AP/Hunter
07/30/21
A jury has convicted a man of stabbing a Cedar Rapids man to death and burying his body in apparent retaliation for theft from a drug dealer.
Drew Blahnik was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder, obstruction of prosecution and abuse of a corpse in the December 2018 death of 31-year-old Chris Bagley. Bagley’s body was found buried at a home in southeast Cedar Rapids on March 1, 2019.
Prosecutors said Blahnik killed Bagley after he allegedly stole money from a drug dealer. The defense acknowledged Blahnik killed Bagley but said it was in self defense.
The jury deliberated for nearly three days to reach the verdict. Blahnik was originally charged with first-degree murder and would have been sentenced to life in prison without parole. He now faces up to 54 years in prison when he’s sentenced on October 12th.