Counties

To read about unsolved murders in a particular Iowa county, click on a location from the alphabetical list below.

Articles are added frequently. Check back soon for additional stories.
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☛ A ☚

Adair County

• Halloween Homicide: Murder of Walter Schenck 1902

Adams County

• Dead In a Corn Field

Allamakee County

• Two Guns, Two Policies, One Woman: Murder of Henry Duffy 1897

Appanoose County

• The Baby in the Pasteboard Box: Murder of a Newborn Girl 1881
• Ground Into a Hundred Pieces: Murder of Elmer Anderson 1897
• Black Hand and the Coal Miner: Murder of Nicollo Vinceri 1920
• The Big Swede: Murder of Carl Axel Deer 1925

Audubon County

☛ B ☚

Benton County

• Poison Kiss: Murder of Edwin Hodges 1869
• Christmas Day Death on Mud Creek: Murder of Henry Stephens 1876
• Teatotaling Klanswoman: Murder of Myrtle Cook 1925

Black Hawk County

• “A Vaudeville of Troubles”: Murder of Deborah Simmons 1879
• “Very Maw of Death”: Murder of Officer Fred P. Widmann 1908
• Leave Town or Die: Murder of Richard Huggins 1914
• Ancient Vendetta: Murder of Joseph Busemi 1915
• Good Neighborhood Kid: Murder of Ronald Butler 1977

Boone County

• Death in the Rail Yard: Murder of Bill Dayton 1894
• Giving Away Money: Murder of John Zauhar 1947
• The Scarred Man: Murder of Arnold Sansgaard 1984

Bremer County

• Explosion in the Night: Murder of William Meadows 1961

Buchanan County

• West of Coffin’s Grove: Unresolved Murder of J.N. Covey 1856
• Down in the Dark: Murder of Officer Pitt M. Doxsie 1897

Buena Vista County

• Stealing Away: Murder of John Ford 1880
• Struck Down: Murder of Frank Sandquist 1904

Butler County

☛ C ☚

Calhoun County

• The Clue in the Dress Pattern: Murder of Fred Quade 1897

Carroll County

• The Boy on the Train: Murder of Addis Lyman 1905

Cass County

• Two Coffins: Death of Mary and Murder of Eli T. Coffin 1873

Cedar County

• Thrown Away: Murder of Sandra Jo Pittman 1980

Cerro Gordo County

• Apparition: Murder of Edward Hughes 1898
• “Thin Veil Over Her Face”: Murder of Chester N. Van Horn 1914
• Burning Murder?: Death of Lucille DeDries 1962
• Death of the American Dream: Murder of Andrew Hatges 1968

Cherokee County

• Wages in Gold: Murder of John Hill Beal 1893
• Killer in the Tombstone: Murders of Lena and Martin Schultz 1893
• The Eccentric Baggage Hauler: Murder of William Kniffin 1917
• The Burning Shack: Murder of Martin Cummins 1925
• Shock: Suspicious Death of Neva Andrews 1950

Chickasaw County

Clarke County

• Corpse in the Pump House: Murder of Mary Gilfillan 1896
• Poison in the Whiskey: Murder of Leonard DeLong 1904

Clay County

• Undercover: Murder of Louis H. Dayton 1929

Clayton County

• The Money Lender: Murder of Gustav Rechfus 1881
• “Bones In A Haystack”: Murder of Justus Herwig 1903

Clinton County

• Blood by Lamplight: Murder of Esther Alger 1872
• The Irish Carpenter: Murder of William Martin 1885
• Last Accounts: Murder of Henry Nurre 1890
• “Thick Veil of Mystery” On New Year’s Eve: Murder of C.H. Wessell 1891
• Death Along the Lincoln Highway: Murders of Homer and Rose Brownfield 1922
• Grifters and Cons: Murder of “Lucille Marvin” 1937
• The Widow in the Alley: Murder of Lillian Chapman 1950
• Crossing the Line: Murder of Arlene Adler 1967 Written by David Jindrich
• Shooting at “Ike’s Peak”: Murder of Edwin Jacobs 1972
• The Gruff Good Man: Murder of Ewald Bandixen 1974
• Outside the Welcome Inn: Murder of Judith Reed 1974
• When the Dogs Didn’t Bark: Murder of Robert M. Clary 1982

Crawford County

☛ D ☚

Dallas County

• Under the Willows: Murder of John Doe 1904
• Gun Battle in the Night: Murder of Virgil Untied 1931
• Among the Tropical Fish: Murder of Myrtle Cumpston 1965
• The Shy, Quiet Victim: Murder of Emma Lewis 1976

Davis County

Decatur County

• Pointblank: Unavenged Murder of James Alfrey 1866

Delaware County

• Elgin Watch Case #138033: Murder of John Doe 1910

Des Moines County

• “A Miserly Life”: Suspicious Death of Gideon Hall 1884
• The Gun in the Privy: Murder of Louisa Fritzsche 1893
• What the Medium Saw: Murder of John Pierson 1904
• Gas Light: Suspicious Deaths of Clara & Alfred Mellor, Jr. 1920
• Appointment With Death: Murder of Dorothy Miller 1969
• Long Creek Close to Home: Murder of Mary Lange 1970

Dickinson County

• “Shot Into Eternity”: Murder of John Legall 1897

Dubuque County

• Bound and Gagged: Murder of Francis Rafferty 1964

☛ E☚

Emmet County

☛ F ☚

Fayette County

• Black Hand Vendetta? Murder of Phoebe Jane Vigoletti 1926
• Butter and Egg Day: Murder of Nels Louvring 1933

Floyd County

• Driftwood: Murder of an Unknown Child 1859

Franklin County

• The Poison Strawberry: Murder of Lelia Long 1896

Fremont County

• Bullied and Bantered: Unresolved Murder of Jesse Wilkerson 1869
• The Poisoned Family: Rhode-Elefson Murders 1948

☛ G ☚

Greene County

Grundy County

• The White-Spotted Woman: Suspicious Death of Kate Slifer 1903

Guthrie County

• Deadly Shot: Murder of Roscoe D. Harris 1963
• Mother’s Day Death: Murder of Lillian Randolph 1965 (disappeared)

☛ H ☚

Hamilton County

• Miller’s Toll: Murder of John Smith Ross 1869
• Riding the Blinds: Murder of Elmer Dudrey 1896

Hancock County

• Horse Medicine: Murder of James Banda 1904

Hardin County

• Note in the Stocking: Murder of Kate Slifer 1903

Harrison County

• Unwitnessed: Murder of Washington Irving Crow 1875
• Deadly Tramps: Murder of Allan F. Shoemaker 1925

Henry County

Howard County

• Cold Deep Waters: Murder of Connie Craft 1975

Humboldt County

☛ I ☚

Ida County

Iowa County

• A Dream of Murder: Mysterious Disappearance of Mr. Thomas 1857
• At the Crossroads Store: Murder of George Hardy 1929
• Death at the Morticians’ Convention: Murders of Rose Burkert and Roger Atkison 1980

☛ J ☚

Jackson County

• Dying for Land: Murder of Andrew Brown 1852
• The Broken Clevis: Murder of Samuel Cronk 1867
• “The Whole Affair is a Deep Mystery”: Murder of Adelbert Rowland 1897
• The Woman Who Bought Her Own Tombstone: Murder of Sarah Tracy 1935
• The Neighbors: Murder of Hulda Emma Fischer 1975 Written by David Jindrich

Jasper County

• Narrowly Escaping the Lynch Mob: Murder of Mr. Knisley 1848
• Dead at the Gate: Murder of Jeremiah Zollinger 1895
• Sandbagged: Murder of George Carter 1898
• Death on the Way to Sturgis: Murder of James M. Bailey, Jr. 1975

Jefferson County

• Death by Politics: Unresolved Murder of Silas McCart 1860

Johnson County

• The Coffee That Killed the Frog: Murder of Winfield Carpenter 1904
• Babe in the Woods: Murder of an Infant Girl 1910
• “He’s Got a Roll”: Murder of Jared Ham 1911
• “My God, It’s a Man”: Murder of Robert McCullough 1947
• “Brutal Killer”: Murders of Beverly Brenneman and Ruby Ciler 1953
• “Right Place, Wrong Time”: Murder of Edward Kriz 1962
• Destination Unknown: Murder of Geraldine Lempke 1968
• Spring Break Killer: Murder of Sarah Ann Ottens 1973

Jones County

• The “Criminal Operation”: Murder of Belle Sutliff 1897
• Burning Mystery: Murder of Henry Hults 1963

☛ K ☚

Keokuk County

• “Love and Absence of Love”: Suspicious Death Of William F. Lewis 1903

Keota County

• Body in the Pasture: Murder of Elmer Penderson 1881
• In the Corner Under a Blanket: Murder of George Sulzberger 1898

Kossuth County

• Body in the Pasture: Murder of Elmer Penderson 1881
• In the Corner Under a Blanket: Murder of George Sulzberger 1898

☛ L ☚

Lee County

• Back to the Window: Murder of William Mullikin 1902
• The “Inoffensive, Harmless Man”: Murder of John Murphy 1904
• Death at the Box Company: Murder of Earl Paris 1928
• Brothel Double Homicide: Murders of Willard Woodring and Richard Buchanan 1960

Linn County

• “Old Feud Fueled By Drink”: Murder of Nathaniel Carnagy 1847
• Summer Night in the Park: Murder of J.H. Peck 1931
• The Aspiring Actress: Murder of Marlene Padfield 1959
• Death in a Cubicle: Murder of Fred Coste 1959
• Destination Unknown: Murder of Geraldine Maggert 1968
• Foul Play: Murder of Paula Oberbroeckling 1970
• The Dead Suspect: Traci Ann Evenson

Louisa County

Lucas County

Lyon County

☛ M ☚

Madison County

Mahaska County

• “Furiously Angry”: Murder of Wesley Wilson 1894
• Stingiest Man In Town: Murder of Edward Schmidt 1972
• Hired Killer: Murder of Mary Ann Green 1987

Marion County

Marshall County

• “None But a Frenzied Woman”: Murder of Anna Wiese 1893
• The Tramp at Breakfast: Murder of Andrew Hart 1896
• Mangled Bodies: Murders of Jack Wilson and Con Matthews 1899
• A Woman and Her Dog: Murder of Maude Stubbs Lambert 1902
• The Dead Bulgarian: Murder of Welio Tsnoff 1910
• Family Annihilation: Murders of James, Earl, and Mary Hardy 1910
• The Apron in the Shack: Murder of Erma (Irma) Caldwell 1924
• Lonely Hearts Scam and the Veteran: Michael Featherstone 1924

Mills County

• “Walking Corpse”: Suspicious Death of Nancy Duncan 1880
• Never Three Without Four? Murder of George Shackell 1929
• Staged Scene: Murder of Charles Shamblen 1936

Mitchell County

• “A Slendid Gentleman, A Good Scholar”: Murder of Price V. Evans

Monona County

Monroe County

Montgomery County

• Death of the Photographer’s Daughter: Murder of Clara Gray 1898
• Knockout Drugs: Murder of Harry Salisbury 1904

Muscatine County

• Lumberyard Tramps: Murder of Officer Jacob Neibert 1896
• “Sensational and Cold-Blooded Affair”: Murder of Arthur Mead 1903

☛ O ☚

O’Brien County

• Poisoned and “Outraged”: Murder of Maud Straw 1896
• John Doe 1917

Osceola County

☛ P ☚

Page County

Palo Alto County

Plymouth County

• After the Merry-Go-Round: Murder of Alta Marie Braun 1917
• 65 Cents: Murder of “Smitty” Smith 1924

Pocahontas County

Polk County

• “The Peaceable Negro”: Murder of John Allen 1864
• Flesh and Blood: Murder of Aaron Smith 1864
• Death Going West: “Apple Grove John Doe” 1866
• The Veteran Who Lived Alone: Murder of Henry J. Millard 1874
• Death Comes to the Mayor: Murder of Robert W. Stubbs 1882
• “Violent Excitement”: Murder of Robert Lee Clingan 1883
• The Cooler: Suspicious Death of David T. Todd 1887
• The One-Armed Man: Murder of William A. Hunt 1893
• The Well Digger: Murder of Peter Hendrickson 1895
• Picture Imperfect: Suspicious Death of Oliver Pearson 1896
• Below the Melan Arch Bridge: Murder of Baby John Doe 1898
• “All Round Crook”: Murder of Joplin Red West 1900
• The Christmas Eve Brawl: Murder of Charles Johnson 1901
• After Church: Murders of Lena and Tommy Peterson 1902
• Acting Oddly: Murder of Daniel Kelleher 1904
• Double Identity: Murder of George Griswold 1905
• Taking the Waters: Murder of Frank Callahan 1905
• Mistaken Identity: Murder of Peter Ross 1909
• Dead From a “Wallop”: Murder of John Schnellbacker (Schnellbächer) 1913
• “Butcher, Baker”: Murder of Otto H. Samp 1916
• Black Hand At the Bridge: Murder of Francis “Frank” Oliverio 1917
• At Closing Time: Murder of Officer George W. Mattern 1918
• Alleyway Robbery: Murder of Carlisle Hunter 1919
• The Gardener and The Black Hand: Murder of Dominic Sposeto 1919
• Skull By the River: Murder of Jane Doe 1920
• Strangled With His Own Necktie: Murder of David Faulkner 1920
• All Souls’ Day: Murders of Sister Mary Virginis and Sister Mary Rosalita 1921
• “Fear of the Dread Black Hand”: Murder of Domenico Baretto 1921
• Deadly Taxi Party: Murder of Thaddeus Mitchell 1922
• “The King of Little Italy”: Murder of Angelo Ferrari 1922
• “Myself, Meadow, Hawk”: Murder of Evelyn Lee 1930
• Last Day of Work: Murder of Floyd Alloway 1937
• After A Game of Bridge: Murder of Anne M. McGrevey 1948
• The Defective Shotgun: Murders of Claud and Anna Miller 1949
• Cab in the Snow-Filled Ditch: Murder of Leon Groves 1951
• Under the Court Avenue Bridge: Murder of Charles Sanders 1954
• On the Front Porch: Murder of Rose Grandanette 1958
• Nearly Home: Murder of Anna Marie Medici 1962
• “Cold-Blooded Sadistic Type”: Murder of Ramona Jean Cox 1962
• Below Zero: Murder of George Geary 1963
• Cold Night Out: Murder of Donald Nervig 1965
• Mother’s Day Death: Murder of Lillian Randolph 1965 (body found)
• “A Real Nice Girl”: Murder of Janice Snow 1965
• Death at the Chamberlain: Murder of Judy Ann Corbin 1967
• The Neighborhood Grocer: Murder of David R. Morris 1973
• Gunfire At the Holiday Inn: Murders of Danny Peters and Luis Trujillo, Jr. 1974

Pottawattamie County

• The Wrong Man: Murder of Joseph Hair 1888
• Coldblooded Desperado: Murder of Officer George W. Wilson 1907
• Neither Rain, Nor Snow, Nor Death: Murder of Walter Baldwin 1921
• In the Garage: Murder of Henry Christensen 1941
• Taxi Ride to Death: Murder of George Massouris 1950
• “Heaven is My Home”: Murder of Gloria Slump 1967

Poweshiek County

• Highwaymen: Murders of Andrew and Nancy Casteel 1856
• A Spoonful of Medicine Makes the Poison Go Down: Murder of Sarah Kirker 1897

☛ R ☚

Ringgold County

☛ S ☚

Sac County

• The Battered Corpse: Murder of John Doe 1858

Scott County

• Too Long at the Fair: Murder of Robert McQuestian 1873
• Assassination: Murders of Lizzie and Andrew Brownlie 1874
• Labor Day Excursion: Murder of Alexander McArthur 1899
• Delirium Tremens: Suspicious Death of Sam Anderson 1901
• The Beckoning Hand: Murder of Alma Harrison 1905
• The Gentle Man: The Murder of Charles Englehart 1935
• “The Tattooed Lady”: Murder of Margaret Treese 1947
• “Maniac” in the Drugstore: Murder of Lucille Bacher 1955
• A Daughter’s Quest for Justice: Murder of Clarence Raymond Case 1961

Shelby County

Sioux County

• Dark Byway: Murder of Marshal Joseph Kashmetter (Kaeshmetter, Kashmitter) 1911

Story County

• The Secret Diary: Murder of Fred Hollingsworth 1933
• Who Killed the Corn Canning Czar? Murder of Henry Chavis 1948
• A Story Yet to be Told: Murder of Sheila Jean Collins 1968
• Dying For Drugs: Murder of Terry Vanden Hull 1974

☛ T ☚

Tama County

• The Czech Marble Cutter: Murder of Matej Straka 1878
• Green Corn Dance Tragedy: Murder of Se-Ton-a-Qua 1897
• Drinking Bout: Suspicious Death of John F. Brennan 1898
• “Trio of Thugs”: Murder of Officer Rolland P. Smith 1901
• “The Belle of the Tribe”: Murder of Ma-Sha-Che 1905
• “No Women Or Children Allowed”: Murder of Winfield Scott Rouse 1929

Taylor County

• Charred Remains: Murder of Jane Otis 1921

☛ U ☚

Union County

• Blood in the Barn: Suspicious Death of John L. Rogers 1915

☛ V ☚

Van Buren

☛ W ☚

Wapello County

• Dead in Bed: Murder of Thomas Tolbert 1877
• Bright, Bold Blackmailer: Murder of Alice Kelley 1888
• “Foully Treated”: Murder of Thomas McGary 1892
• Murder Behind the Meat Market: David P. Sutton 1893
• The Wabash Trestle: Murder of James Chamberlain 1893
• Mistaken Identity: Murder of Peter Ross 1909 (body found)
• Letters in Russian: Murder of Ben Mikovitch: 1914
• “No Necking Here”: Murder of Harry Overturf 1925
• Forgotten and Unsolved: Murder of Melvin Royale Adams 1983

Warren County

• The Brave Girl: Murder of Augusta Kading 1877
• Lynch Law: Murder of Reuben Proctor 1877
• The Frozen Body: Murder of James Edgar “Ed” Knotts 1895
• The Redhead in the Strawstack: Murder of Jane Doe 1925

Washington County

Wayne County

• The Insane Tramp: Murder of Will Sargent 1897

Webster County

• A Bitter Taste: Murders of Alta Paul and Maria Dulin 1896
• Riding the Blinds: Murder of Elmer Dudrey 1896
• A Mother Never Forgotten: Murder of Angela Altman 1981

Winnebago County

Winneshiek County

• The Dead Horse Trader: Murder of William Clugston 1867
• “The Menial Drudge”: Murder of Lovina Kneeskern 1876
• Strictly Strychnine: Murder of John P. Stickles 1876

Woodbury County

• “That Old —“: Murder of John Rohrer 1893
• Boxcar Hanging: Murder of Leopold Glatzer 1895
• “Lilies of Soul-Less Sin”: Murders of Max Noack and Ora Minter 1895
• “True Disciple of Pollyana”: Murder of Thecla Gerken 1917
• “Hacked to Pieces”: Murder of John McGill 1920
• Chinese Tong Ritual: Murder of John “Jack” Fong 1924
• Death at the Hardware Store: Murders of Harry Jones and William Laugesen 1925
• Mayhem: Murder of W.A. Davies 1925
• Sisters Act: Suspicious Deaths of Josephine Goodwin and Elizabeth Anthony 1925
• Slaughter of Innocents: Sioux City Babies 1925
• Third Time, No Charm: Murder of Benjamin “Barney” Kaplan 1925
• “Stick ‘Em Up, Louie”: Murder of Louis Friedman 1930
• In the Big Muddy: Murder of Sherman Casper 1935
• Valentine Death: Murder of Catherine Decora 1965

Worth County

Wright County

• The Fatal Glass of Beer: Murder of George Diggle 1888