An Iowa man who killed his wife of 40 years disappeared Friday before a jury could announce his guilty verdict.
Gregory Allen Showalter, 63, was issued an arrest warrant after he failed to appear for the final day of his trial in Ottumwa, a city about 90 miles southeast of Des Moines.
The fugitive had turned off his cell phone and cut off his GPS ankle monitor.
Showalter should be considered “armed and dangerous,” the state Department of Public Safety warned.
He has been out on bail since August 2021, when a judge allowed him to pay 10% of the $250,000 bond as long as he attends court hearings and wears an ankle monitor, the Ottumwa Courier reported.
Showalter was charged in August 2021 with the murder of his wife, Helen Showalter, 60, just days after her body was found floating in the Des Moines River.
Prosecutors said the two were divorcing when Showalter lured Helen to a job site, where he strangled her to death.
After returning home, he tells the family he and Helen had a fight and he leaves her to walk home before sending them out to find her.
Showalter strangled Helen Showalter and dumped her body in the Des Moines River.DPS
Traces of his blood were later found in his car, which was used to transport his body to the river.
The killer reportedly left his home on Friday on foot after handing over ownership of his car to his friend.
He “made a comment about not needing the key anymore,” the woman told the officer.
Police deployed trained detection dogs in the forest area. The dog followed the track to the Stardust Motel, about 1,000 feet from his residence, but was unable to locate Showalter, according to the Ottumwa Courier.
Showalter cut off his ankle monitor and hung up his cell phone. Ottumwa Police
As police searched for Showalter, the judge ordered that the verdict be read, citing Iowa court rules in cases where a person at trial is not voluntarily present.
A jury found Showalter guilty of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, intentional infliction of serious injury and domestic abuse assault by strangulation or obstruction of blood circulation.
He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole if he is found by authorities.
The daring escape comes just three days after a Louisiana refugee was dragged back to the US from Mexico after spending 32 years on the lam.
Greg Lawson, 63, escaped in similar circumstances – he disappeared on the same day a jury was set to read a guilty verdict for the attempted murder of his lifelong friend.
Lawson was seen laughing as police placed him back in handcuffs.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
