Iowa Nurse Murdered, Man Charged in Her Death

A man is behind bars after authorities say he killed a woman from north-central Iowa over the weekend.

Saturday night, March 4 at approximately 7:10 p.m., authorities were called to a home in the 200 block of 4th St. SE in Britt for a "dispute with unknown injuries." Britt is west of Mason City and Clear Lake in the north-central part of the state.

Officers from the Britt Police Department arrived on the scene where KAAL says 56-year-old Monte Eckels was "hostile with responding officers and detained."

When officers went inside the home, they discovered a woman suffering from stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene and has been identified as 62-year-old Leallen Bergman of Ventura, Iowa. Bergman worked as a nurse in Mason City.

Eckels, who according to the criminal complaint is from Titonka, Iowa, has been charged with First-Degree Murder in Bergman's death. Authorities believe Eckels attacked Bergman with "malice aforethought, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation," resulting in the First-Degree Murder charge.

Eckels is being held in the Hancock County Jail on a $500,000 bond. KIMT says he will make an appearance in court next Wednesday, March 15.

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