Powersville, IA Area Cold Cases

Name

Alex Bullerman

Age

18

Cause of Death

Shooting

Info

Waterloo, iowa, was shot in the college hill commercial district adjacent to the university of northern iowa campus in cedar falls early on saturday, november 11, 2017.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Dennis Clougherty

Age

23

Cause of Death

Shooting

Info

On monday, august 12, 1974, sometime between the hours of 10:30 p.M. And midnight, someone shot 23-year-old dennis clougherty five times in the chest and left his body along union road, south of first street in cedar falls, iowa. A passing motorist discovered the body early the following morning about 100 yards off u.S. Route 20 in black hawk county.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Julie Benning

Age

18

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

She had a quick smile and a zany laugh. She was bright, beautiful, spunky, and ambitious. She loved getting out to meet people and making things happen. She loved live music and the weekly top 100 countdown. Her creativity spilled over into every aspect of her life; she not only designed and sewed her own dresses, but painted landscapes and portraits of all things closest to her heart.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Mattie Zabel

Age

45

Cause of Death

Missing

Info

Mattie lou zabel, a 45-year-old teacher’s aide who worked at river hills school in cedar falls, iowa, was reported missing to the cedar falls police department on march 21, 1978. Black hawk county in iowa black hawk county in iowa cedar falls in black hawk countycedar falls in black county zabel was last seen by her family on march 21, 1978, in her hometown of cedar falls. She left behind not only her husband, jack, and three children, but also a frozen chicken thawing in the kitchen sink that was to be the family’s dinner. No clothing was taken, and she would not have had the assets to just walk away. There was no indication that she just got frustrated and left.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Norman Gant Jr

Age

21

Cause of Death

Shooting

Info

Norman carroll gant jr., 21, of waterloo, iowa, was shot in the 1800 block of tremont street in cedar falls, iowa, on sunday, june 1, 2014. Police chief jeff olson said police were dispatched to the area at 1:36 a.M., where they found gant lying in a yard with life-threatening injuries from a gunshot wound. Gant — who lived at 1725 e. Fourth street in waterloo — was found on the lawn of a residential home next to a rental property where a loud party occurred saturday night.Paramedics transported gant to sartori hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. In a press release, police said the shooter “remains at large” but that the public in the area was not at risk. They did not release a description of the shooter.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Tammy Nitcher

Age

2

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

First, it was 2-1/2-month-old tammy in january 1972. Two months later in march, 2-year-old sarah. Fast forward four years — and to another state — to 3-month-old crystal. And finally, almost a year to the day after crystal’s death, the youngest of them all — misti, just 5 weeks old.One by one, helen nitcher’s daughters all died under mysterious circumstances.Patterns got missed. Medical examiners struggled with inconclusive autopsy reports. But helen c. (née tenery) nitcher, later known as crystal price, had two dead daughters within 2-1/2 months — in iowa, that is — until nitcher relocated and the pattern repeated in abilene, texas.Two more dead infant daughters followed.News reports on the four girls’ successive deaths also had a strikingly familiar ring; officials reported all three infants, as well as the 2-year-old, dead on arrival.The mother’s explanations for the short-lived lives were conflicting at best; the stories varied depending on the city and state where the obituaries appeared, leaving astute readers as mystified as iowa and texas medical examiners, who never could quite pinpoint exact causes or manners of death.Iowa coroners had no way of knowing nitcher left iowa after her first two daughters’ deaths, only to have two more infants die in texas. And texas officials apparently were unaware of the two previous iowa deaths.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Sarah Marie Nitcher

Age

2

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

First, it was 2-1/2-month-old tammy in january 1972. Two months later in march, 2-year-old sarah. Fast forward four years — and to another state — to 3-month-old crystal. And finally, almost a year to the day after crystal’s death, the youngest of them all — misti, just 5 weeks old.One by one, helen nitcher’s daughters all died under mysterious circumstances.Patterns got missed. Medical examiners struggled with inconclusive autopsy reports. But helen c. (née tenery) nitcher, later known as crystal price, had two dead daughters within 2-1/2 months — in iowa, that is — until nitcher relocated and the pattern repeated in abilene, texas.Two more dead infant daughters followed.News reports on the four girls’ successive deaths also had a strikingly familiar ring; officials reported all three infants, as well as the 2-year-old, dead on arrival.The mother’s explanations for the short-lived lives were conflicting at best; the stories varied depending on the city and state where the obituaries appeared, leaving astute readers as mystified as iowa and texas medical examiners, who never could quite pinpoint exact causes or manners of death.Iowa coroners had no way of knowing nitcher left iowa after her first two daughters’ deaths, only to have two more infants die in texas. And texas officials apparently were unaware of the two previous iowa deaths.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Valerie Klossowsky

Age

14

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

On tuesday morning, june 15, 1971, the partially clad body of 14-year-old valerie lynn klossowsky of waverly, iowa, was found on a creek bank under a bridge on a lonely country road three miles west of denver and about 10 miles southeast of waverly. An autopsy indicated the waverly-shell rock junior high school student had been strangled sometime late sunday or early monday.

Agency

Iowa

Name

William Meadows

Age

36

Cause of Death

Shooting

Info

Town marshal william lawrence meadows, 36, was shot and killed on monday, january 23, 1961, while investigating a burglary in progress at the hartmann packing plant in plainfield, iowa.Meadows, who’d worked his family’s farm for years and also volunteered as a scoutmaster, had barely stepped through the packing plant’s front entrance just after 2:15 a.M. Before being shot through the heart by what authorities believed to be a high-powered 30-30-caliber deer rifle. Meadows died instantly.

Agency

Iowa

Name

Norman Gant

Age

21

Cause of Death

Gun/Firearm

Info

Agency

Waterloo Police Department

Name

Gary Lack

Age

58

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

Cause of death: drowning (in own blood) after a hospice nurse illegally administered a fatal dosage of an unprescribed drug she’d stolen from another client original investigating agency: medicare, iowa board of nursing, and iowa department of inspection and appea

Agency

Iowa

Name

Rhonda Knutson

Age

22

Cause of Death

Homicide

Info

Early on monday, september 7, 1992, rhonda anette knutson was murdered while working the 9 p.M. To 5 a.M. Shift at the phillips 66 convenience store in williamstown, iowa, in chickasaw county.The store manager found knutson’s body monday morning around 4:45 a.M. In a room near the back of the store.The williamstown store was open 24 hours a day and located six miles south of new hampton on u.S. Highway 63 and one-quarter mile north of highway junctions 63, 18, and 346.An autopsy concluded knutson died after being bludgeoned to death, and there were no signs of sexual assault.

Agency

Iowa