Lucas, IA Area Cold Cases

Name

Arlys Ponce

Age

42

Cause of Death

Stabbing

Info

Arlys ponce — a 42-year-old mother of three — was found dead on the floor of her norwalk, iowa home on october 8, 1997. Ponce’s son had arrived at the residence at approximately 3:15 p.M., and when his mother failed to answer the door, he peered through a window and saw her body lying on the floor. The son contacted a neighbor, telling her he couldn’t get into the house but that he could see his mother lying on the floor. The neighbor contacted police, who entered the residence and discovered arlys ponce had been beaten and stabbed to death.

Agency

Iowa

Name

James Wood

Age

79

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

Late on saturday night, july 30, 2011, the home of bill and kay wood of rural norwalk, iowa, was destroyed by fire. Around midnight and into early sunday morning, five fire departments responded to 2698 highway r-63 in greenfield township just south of des moines’ city limits and the des moines international airport.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Kaidena Wood

Age

72

Cause of Death

Missing

Info

Late on saturday night, july 30, 2011, the home of bill and kay wood of rural norwalk, iowa, was destroyed by fire. Around midnight and into early sunday morning, five fire departments responded to 2698 highway r-63 in greenfield township just south of des moines’ city limits and the des moines international airport.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Cecil Gaddy

Age

19

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

He worked as a farm hand and repaired small engines. He taught himself to play guitar and enjoyed writing songs. He had a keen interest in computers, and routinely fixed problems for those who came to him for help. Clarke county in iowa clarke county in iowa osceola iowa osceola in clarke county life took its first cruel turn when the 16-year-old teen, his pregnant sister and her husband and another friend were passengers in a van and the driver lost control. When the vehicle started to roll, cecil used his body to protect his sister, but eventually was thrown through the windshield and left with a broken back. Paralyzed from the waist down, cecil struggled to regain his independence and keep up with his favorite activities. Though he couldn’t walk, he could still use his hands, and his trusty wheelchair could take him nearly anywhere he wanted to go

Agency

Iowa

Name

Christopher Axiotis

Age

16

Cause of Death

Undetermined

Info

The 16-year-old osceola youth’s incarcerated father had been in prison most of the teen’s life. His mother had left town to stay with a boyfriend, and even his little brother was locked up in a detention center. Clarke county in iowa clarke county in iowa osceola in clarke countyosceola in clark county axiotis had begun staying with friends, most recently with deb barringer in osceola. He’d dated angie ruth for a few years, and the two were working on getting back together. On tuesday, november 16, 1999, ruth sat in a classroom when word trickled into school about a body being found at the q pond park on osceola’s northwest edge. It was somebody from school, she heard, but at the time no one knew the victim’s identity. After school, ruth went home and got the call. Officials had identified the body as that of her longtime friend, chris axiotis.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Crystal Hunt

Age

21

Cause of Death

Missing

Info

Crystal sue hunt was reported missing to the wayne county sheriff’s office in corydon, iowa, on feb. 24, 1998. Corydon in wayne county corydon in wayne county crystal, who’d celebrated her 21st birthday just six days earlier and was pregnant, was last seen leaving her parents’ residence in centerville on feb. 24, 1998, with her boyfriend. He said they argued and she got out of the car. Crystal has not been seen nor heard from since. She is described as 5-foot-9 , 140-142 pounds, with blue eyes and blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, white sweatshirt, black and white checked stirrup pants and nike tennis shoes with blue spots on the tops.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Donald Murphy

Age

39

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

On friday, july 20, 1984, donald murphy was reported missing from a knoxville hospital. In november 1984 hunters found his skeletal remains in northern polk county just a few days prior to what would have been murphy’s 40th birthday. Donald john murphy was born november 9, 1944, at knoxville, the son of james francis and catherine bingaman murphy. He spent most of his life in the knoxville area. He graduated from knoxville high school in the class of 1963 and later entered the coast guard.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Dorothy Coon

Age

38

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

On monday evening, august 29, 1960, dorothy coon was found dead in a ditch alongside a county road in lucas county, iowa, about 12 miles north of chariton. Her body — clad in a dark green dress and white shoes — was discovered by a farmer mowing weeds. Her purse was found one mile away. The gravel road was a shortcut to coon’s parents’ farm east of chariton, and in the vicinity of albia, iowa.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Fred Sanders

Age

43

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

On november 11, 1966, hunter richard thorne found a man’s skeletal remains in a brushy area under the rock island railroad viaduct across the chariton river one and three quarters of a mile south of chariton, iowa, in lucas county. Papers and a wallet adjacent to the remains identified him as fred sanders, a u.S. Army veteran who served during world war ii with the 745th american anti-aircraft artillery gun battalion.

Agency

Iowa

Name

George Keller

Age

61

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

George raymond keller, a 61-year-old world war ii veteran, was found dead in his rural clarke county, iowa home in the early morning hours on tuesday, september 29, 1981.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Joseph Payne

Age

72

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

During the great depression, joseph payne happened to be in a chariton, iowa, grocery store where a woman and child stood ahead of him in line. The woman had lost her husband, had no job, and needed food to feed her child. She tried to purchase a few basic grocery items. She didn’t have enough money, the store clerk told her, and would have to put some of the items back. Payne did not hesitate to act; he not only paid for all the woman’s groceries, but handed her some additional cash — “to be used for her and the child,” he said. Payne was not a wealthy man, but had never married, had no children of his own, and didn’t drink; he owned his own home at 15th and armory, where he’d lived alone 40 years, and used what extra money he had to help others.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Shane Lass

Age

6

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

On wednesday, february 19, 1992, teri lass claimed that her 6-day-old newborn son, shane, was kidnapped from her unlocked car outside the norwalk, iowa, post office while she went inside to buy stamps. The infant’s body — wrapped in two blankets and a sleeper with tiny footballs on it — was discovered the following afternoon inside a garbage bag found in a cardboard box dumped in a rural ditch just south of norwalk.The tiny infant — born only the previous thursday, the day before valentine’s day — had been killed by blows to the head and the skin cold to the touch.It wasn’t the first time one of mark and teri lass’s babies met an untimely death; less than four years earlier on march 1, 1988, their 10-day-old infant daughter, tamara lynn lass, died of what officials initially thought was sudden infant death syndrome (sids), but what state medical examiner thomas bennett ruled as an “undetermined” cause of death.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Tamara Lass

Age

Cause of Death

Injury

Info

On tuesday, march 1, 1988, teri lass of norwalk, iowa, claimed she found her 10-day-old infant daughter, tamara lynn lass, unresponsive.

Agency

Iowa

Name

William Douglas Sr

Age

63

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

On february 11, 2004, family members of william leroy douglas, sr., 63, reported to the clarke county sheriff’s office in osceola that mr. Douglas had disappeared from his rural woodburn, iowa residence.Douglas was last seen at approximately 10:30 a.M. On wednesday, february 4, at his residence in the vicinity of the 3000 block of pacific street. (some reports provide the time as 1:30 p.M.)he may have been dressed in black “carhartt” bib overalls, “wrangler” jeans, a light green jacket and black boots.

Agency

Iowa