From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa man who initially called 911 to report that a woman had suffered a “heroin overdose” has been charged with first-degree murder after officers found a blood-spattered board at the scene. The Gazette reports that 62-year-old Arthur Flowers, of Cedar Rapids, was booked into the Linn County Jail on Sunday morning in the death of Emily Elizabeth Leonard. Officers found her dead in a bathroom with “obvious head injuries” after Flowers called 911 around 6 p.m. Saturday. Investigators suspect she was struck with the bloodied board that also was found in the bathroom, according to a Linn County criminal complaint.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa agriculture officials announced Sunday that another 15,0000 chickens and 37,000 turkeys will have to be killed after bird flu spread to two more commercial flocks. Since the outbreak began a month ago, millions of fowl have been killed, many of them in Iowa, which is the nation’s leading egg producer. The latest cases were at a commercial turkey flock in Sac County and in a flock of commercial breeding chickens in Humboldt County. Because the virus is so infectious and deadly for commercial poultry, entire flocks are destroyed and composted on the farms when they are infected.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld much of a 2019 jury verdict that found the state discriminated against a transgender prison employee by denying him the use of men’s restrooms and locker rooms. However, the court dismissed a portion of the case that centered on sex discrimination. The decision means Jesse Vroegh has won his discrimination lawsuit based on gender identity and the jury’s $120,000 damages verdict awarded for emotional distress. Vroegh is a former nurse at the state’s Mitchellville prison for women. The decision in which the full court recognized gender identity discrimination for transgender workers under state civil rights law is a significant LGBTQ victory.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Iowa man has been charged in the death of a woman who tumbled off the balcony of a third-floor apartment in February. West Des Moines police said in a news release that 27-year-old Nathen Cameron was charged Friday with first-degree murder and domestic assault with strangulation, The release said police discovered through their investigation that the death of 23-year-old Trisha Kunze was “not an accident, but rather an intentional act.” Cameron has been taken Dallas County Jail, where he also faces charges of willful injury, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and a drug stamp tax violation.
KELLOGG, Iowa (AP) – Two people who helped another person dispose of the body of an Iowa murder victim have been sentenced to prison. The Des Moines Register reports that 56-year-old Julia Cox was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison and 59-year-old Roy Garner was sentenced to nine years for their roles in the September 2020 killing of 44-year-old Michael Williams, of Grinnell. Cox pleaded guilty in December to abuse of a corpse and accessory after the fact. Garner also pleaded guilty to those counts and a count of destroying evidence. Prosecutors say Cox and Garner helped Cox’s son, 33-year-old Steven Vogel, move Williams’ body from the basement of the Grinnell home the three defendants shared. Williams body was found burning in a ditch on Sept. 16, 2020.
