Davenport authorities are trying to determine the cause of a fire that killed one person. The victim was found Sunday afternoon on the second floor of an apartment building. Firefighters encountered smoke in the main hallway and sprinklers activated in the apartment. The sprinklers had put out the fire, which was contained to the apartment. Firefighters found the victim dead inside the apartment. The name of the victim has not been released.
Authorities have identified the victim of a fatal hit and run in Pisgah. Law enforcement reported to Dave’s Old Home Cafe in Pisgah at 10 p.m. Thursday, where 30-year-old Caleb Solberg of Moorhead was found dead. Witnesses identified all parties involved in the hit and run, authorities said. Police charged 28-year-old Kristopher Erlbacher of Woodbine with first-degree murder; he’s being held without bond. A disagreement between the two men apparently led to the hit and run.
A Des Moines man has been sentenced to life in prison for beating his mother to death with a crowbar and then remaining with her body for five days before contacting authorities. 33-year-old Christopher Thompson was sentenced Friday for first-degree murder in connection with the March death of Paula Thompson. Court documents show she had been trying to get her son to move out of her home and had confided to friends and on social media that she was frightened of him. Thompson has already asked the court to set aside his guilty verdict.
A Des Moines man is charged with vehicular homicide after a crash killed a woman and injured her husband. Des Moines police say witnesses told them 67-year-old Bertoldo Zuniga was driving erratically and speeding before the crash Thursday involving four vehicles. A woman in one vehicle, 71-year-old Linda Vander Hart, died of her injuries and her husband was seriously hurt. Investigators say Zuniga was driving drunk when he didn’t slow down and hit three vehicles at a light. Zuniga is facing four charges, including vehicular homicide by OWI, and several traffic violations.
