|
Location |
Defendant(s) |
Date of Alleged Crime |
| Johnson County, IA |
James Hall |
Mar 13, 1973 (Iowa City) |
|
James W. Hall was convicted of the strangulation murder of Sarah Ann Ottens
in a coeducational dormitory at the University of Iowa. Ottens, 21,
was a UI nursing student who hailed from Morrison, IL while Hall, 20, was a
former UI football player who hailed from Toledo, OH. The murder
occurred during spring break. Hall's conviction was overturned in late
1983 due to the withholding of evidence by the prosecution. Charges
against Hall were subsequently dropped. Years later Hall was convicted
of the Mar. 20, 1992 strangulation murder of 31-year-old Susan Hajek.
This murder occurred in Cedar Rapids, IA. (Google)
[12/08] |
| Polk County, IA |
David Flores |
Apr 8, 1996 (Des Moines) |
|
David Flores
was convicted of murdering 42-year-old Phyllis Davis, a bank executive. He
was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. During a rolling gun
battle between two motor vehicles, an errant bullet killed Davis. Davis
died within seconds as her car rolled into the intersection of University
Ave. and Ninth St. It was not entirely clear that Flores was in one of the
battling motor vehicles, and if he was, that he fired the bullet that killed
Davis. However, the erratic behavior of Flores' girlfriend and her refusal
to answer some questions during the trial led to Flores' conviction. Child
welfare advocates had threatened to take away the girlfriend's child, which
they eventually did.
On the day of Flores' sentencing, the jury foreman, Samuel McCrorey, who
helped convict Flores, went public with his belief that Flores was actually
innocent. McCrorey said he had doubts Flores was even at the scene. The
judge harshly chastised McCrorey for going public with his regrets. The
judge's criticism faulted McCrorey for presumably embarrassing other jurors,
who had agreed not to talk publicly about their deliberations.
In 2003, evidence surfaced that a gang member told the FBI and the Los
Angeles police prior to Flores' trial that another man, Raphael Robinson,
shot Davis. The FBI interview had been in the custody of the Polk County
Attorney for some time. A June 2008 court hearing is scheduled to consider
the new evidence. (Des
Moines Register) [3/08] |
| Pottawattamie
County, IA |
Terry Harrington |
July 21, 1977 (Council Bluffs) |
|
Terry
Harrington was
convicted of first-degree murder of John Schweer, a retired police captain
working as a night security guard at the McIntyre Oldsmobile dealership in
Council Bluffs. Harrington's conviction was later overturned and he was
released in 2003. In overturning the conviction, the Iowa Supreme Court
ruled that several police reports pointing to another suspect were not
turned over to the defense and noted that a witness testified at a
post-conviction hearing that he lied at Harrington's trial because police
and prosecutors pressured him. [6/05] |
|
