Hunter
06/07/24
More details are being released about an incident in rural Linn County that left three dead and another in critical condition.
The Gazette reports the Sheriff’s Office was called just before 4 p.m. Wednesday to an outbuilding behind a house on East Otter Road, north of Robins. Responders found four people who were badly wounded. Three died on the scene and one was airlifted to a hospital with what were described as life-threatening injuries.
The three victims have been identified as 26-year-old Keonna Victoria Ryan and 44-year-old Romondus Lamar Cooper of Cedar Rapids, and 33-year-old Amanda Sue Parker of Vinton. The fourth person, 34-year-old Brent Anthony Brown, was unresponsive but alive. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
34-year-old Luke Wade Truesdell of Marion was found at the scene and reportedly admitted to deputies that he hit the four with a metal pipe. Video surveillance also showed images of Truesdell in the area of the outbuildings.
According to the criminal complaint, Truesdell admitted to several motives, one of which was that a movie would be made about the killings.
Truesdell is in the Linn County Jail on a $4 million cash-only bond pending his trial. He’s been charged with three counts of Murder in the 1st Degree and one count of Attempted Murder. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted on any of the three murder charges.