30 Year Old Murder Mystery

Back in 1975 a man named Jerry Mark was convicted of murdering his
brother, brother's wife and their two young children. This happened
near Waterloo, Iowa, at the brother's farm house.

I was an acquaintance of Jerry's wife when they were living in Des
Moines and he was a legal aid attorney. Jerry was a son of a wealthy
farmer with whom he was somewhat at odds because of differing
political convictions. At the time the father was dying of cancer and
it seemed that Jerry would not inherit anything, but that the farm
and so forth would go to the brother.

My friend told me she, Jerry and the kids had been living on very
little and saving their money to take a year or so off touring the
country. Before they left, I invited them to our house for dinner
one evening and we spent many hours together, putting t heir
two little girls to sleep on the bed and eating a pasta dinner I
prepared and drinking some wine. Having listened to my friend
tell me how they had been pinching pennies saving for their
trip, I did note how heartily all of them did eat the meal I
prepared and seemed to really relish it.

They left Des Moines and I heard no more from my friend until
a year or two later when I read in the morning paper that Jerry
had been arrested in the murder of his brother and family.

I immediately called another friend who had kept in touch with
Jerry's wife. I learned that the Marks had split up after making
their way to California and also that things between Jerry and
his wife had not always been rosy in the past. Apparently his
wife phoned this other friend on occasion to come to their house
where she said Jerry was in a "cold rage." She thought it very
possible he had committed the murder.

The Iowa state investigators devoted great resources to solving
this murder and traced Jerry buying a motorcycle, changing the
license plates and driving it to Iowa where he was said to be
seen not far from his brother's home at the time of the murder.
He also had bought a gun in California and there was some evidence
that a cigarette found at the murder scene contained saliva
showing his blood type (DNA testing had not been discovered at
this time). Then there was evidence of "bad blood" between the
two brothers over the inheritance.

I wrote to my friend, his wife, and she replied she thought Jerry was
not guilty, although he had left her for another woman.

Jerry was convicted and has been serving a life sentence in Fort
Madison, penitentiary. A couple of appeals, one to the Supreme
Court, were turned down.

But just the other day a federal judge ruled that the prosecution
had withheld a great deal of exculpatory evidence from the defense.
DNA testing earlier had shown Jerry was not the person whose
saliva had been found at the scene. The prosecution hid various
reports of other evidence that would have raised reasonable doubt,
including an eye witness who put him too far from the farm to have
committed the murder. Also a test that showed the bullets used
in the crime were the same type as some Jerry had purchased in
Caliornia has since been discredited by the FBI crime lab.

The judge said the state must either free him or retry him. He is
now 64 years old and the state is appealing this ruling.

My kids and I have often discussed this case, as some of them met
Jerry that evening at our house. He was not our vision of a mass
murderer, but then life is often stranger than fiction.

I have no idea if he committed this crime -- he has always said he
did not although he chose not to testify in his own defense at his
trial. But many defense attorneys strongly advise their clients not
to testify.

It seemed just too much of a coincidence that he would undertake
his non stop motorcycle trip and end up so close to the murder scene
if he was not guilty. I expect that fact strongly influenced the
jury.

What does seem clear is the the prosecution deliberately hid
evidence it should have turned over. So perhaps another trial is the
only way to clarify what evidence they really did or did not have
one way or the other.

I intend to share this info with those of my kids who had met
Jerry and all of whom remember that evening.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: 30 Year Old Murder Mystery
    ... I was an acquaintance of Jerry's wife when they were living in Des Moines and he was a legal aid attorney. ... At the time the father was dying of cancer and it seemed that Jerry would not inherit anything, but that the farm and so forth would go to the brother. ... Before they left, I invited them to our house for dinner one evening and we spent many hours together, putting t heir two little girls to sleep on the bed and eating a pasta dinner I prepared and drinking some wine. ... They left Des Moines and I heard no more from my friend until a year or two later when I read in the morning paper that Jerry had been arrested in the murder of his brother and family. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: 30 Year Old Murder Mystery
    ... I was an acquaintance of Jerry's wife when they ... dying of cancer and it seemed that Jerry would not ... murder of his brother and family. ... Then there was evidence of "bad blood" ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: 30 Year Old Murder Mystery
    ... I was an acquaintance of Jerry's wife when they were living in Des Moines and he was a legal aid attorney. ... At the time the father was dying of cancer and it seemed that Jerry would not inherit anything, but that the farm and so forth would go to the brother. ... They left Des Moines and I heard no more from my friend until a year or two later when I read in the morning paper that Jerry had been arrested in the murder of his brother and family. ... He also had bought a gun in California and there was some evidence that a cigarette found at the murder scene contained saliva showing his blood type. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: 30 Year Old Murder Mystery
    ... I was an acquaintance of Jerry's wife when they were ... Jerry was a son of a wealthy farmer with whom he was ... murder of his brother and family. ... was evidence of "bad blood" between the two brothers ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: 30 Year Old Murder Mystery
    ... I was an acquaintance of Jerry's wife when they were living in Des ... Jerry was a son of a wealthy ... I invited them to our house for dinner ... had been arrested in the murder of his brother and family. ...
    (soc.retirement)