Crawfordsville, IA Area Cold Cases

Name

Douglas Shondel II

Age

21

Cause of Death

Undetermined

Info

Many things don’t add up in 21-year-old douglas james shondel ii’s mysterious march 2001 death. Jefferson county in iowa jefferson county in iowa fairfield in jefferson countyfairfield in jefferson county shondel’s pregnant girlfriend, crystal knight, told officials on sunday, march 11, 2001, that she’d found him unresponsive in the bathtub of the couple’s 100 n. 16th st. Apartment in fairfield, iowa, the water still running from the shower. Rather than ask to use the next-door neighbor’s telephone to call 911, knight walked one and one-half blocks to gather some of the couple’s friends, who returned to the 16th street apartment with her to allegedly clean everything before anyone called emts.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Brandy Shepherd

Age

29

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

Brandy mae shepherd-margita, 29, of anamosa, iowa, was found dead in a henry county farm field west of wayland near highway 78 on friday, august 9, 2019. Wayland in henry county (wikipedia) the mother of four young children had been missing since august 2. The henry county sheriff’s office said a farmhand found her body around noon while checking on livestock and the property’s fence line.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Jackie Douthart

Age

24

Cause of Death

Murder

Info

Jackie leigh douthart, the mother of a small child, was reported missing to the mount pleasant police department on may 22, 2011, when she didn’t return home after a night out with friends. When last seen, jackie was wearing a zebra-striped shirt, a black vest, blue jeans and flip flops. Douthart’s disappearance, along with that of elizabeth syperda — a 22-year-old mount pleasant woman who went missing july 17, 2000 — frustrated both investigators and residents of mount pleasant, a city of about 8,700 people in southeastern iowa

Agency

Iowa

Name

Near Reservoir

Age

27

Cause of Death

Fire

Info

On labor day, september 1, 1975, two young motorcyclists discovered the charred bodies of two persons inside a scorched pickup truck near the coralville reservoir in johnson county, iowa. The victims were later identified as karen ann christensen, 27, of cedar rapids, ia, and her cousin, larry gordon wells, 25, of marathon, iowa.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Ronald Lipsius

Age

30

Cause of Death

Shooting

Info

Ronald f. Lipsius, a 30-year-old iowa city grocer, was shot to death on monday, may 16, 1966 as he chased a woman bandit who’d just scooped $35 from a cash register in his 812 south summit street store.According to published reports, a young woman entered the clover farm food market at about 8:30 a.M. And asked for some sliced ham. While lipsius began slicing the meat, the woman snatched the money from the cash register and then fled north on foot.Several people who’d witnessed the robbery-shooting described the female bandit as being in her early twenties, 5′ 09″ and weighing around 175 pounds. They said she wore jeans, a headscarf and horn-rimmed glasses. The woman and an unknown male got into a 1957 pontiac, white over black, shortly after the woman shot lipsius.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Sarah Ottens

Age

20

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

Sarah ann ottens, a 20-year-old university of iowa student from morrison, illinois, was assaulted and suffocated in her rienow hall room in iowa city on tuesday, march 13, 1973.Student brenda simpson of waterloo discovered ottens’ body in room 429 just before midnight.Six months after the murder, university of iowa student and football player james wendall hall, 20, of toledo, ohio, was charged in ottens’ murder based on fingerprints and dna evidence found at the crime scene.In may 1974, he was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison at fort madison.The defense began a number of appeals, though the iowa supreme court upheld hall’s conviction and the u.S. Supreme court refused to hear the case.

Agency

Iowa