar Falls CourierFrom August 12, 1995 Hague said the woman lay in a fetal position, and there was no apparent attempt to hide the body because it could easily be seen from the bridge. He said he didn’t notice a large number of footprints in the area, but that it appeared a nearby pool of shallow water might have held a trace of blood. Twenty investigators worked the scene until nightfall Friday, searching the creek, fields and ditches, and carrying away bags of what appeared to be evidence, the Courier reported. Jim Anderson, who lived at a farmhouse in sight of where Buck’s body was found, told the Courier he was called to the scene Friday and asked if the creek had been flooded recently. “I think they were wondering if she had washed down the creek,” Anderson said. Two deputies were stationed at the scene on Saturday, stopping cars and recording names and license plate numbers of passing motorists. On Sunday, August 13, the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office announced it was handling the case as a homicide, but did not identify any suspects or a motive. [Then] Black Hawk County Sheriff Mike Kubik said officials weren’t sure if the body had been dumped at the creek or if the death occurred there, and no arrests have been made in the case. Officials said Buck did not have a permanent address, but was from the Waterloo area. She had worked as a nurse’s aid and later worked at Ravenwood Health Care Center, but recently had been attending school to become a radio announcer. Eight investigators were assigned to work Angela Buck’s murder. Family Deaths “Difficult” for Buck“She had a big heart, she cared about people, she worried about things, the stress of life and things like that,” Buck’s cousin, Rick Luchtenburg of Shell Rock, said in a Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier article published Monday, August 14, 1995.  Courtesy photo Korene SheltonAngela Buck with her mother, Lorene Buck, in 1958. Family said Angela began to drift after her mother’s 1992 death. Luchtenburg said the death of Buck’s mother, Lorene, had been difficult for Angela. Lorene (Crowley) Buck, a former Evansdale City Council member, had passed away three years earlier in 1992 after a lengthy illness. Angela’s cousin, Mike, had passed away a year before. The family, Luchtenburg said, was shocked after learning of Buck’s death. According to Buck’s aunt, Pauline Huisman of Grundy Center, Angela had been living with her mother in Evansdale, but began to drift after her mother’s death. “Her whole life has been sad”The Courier reported on August 15 that Betty Stewart of Waterloo had rented part of a duplex at 110 Prince St. to Buck the previous summer. Stewart described Buck as a lonely person with a fast-paced lifestyle. According to the August 15 article, Buck rented out the bottom three rooms of Stewart’s duplex for about four months in 1994, leaving in the fall. Stewart lived in the top four rooms. “She was just a good person mixed up,” Stewart told the Courier. “I think she needed help. I think she needed more counseling than she received. I think if she could have gotten that, then maybe she wouldn’t have been around some of the people she was and she would be here today.” By that time, Buck had let her children go to live with their father, and Stewart said Buck missed them terribly. Buck spoke of her children often and wanted to introduce them to Stewart, but moved away before Stewart got to meet them. “It is sad, it’s real sad what happened — her whole life has been sad,” Stewart said.  Courtesy photo Matthew Putney/WCF CourierWhen Black Hawk County Sheriff Michael Kubik retired in Dec. 2008, he said he still thought about two cases that went unsolved; that of Dale Redman of LaPorte City and Angela Buck. He said investigators hadn’t given up on bringing the perpetrators to justice. Connection Studied, Ruled OutThree days before finding Buck’s body, officials found the body of 24-year-old Connie Jo Choate Bodensteiner, Des Moines, in the basement storage unit of a Des Moines south side apartment. Bodensteiner had been strangled. Both women had records of prostitution and at one time had worked for Greg Peterson, a “John” who operated a prostitution service out of his Urbandale, Iowa, mobile home. Authorities investigated possible connections between the two murders, but later said they were not connected. “Their paths had crossed, but there’s nothing we found at all that these were related,” Des Moines Police Sgt. Tom Trimble told the Cedar Rapids Gazette in an article published August 18, 1995. “There were no real similarities at all in the method.” A business rival beat Peterson to death in August 1994, a year before Buck’s murder. An August 12 article in the Courier — before officials had formally identified Buck’s body — had confirmed the body found in Black Hawk County was not that of missing Mason City anchorwoman Jodi Huisentruit, 27, who’d apparently been abducted from her Mason City apartment six weeks earlier. Kubik retired in December 2008 after spending almost four decades in law enforcement and five terms leading the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office. In a WCF Courier article dated December 26, 2008, Kubik said that for all the cases solved over the years, he still thought about the two that remained open — that of Dale Redmanof La Porte City, and Angela Buck’s August 1995 death. Investigators, Kubik said, still haven’t given up on bringing the perpetrators to justice. About AngelaAngela Renee Buck was born April 17, 1958, in Waterloo, Iowa, the daughter of Richard and Lorene (Crowley) Buck. Lorene, who served on the Evansdale City Council, died in 1992 after a lengthy illness. Angela married Dwight R. Shelton in Waterloo on October 22, 1976, and the couple had two daughters and a son before divorcing November 30, 1984; Angela took back her maiden name at that time. She and her ex-husband shared joint custody of the children, who lived with their mother. Angela would later have another son. Family and friends described Angela as a woman with a big heart who loved her four children, but who fell upon hard times and in with the wrong crowd. Angela was voted as the Evansdale Junior Miss in 1970 at age 12, played the violin with her school orchestra, and loved horseback riding. Prior to her death, she’d been working toward getting her life back together and been attending school in Madison, Wisconsin, to become a radio announcer.  Courtesy photo Korene SheltonAngela Buck is buried at the Waterloo Memorial Park Cemetery in Black Hawk County. Survivors included her two sons: Damien Spooner of Evansdale and Nathaniel R. Shelton of Marshalltown; two daughters, Renee R. Shelton and Korene C. Shelton, both of Marshalltown; her father and stepmother, Richard and Nora Buck of Waterloo; two sisters, Alana R. Buck of Waterloo and Amanda M. Tix of Rochester, Minn.; two brothers, Aaron E. Buck of Layton, Utah, and Anthony R. Buck of San Luis Obispo, Calif.; and two stepbrothers, Jeffery and Daniel Schatz, both of Waterloo. Her mother and a cousin preceded her in death. Memorial services were held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, August 17, 1995 at the Waterloo Memorial Park Cemetery chapel, with burial in Memorial Park. Visitation was held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 16, at Kearns, Huisman-Schumacher Chapel on Kimball and for an hour before Thursday’s services. The family asked that memorials be directed to the Waterloo DARE program. Reward Offered for InformationCedar Valley Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information in Angela Buck’s unsolved murder. Launched in June 2012, Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers’ goal is to help keep Cedar Valley neighborhoods safer. The program allows citizens to report suspicious and criminal behavior while allowing them to remain anonymous. No calls are traced, and if a tip leads to an arrest the caller is eligible for a cash reward. CV Crime Stoppers believes “someone other than the criminal has information that can help solve a crime,” and works to help the community overcome two major issues in crime reporting: fear of reprisal, and the reluctance to get involved. Anyone with information about Angela Buck’s unsolved murder is asked to call the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office at 319-291-2587 or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at 855-300-TIPS (8477). Tips may also be sent with TipSoft or by texting the word CEDAR plus the information to CRIMES (274637). Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to opt out at any time. Text HELP for more information. Anyone with information leading to an arrest is eligible for a cash reward. You may also submit tips anonymously through the Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers Confidential Web Tip Information System. Sources:
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Murder (Cold Case-1993) - Diane Courbat & Cartha Pearson
 "Gunshot victim dies, police look for murderer" A 34-year-old Waterloo woman found in a parking lot last week with a bullet wound to the head died Friday night, and police say they will investigate the case as a murder. “We treated is like a homicide from the beginning,” Sgt. Larry Hahn said. “But yes, when she died, that made it official.” Two officers on routine patrol in the early morning hours of August 3rd found Diane Courbat of 528 Montero Drive lying in the northwest parking lot of Exchange Park. Courbat reportedly was breathing when officers found her, and underwent brain surgery the same day. She remained in critical condition at University Hospitals in Iowa City until her death at 9:08 PM Friday. Police continue to ask for the public’s help in identifying a suspect. Investigators found no sign of a struggle in the parking lot where Courbat was found, fully clothed. She was shot in the side of the head, but the gun was not held to her skull, police said. Police aren't sure what type of weapon was used in the shooting.  Her death triggers the second murder investigation to arise from a recent rash of gun-related violence in the city. Cartha Pearson, 26, was found dead in his car July 29 from bullet wounds in the stomach and chest. Police will not name suspects in either investigation. They ask anyone with information in either case to call the police department, 291-4345. Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier- 8/16/93  The families and friends of two Waterloo murder victims are trying to get on with their lives, but they want those responsible for the deaths caught. Police investigators are trying to crack the murder cases of Diane Courbat, 34 formerly of 538 Montero Drive, and Cartha “Jack” Pearson, 26, whose mailing address was 714 South View Drive. Two police officers found Courbat lying in Cedar River Exchange Park about 2:30 AM Aug. 3. She died three days later at University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City from a gunshot wound to the head. Neighbors said Courbat left the mobile home she shared with her husband, David, and her granddaughter about 8 p.m. Aug. 2. She joined her husband at the Half Pint Saloon, 1831 Independence Ave, her aunt Brenda Hill of Davenport said. Hill said police officers were among the last people to see Courbat before she was shot. Officers spotted her about 1:35 a.m. on a street with David Courbat walking behind her, Hill said investigators told her. She said she didn’t know where they were walking. Hill said the officers asked Courbat if she was having problems with the man, and she reportedly told them who he was and said she was alright. Courbat’s daughter, Julie Burge, 17, said she thinks David Courbat then returned home and her mother wanted to stay out later. About an hour later, police found her body in the park. Burge said her mother never went to Exchange Park and she doesn’t know why she would have been there that night. She said police have been helpful and have informed Courbat’s family of new leads in the case. “When I think about it (the murder), it make me real mad,” she said. Hill, who said Courbat had a “heart of gold,” said “it’s hard knowing she’s not around.” Burge and Hill said the family has kept in contact with David Courbat, who has been staying in Davenport with friends. He could not be reached for comment. Investigators are looking for people who saw Courbat walking in various parts of the city that night, Police Chief Bernal Koehrsen said. Koehrsen would not comment on whether police have suspects in either Pearson’s or Courbat’s case. Police have been investigating the Pearson case for more than two weeks. He was shot to death in an alley between the 100 block of Sumner and Cottage Streets after he allegedly cheated some drug dealers by not paying them or only partially paying them for drugs. Donetha Donald, Pearson’s fiancé, said his death is still a shock to her. She said police have questioned her, but she doesn’t know who might have killed him. “If I could, I would hire a private detective or something, but I can’t afford it,” she said. Koehrsen said autopsy results in both cases won’t be complete until tests are returned form the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Lab in Des Moines. Although the lab is backlogged with cases, Koehrsen said detectives’ progress hasn't been slowed because they are able to pursue other angles. Before the Pearson homicide, all eight murders that occurred since Koehrsen became police chief in 1990 have been solved. The last Waterloo homicide that hasn't been solved was the 1989 murder of Jeffrey Zolliecoffer, 23. His body was found wrapped in a blanket and tied to two cement blocks in the Cedar River Sept. 15, 1989. He died of a gunshot wound to the chest. Police are still looking for witnesses to come forward with information in each case. People who have information about either of the murders may call the Police Department at 291-4345 or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at 855-300-TIPS (8477). |
Murder (Cold Case) - Dennis Michael Clougherty
Linked by Lost Lives: Eugene Martin, Dennis Clougherty and Helen MorrowOn August 12, 2013, in Anniversaries, Missing Persons, The Families, by Jody Ewing Dennis Clougherty. Helen Morrow. Eugene Martin. Three victims, three lives gone, and one shared date families can’t forget: August 12. Twenty-three-year-old Dennis Clougherty was a Vietnam vet preparing to start graduate school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Helen Morrow, 55, surely never imagined her fate when offering employment to a hired hand. And Eugene Martin, only 13, simply wanted to make extra money to attend the Iowa State Fair. Family members have long since buried Clougherty and Morrow. Eugene Martin’s parents lived and died waiting for answers that have yet to follow them to the grave.  Dennis Clougherty, a 23-year-old Vietnam vet and soon-to-be graduate student, was shot five times while hitchhiking through Iowa on his way to Torrington, Wyoming. August 12, 1974 — Dennis CloughertyAround 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon, August 12, 1974, Dennis Clougherty left Madison, Wisconsin, with plans to hitchhike to Torrington, Wyoming, to retrieve his motorcycle. The bike had broken down in Torrington earlier that year and he’d had to leave it behind for repairs. The 905-mile route between the two cities — a 15-hour trip on Interstate 80 — would be the fastest, but Clougherty chose the familiar Highway 20, perhaps in the hopes of catching a ride with someone he knew. From Torrington, Clougherty planned to ride the bike to Detroit, Michigan, where he’d promised to attend a weekend family wedding. Clougherty never made it to the wedding, or to Torrington, or even past the first day of his trip; sometime between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and midnight, he was shot five times in the chest and left along Union Road south of First Street in Cedar Falls, Iowa. A passing motorist discovered his body the following morning. Some of his personal belongs, including a backpack, a clothes bag and Clougherty’s motorcycle helmet, were located approximately five miles south on Viking Road. An investigation confirmed a motorist picked him up about 7 p.m. Monday while traveling westbound on Highway 20 near Dubuque, and gave him a ride to Independence, IA, dropping Clougherty off at a café there around 8:15 p.m. Clougherty ate at the then-Rush Park Café and left Independence around 9:15 p.m., hitchhiking westbound on Highway 20. Another motorist picked him up and drove him to Waterloo, dropping him off at the Highway 20 and Highway 63 intersection. Here, two male subjects in their early 20s, driving a brownish/gold 1962-1964 Chevrolet car — possibly a four-door with beige interior — picked up Clougherty around 10:30 p.m. The young military vet and soon-to-be graduate student was never seen alive again. August 12, 1980 — Helen MorrowIn Eldon, Iowa, witnesses saw Herman Pierce, 48, leave the home of Mrs. Helen Morrow, 55, the evening of August 12, 1980, just moments before flames began shooting from Morrow’s two-story frame house. Authorities found Mrs. Morrow lying on a bed in a first-floor bedroom, and an autopsy report concluded she died of smoke inhalation. Police arrested Pierce and held him in jail on an intoxication charge, and though county prosecutors filed first-degree murder charges against Pierce on August 26, they reconsidered and decided to convene a grand jury to hear evidence in the case. It was a move they later would regret. On Friday, October 3, 1980, a four-man, three-woman Wapello County Grand Jury failed to return an indictment against Pierce. He was released from custody and Helen Morrow’s case remains unsolved.  Eugene Martin disappeared August 12, 1984, while out delivering newspapers. August 12, 1984 — Eugene MartinEugene Martin got an early start at 5 a.m. to deliver the Des Moines Register newspaper on his regular paper route. His older brother normally accompanied him, but on this day Eugene went alone; the Iowa State Fair was in town, and Eugene wanted to earn some extra money to spend at the fair. Sometime between 5 and 5:45 a.m., residents living near Southwest 12th Street and Highview Drive observed Gene speaking to a clean-cut white male in his 30s. The teen folded papers as he spoke to the man, and the witnesses said the conversation appeared friendly — almost like a “father-son” sort of conversation. Less than an hour later, sometime between 6:10 and 6:15, the boy’s newspaper bag was found on the ground outside Des Moines — 10 folded papers still inside. Authorities issued a nationwide bulletin for a man described as between 30 and 40 years old, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, clean shaven and with a medium build. Federal agents wondered if Eugene’s disappearance might be connected to that of missing Register paperboy Johnny Gosch, 12, who’d gone missing two years earlier on September 5, 1982.  In July 2010, Eugene Martin’s aunt, Jeannie McDowell, told WHO-TV’s Aaron Brilbeck she believed her dying brother, Eugene’s father, Don Martin, still clung to life with hopes of learning news about his son before he passed. Don Martin died two days after Christmas that same year. Eugene Martin’s aunt, Jeannie McDowell, told WHO-TV’s Aaron Brilbeck in a July 2010 Iowa Cold Cases segment that she believed her dying brother — Eugene’s father Don Martin, in the final stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and also suffering from cancer — was hanging on and needed some type of closure in his son’s disappearance before he could let himself go. Gene’s mother, Janice, had recently died from diabetes without ever knowing what happened to her child. Don continued to read and clip from daily papers every article or reference he could find about Eugene, McDowell said. But like his wife, Don Martin died still waiting for answers; he passed away on December 27, 2010. Many Iowans believe both Johnny Gosch and Eugene Martin were kidnapped and sold into a pedophile sex ring, though nothing has ever been proven to support the theory. Martin’s remaining family members — like Johnny Gosch’s mother Noreen — continue to wait and hope for the one strong lead that breaks open the case and provides long-awaited answers and justice. Anyone with information regarding Dennis Clougherty’s unsolved murder is asked to contact the Cedar Falls Police Department at (319) 273-8612. Information concerning Helen Morrow’s unsolved murder should be directed to the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office at (641) 684-4350. Tips on the Eugene Martin case may be submitted to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010. |
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