Next Court Date Set For Chilling Decorah Murder

The chilling case of a Decorah man who allegedly killed his father is progressing quickly.

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On Saturday, March 19, Winneshiek County sheriff’s department officials received a report of a missing person. 74-year-old Lawrence Whittle was last heard from on Friday morning.

Three days later the son of the missing man was taken into custody and is the main suspect behind the alleged murder, according to Radio Iowa.

An official criminal complaint claims that Aaron Whittle, the son of the victim, has actually come forward and confessed to the crime. In the document, the report has the Decorah man on the record coming clean about allegedly killing his father in a way that officers deemed showed him,

"having malice aforethought, willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation kill Lawrence Paul Whittle."

This criminal complaint also makes the claim that "On Sunday, March 20th, during an interview with law enforcement officers the defendant, Aaron Whittle, stated that he fatally shot Lawrence Whittle with a firearm on Thursday, March 17th. Observations by law enforcement at the scene of the shooting were consistent with the defendant's description of the incident."

In the report, officials also took note of additional evidence that has been collected that police have not made public as of yet. It was addressed indirectly during the initial press conference in mid-March.

On Tuesday, March 29th, District Court Judge Laura Parrish ruled that there was enough evidence to hold an arraignment of Whittle on a first-degree murder charge, according to Decorah News.

Judge Parrish scheduled a formal arraignment for this case and charge on April 12th at 10 am.

Whittle is currently being held at the  Winneshiek County Jail on a million-dollar cash bond.

We will continue to keep you updated on this case as the story progresses.