Homicides in Harrison County

  On July 31, 1933, William Kelly confessed to the brutal hammer murders of his wife, Leah, and 2-year-old son, Billy, at their farmhouse near Logan, Iowa. 

Driven by marital tension and domestic violence, Kelly beat both victims with a hammer; Billy died immediately, while Leah initially survived, as detailed in the accounts.

• The Incident: William Kelly walked into the Logan County Sheriff's Department covered in blood and confessed to the murders, telling Sheriff C.F. Cross to send a doctor.
• The Scene: Officers found Leah Kelly severely beaten but alive outside a bedroom, while her son, Billy, was dead from multiple blows to the head.
• The Victim's Death: Leah Kelly was transported to a hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa, but died shortly after from her extensive injuries, which included a broken jaw, broken arm, and severe skull trauma.
• Aftermath: The community was shocked, with reports noting high attendance at the funerals of the victims.
• Legal Proceedings: The incident received intense coverage from local Iowa media in August 1933, with headlines focusing on the brutal nature of the crimes.

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The murders were frequently referred to as "The Kelly Family Murders" or the "Logan Hammer Murders" 

LOGAN, Iowa (AP) — A judge on Friday found an Iowa teenager not guilty by reason of insanity in the killing of his 5-year-old foster brother, after the teen testified that he had powerful fantasies and thought at the time that he was killing a goblin.

Harrison County District Court Judge Kathleen Kilnoski issued her decision shortly after closing arguments in the bench trial of 18-year-old Cody Metzker-Madsen. The teen had waived his right to a jury trial.

"During this trial the court heard extensive evidence about Metzker-Madsen's history of staring episodes, epilepsies, oppositional behaviors, attention deficits, lies, fantasy characters and possible hallucinations," Kilnoski said. "This is a young man who has never been mentally normal."

Metzker-Madsen was charged with first-degree murder in the August 2013 death of Dominic Elkins. Authorities said Metzker-Madsen, who was 17 at the time, killed Dominic while they were playing outside of their home in the western Iowa community of Logan. The boy's body was found at the bottom of a ravine.

An autopsy showed Dominic died of blunt-force head injuries and drowning.

Metzker-Madsen testified Wednesday that he thought he was in a fantasy world with slightly different colors and smells than the real world, and that at some point, he saw an army of "green, ugly little creatures."

He said the goblins were fighting people he knew and compared the scene to a video game he played. He said he didn't know it was Dominic when he pushed his head into the water at the bottom of the ravine while hitting him with a brick.

Prosecutors argued that Metzker-Madsen gave different stories for why he killed the boy and was able to lead his foster family to Dominic's body.

Metzker-Madsen will be sent to a state medical facility for a psychiatric evaluation, treatment and custody. He will remain in state custody until officials determine he's no longer a threat to himself or the public, according to the Des Moines Register.

Metzker-Madsen also faces an assault charge, as authorities say he bit a jailer on Tuesday.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Update:

Buchanan County sheriff’s deputies arrested Cody Metzker-Madsen, now 28, on June 24 on one count of willful injury causing serious injury.

According to court records Metzker-Madsen was housed at the Independence Mental Health Institute on June 18 when he attacked his roommate in Ward R around 11:10 a.m.

The victim suffered facial and rib fractures and a brain bleed and had facial bruising, according to court records.

Court records show the victim is a 67-year-old man who suffers from chronic severe schizoaffective disorder.

 The 37-year-old cold case homicide of Barbara Lenz was solved in March 2026 when a Pottawattamie County jury convicted Robert Davis, 62, of second-degree murder. Although Davis was initially charged with first-degree murder in March 2025, the charge was downgraded shortly before trial.

• Disappearance: Barbara Lenz, 31, vanished from Woodbine, Iowa, in May 1989.
• Crime Scene: Relatives checking her apartment found a coffee pot still on, half-folded laundry, and her personal belongings (purse and keys) left behind, suggesting she was taken against her will .
• Convicted Perpetrator: Robert Davis, her boyfriend at the time, was the last person to see her alive. Prosecutors detailed a history of domestic violence, including testimony that Davis had slashed Lenz's face with a boot spur on the day she disappeared.
• Missing Remains: Despite the conviction, Barbara Lenz's body has never been found.

Trial and Conviction

• Verdict: On March 31, 2026, the jury returned a guilty verdict for second-degree murder after less than four hours of deliberation.
• Sentencing: Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22, 2026. He faces a 50-year prison term with a mandatory minimum of 35 years before being eligible for parole.
• Milestone: This case marked the first arrest and conviction assisted by the Iowa Attorney General's Cold Case Unit, which was established in 2024.

  BLOODIEST MURDER OF THE COUNTY. The murder of STEPHEN IDE by LOUIS W. WEIRICH in Logan at high noon in the summer of 1872 was, perhaps, the bloodiest murder ever committed within the borders of Harrison or adjoining counties. STEPHEN IDE was a large, rough, overbearing, lawless and desperate man. WEIRICH had already killed his man and on many occasions boasted of the fact that he had killed a human being. 

WEIRICH at the time was running a butcher shop in Logan, and on the fateful day IDE came into town and the two went to a hay loft where they engaged in a game of poker, at which sitting IDE won a dollar's worth of meat from WEIRICH. When they had arrived at the butcher shop, a quarrel arose over the weight of the meat and hot words were exchanged, when IDE, being a strong, muscular man, took hold of WEIRICH and gave him a severe choking, after which the parties were separated. 

Some of the bystanders, knowing the temper of the butcher WEIRICH, hid all the knives they supposed there were in the meat shop. IDE again returned to the butcher shop and proceeded to chastise WEIRICH the second time. During the struggle, WEIRICH grasped a butcher knife which he had secreted, and thrust the same directly into the heart of IDE. IDE, at the time, had WEIRICH by the throat and was choking him, and when thus struck by WEIRICH, thrust the latter to the floor and fell immediately upon him.

 The life blood gushing forth in great violence from the heart of IDE fell directly into the face and mouth of WEIRICH. The dying man never relaxed his grip on WEIRICH until his arm was still in death. 

 March 1873 the trial commenced and only lasted one day. The evidence was clear. The witnesses were: GEORGE MUSGRAVE, GEORGE M. KERNS, W. J. RUDD, B. F. LaPORTE, and THOMAS J. ACREA, all of whom testified as to the manner of killing. The jury was only out an hour and returned a verdict of Guilty as charged in the indictment. Three days later, the court sentenced the prisoner to the penitentiary for life at Fort Madison. He was pardoned out after ten years, by an act of the Legislature, the attorney who prosecuted him and had him sent up for life being the chief influence in causing his pardon to be granted. 

https://iagenweb.org/harrison/history/notorious-criminal-and-civil-cases.htm#:~:text=TRIPLETT%2C%20was%20the%20first%20murder,the%20murder%20of%20his%20wife.