From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A 17-year-old suspect is now charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in the shooting death of an 18-year-old in Des Moines. Authorities on Tuesday announced the charges against Quarian Deonte Moore. He was arrested Thursday on several warrants unrelated to the killing. Police say further investigation led to the charges in the Nov. 14 shooting death of Dean Titus Deng of Des Moines. Deng was found in a vehicle with a gunshot injury and died at a hospital. A second person was treated for a minor gunshot injury. The killing was the 12th in Des Moines in 2021.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Milton Andrew Munson’s obituary recalled his life as an Air Force veteran, a pharmacist, husband and father, and as a Nebraska football fan. That was evident in one line in the obit, which reads: “In lieu of flowers, please place an irresponsibly large wager on Nebraska beating Iowa.” The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the obit, written by Munson’s sons, ran Nov. 18 in the Hastings Tribune. It caught fire on social media and captured the attention of two radio hosts. Soon, more than $5,000 had been contributed for the big bet. Some of the money will go to Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The Huskers are a point-and-a-half underdog in Friday night’s game.
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – An Illinois man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing his former girlfriend and leaving her body at the Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. KCRG-TV reports that 22-year-old Richard Forsythe of Galena, Illinois, was sentenced Tuesday in the February death of 20-year-old Jennifer Lopez. Authorities say she was stabbed at least 15 times. Forsythe pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and won’t be eligible for parole for 35 years. Relatives and friends of Lopez packed the Dubuque County courtroom, many wearing pink shirts reading “Justice for Jennifer Lopez.”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Two southeast Iowa teenagers charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of their high school Spanish teacher asked a state court judge Tuesday to lower their bond so they could be released from jail. But prosecutors asked bond be maintained at $1 million or even raised to $2 million. Willard Noble Chaiden Miller and Jeremy Everett Goodale, both 16, are accused of killing their high school Spanish teacher Nohema Graber in Fairfield. Her body was found Nov. 2 in a park. Goodale’s lawyer Nicole Jensen says $1 million bond is so excessive it amounts to pretrial detention without bond. Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown says the brutal nature of the crime justifies it. Judge Joel Yates says he will file his decision next week.
CENTERVILLE, Iowa (AP) – An investigation continues after police officers fatally shot a man near the south-central Iowa town of Centerville. The shooting happened Sunday after officers received a call about a domestic assault outside of town. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said Monday that two Centerville officers and an Appanoose County sheriff’s deputy “were engaged in an officer-involved shooting that resulted in one person killed.” The DCI identified the man killed as 45-year-old Kevin Arbogast of Centerville. No further information about the shooting was released. The officers involved were placed on administrative pending the investigation. No officers were injured.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa judge has ruled that 2019 state law passed by Republicans prohibiting Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment surgeries for transgender residents violates the Iowa Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection clause of the Iowa Consitution. Judge William Kelly ordered the Iowa Department of Human Services to provide coverage for sex reassignment surgeries when ordered to treat gender dysphoria. The ruling is a victory for Aiden Vasquez and Mika Covington, two Iowans represented by the ACLU of Iowa, who sought surgeries under their Medicaid plans but were denied. ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen says it’s an historic win for civil rights in Iowa. Gov. Kim Reynolds says she disagrees with the district court’s ruling and is exploring all options moving forward.
