Iowa True Crime – 5 Infamous Serial Killers With Ties to the Hawkeye State

You could definitely describe me as a bit of a true crime junkie. I love listening to true crime podcasts and watching murder documentaries to relax before bed. There's some of you out there who understand... and others who just think I'm a little crazy (and you're not wrong)!

There are a lot of reasons that people get into true crime, as I've learned through self-discovery (and therapy) over the years. There's a part of me that likes to feel informed and prepared for all the bad things in the world, as impossible as that sounds. There's another part of me that absolutely loves psychology and trying to figure out the reasons WHY bad things happen. And, most importantly, I like hearing about the lives of the victims whose lives were cut tragically short. To me, learning about the victims kind of feels like they've been given their voice back.

If you're anything like me, then you've probably wondered if there are serial killers with ties to Iowa. The answer is obviously YES. Here are five of them that you may or may not be familiar with:

John Wayne Gacy

We'll start with the most obvious. Anyone in Iowa that's familiar with true crime knows that serial killer John Wayne Gacy is connected with Iowa in more ways than one. Not only did "The Killer Clown" live in Iowa for several years, he also served time in the Anamosa State Penitentiary. This summary only scratches the surface of the full story, so I recommend watching one of the documentaries listed at the end for a more in-depth look at his crimes and many innocent victims.

John Wayne Gacy was born and raised in Chicago and had a difficult upbringing, thanks in part to his abusive, alcoholic father. His time in Iowa didn't begin until much later, after he married his wife Marlynn Myers in September of 1964. Soon after they wed, the couple moved to Waterloo, Iowa, because Marlynn's father purchased three KFC restaurants there and asked John to manage them. During his time in Waterloo, his wife gave birth to two children. He also joined the local chapter of the Jaycees and was named "outstanding vice-president" in 1967.

That's the same year that John sexually assaulted Donald Voorhees, the 15-year-old son of a fellow Jaycee, as well as other teenagers. Donald reported the incident to his dad in 1968, and John was indicted, and later convicted, on a sodomy charge. He underwent a 17-day psychiatric evaluation at the University of Iowa Psychiatric Hospital, where, according to Wikipedia, it was determined that he had "antisocial personality disorder (the clinical term for sociopathy and/or psychopathy), was unlikely to benefit from any therapy or medical treatment, and that his behavior pattern was likely to bring him into repeated conflict with society."

John was sentenced to ten years at the Anamosa State Penitentiary, where he continued work with the inmate Jaycee chapter. In 1970, after being described as a "model prisoner," he was granted probation, serving only eighteen months of his sentence. He quickly relocated to Chicago, where he ramped up his crime spree. His first known murder was in 1972, and in the years following, he murdered at least 33 boys and young men. 26 of them were found in the crawl space of his home. He was found guilty in 1980 and was executed in 1994.

Recommended Documentaries:

• Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes - Netflix
• John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise - Prime Video

Robert Hansen

Robert Hansen, better known as the "Butcher Baker," committed most of his crimes in Alaska, but was born in Estherville, Iowa back in 1939. His family moved to California in 1942, but ended up back in Pocahontas, Iowa in 1949. Like John Wayne Gacy, Robert Hansen also spent time at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.

Described as a quiet loner during his adolescence, Robert spent much of his time learning hunting and archery. He eventually enlisted in the United States Army Reserve, but only served a year before being discharged in 1958. Robert became an assistant drill instructor at a police academy in Pocahontas. That's where he met his wife, who he married in 1960.

That same year, Robert was arrested for burning down a school bus garage in Pocahontas, which landed him in the Anamosa State Penitentiary. He served only 20 months of his three-year sentence and his wife divorced him during his incarceration. While in prison, Wikipedia reports that "he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (at that time called “manic depression”) with periodic schizophrenic episodes. The psychiatrist who made the diagnosis noted that Hansen had an 'infantile personality' and was obsessed with getting back at people he felt had wronged him."

Robert moved to Alaska in 1967, and authorities believe he began killing in 1972. He ended up raping and assaulting over 30 women and murdering at least 17, many of which he "hunted" in the wilderness. In 1984, he was sentenced to 461 years in prison, but died of natural causes in 2014 at the age of 75.

Recommended Documentaries

• The Butcher Baker: Mind of a Monster - Apple TV+
• World's Most Evil Killers, "Robert Hansen" (season 7, episode 18) - Peacock & Apple TV+
• First Blood, "Robert Hansen: The Butcher Baker" (season 1, episode 2) - Apple TV+

Clark Perry Baldwin

You may not of heard of Clark Perry Baldwin before, but there's a good reason for that: he wasn't charged with his murders until three decades after they happened.

Clark Perry Baldwin was born in Charles City, Iowa in 1961, relocating to Nashua, Iowa in the early 1970s. After graduating high school, Clark began working as a truck driver. Wikipedia reports:

"During this time, he traveled across multiple states and spent most of his free time in the company of prostitutes and pimps. In the mid-1980s, he got married, but continued to have intimate relations with other women. In 1988, one of the women gave birth to a daughter, but Baldwin's paternity was only confirmed in 2018."

Clark's first confirmed crimes were in the early 1990s, when he was arrested for raping a 21-year-old hitchhiker named Mary Ann Newton in Texas. He was also arrested in 1997 for counterfeiting currency, for which he spent 18-months in prison. After that, he returned to his parent's home in Nashua, Iowa.

On May 6th, 2020, Clark was arrested at his home in Waterloo, Iowa for three murders that took place in the 90s:

• Rose Aldridge McCall - found on the side of the I-65 near Spring Hill, Tennessee in March 1991
• Irene Vasquez (originally only known as "Bitter Creek Betty") - found on the side of I-80 near Rock Springs, Wyoming in March 1992
• Cindi Arleen Estrada (originally a Jane Doe) - found on the side of I-90 near the Wyoming-Montana border in April 1992

The identification of the previously unnamed victims and Clark were made possible by advances in DNA technology. He finally stood trial in Tennessee in early 2025 and was convicted for the first murder, with a sentence of life in prison. Before he could stand trial in Wyoming, the Des Moines Register reports that "...on July 18, barely two months into his life sentence, Baldwin died in a Tennessee prison, two days after an apparent heart attack." He was suspected of committing several other murders, including Rhonda Knutson, who was found in Chickasaw County in 1992.

No Known Documentaries

Harry Edward Greenwell

Harry Edward Greenwell is another killer caught by advances in DNA, but, unfortunately, his identification came too late. Until he was officially identified in 2022, he was nicknamed the "I-65 Killer" and "Days Inn Killer."

Harry wasn't born in Iowa, but he did die in the Hawkeye State. We don't know many details about his childhood, but Wikipedia reports that he was raised in Louisville, Kentucky, with his first arrest happening in 1963 for armed robbery. He was arrested again in 1965 in Jefferson County, Kentucky for sodomy. His next arrest didn't come until 1982, when he was arrested in Allamakee County, Iowa, for burglary. An article from the Des Moines Register says that Harry "served time at the Iowa Men's Reformatory (known now as Anamosa State Penitentiary) from Aug. 10, 1982, to March 17, 1983, when he was released on parole." He was arrested in Allamakee County again in 1998 for felony possession.

Harry's first known murder victim is Vicki Heath, who was found at the Super 8 Motel in Elizabethtown, Kentucky in February of 1987. The 41-year-old mother of two was an employee of the motel at the time of her death.

The second and third murder victims tied to Harry are Jeanne Gilbert and Margaret “Peggy” Gill, who were killed on the same day, March 3rd, 1989. The Des Moines Register reports that they were both employees at the Days Inn motels that they were discovered at: one in Remington, Indiana, and the other in Merrillville, Indiana.

There were two other known victims of Harry that managed to survive. One is an unnamed 21-year-old hotel clerk who was attacked at the Days Inn in Columbus, Indiana in January of 1990. Thankfully, she was able to escape and give police a thorough description of the attacker. The second woman, also unnamed, was attacked  in Rochester, Minnesota in 1991, and her description of the man was similar to the previous one.

Using genetic genealogy, Harry was identified by police in 2022 with a positive DNA match of 99.999%. However, Harry would never stand trial for his crimes. He passed away in Lansing, Iowa of cancer in 2013 at the age of 68. He is suspected of having more victims.

No Known Documentaries - but there is an interesting article from The Independent that features an interview with his wife of almost 20 years. You can read that HERE.

Robert Ben Rhoades

Robert Ben Rhodes, also known as the "Truck Stop Killer," was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1945. His first crimes took place in high school, with an arrest for tampering with a vehicle at the age of 16, and another for public fighting at age 17. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1964, he followed in his father's footsteps and joined the military. That same year, his father was arrested for molesting a 12-year-old girl, and ended up committing suicide before he could stand trial. Robert was eventually dishonorably discharged from the Marines for being involved in a robbery, and found work as a long haul trucker.

Over the years, Robert was married three different times, and he became interested in the BDSM scene in the 1980s. Wikipedia says that was around the time that he allegedly started abusing his third wife, Deborah Rhoades.

During his career as a trucker, Robert committed many crimes across several states. Known murder victims include Patricia Candace Walsh and her husband Douglas Scott Zyskowski, and 14-year-old Regina Kay Walters and her 18-year-old boyfriend Ricky Lee Jones. There was also 18-year-old Shana Holts, who was abducted by Robert and kept for two weeks in the sleeper cab of his truck. Shana survived, but didn't press charges due to fear of Robert and the possibility of not being believed.

Robert was finally caught on April 1st of 1990 by an Arizona Highway Patrolman, who spotted his truck pulled over with the hazard lights on. The trooper discovered a nude, handcuffed woman inside the cab of the truck, and Robert was arrested. A detective was able to connect him to other crimes, thanks in part to photos that Robert took of his victims, which were discovered at his home during the execution of a search warrant.

According to Wikipedia, "[Robert] was convicted for three murders, and was slated to be tried for two more before charges were dropped due to the wishes of victims' families. Rhoades is additionally suspected of torturing, raping, and killing more than fifty women between 1975 and 1990."  He is still alive, and is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole at the Menard Correctional Center in Chester, Illinois.

Recommended Documentaries

• The FBI Files, "Driven to Kill" - Apple TV+
• Evil Lives Here, "Deadly Fetish" (season 2, episode 105) - Hulu & HBO Max
• Most Evil Killers, "Robert Ben Rhodes" (season 4, episode 14) - Peacock & Apple TV+

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Additional Serial Killers With Iowa Connections

Here are some other serial killers that have ties to Iowa, courtesy of Google and the Des Moines Register:

• Caroll Edward Cole
  • Born in Sioux City, Iowa in 1938
  • Confessed to 13 murders between 1947 and 1980 - could be as many as 35
  • Executed in 1985
• Charles Ray Hatcher
  • 5 confirmed murders, but confessed to 16
  • Arrested under alias Richard Clark in Des Moines after a knife fight in 1981 and was sent to several mental health facilities - was released to a Davenport Salvation Army shelter a few months later
  • Died by suicide in his cell in 1984
• Donald Piper
  • Born in West Des Moines in 1961
  • Convicted of murdering 2 women, 1 in West Des Moines and 1 in Clive - suspected of 4 more murders
  • Still incarcerated at Iowa State Penitentiary
• Dustin Lee Honken & Angela Jane Johnson
  • Born in Britt, Iowa in 1968 and Forest City, Iowa in 1964
  • Convicted of 5 murders near Mason City, Iowa in 1993 - victims were related to a drug trial against Dustin
  • Dustin was executed in 2020 in Indiana - Angela is serving a life sentence
• Gayno Gilbert Smith
  • Murdered six of his family members in Iowa between 1961 and 1962
  • Was living in Martinsburg, Iowa at the time of the murders
  • Died from heart problems in May of 2005 at an Iowa City hospital - was buried at Mount Zion Cemetery
• Jake Bird
  • 13 confirmed murders - suspected of up to 46 between 1930 and 1947
  • Previously sentenced to 30 years in an Iowa prison for the assault of two people with an ax, but was released on “good behavior” after only 12 years
  • Executed in 1949
• Robert Spangler
  • Raised in Ames, Iowa - a laboratory at Iowa State University is named after his father, who was a civil engineer
  • Confessed to murdering his first wife, third wife, and his 2 children between 1978 and 1993 - suspected of murdering his second wife
  • Died of cancer in a Missouri prison in 2001

READ MORE: 5 Times Iowans Were Featured on 'Unsolved Mysteries' [WATCH]