After 40 years, Iowa police say they have solved a murder that had previously baffled investigators.
According to police, Michael S. Schappert, 64, of Fairview, Oregon, is facing murder charges in connection with Ronald Lee Novak’s death in December 1983.
Novak, who was 24 at the time of his death, was found beaten and bound in an unheated room of a rural Iowa home. Police reported that he had also been shot once in the chest.
“We acknowledge the pain and trauma that Mr. Novak’s loved ones have endured for over 40 years while his murder remained unsolved.
It takes strength to endure such hardship while remaining hopeful that the person or persons responsible will be apprehended and brought to justice,” said Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner.
The medical examiner concluded that Novak died as a result of his injuries, shock, and hypothermia. Police claimed that DNA evidence led them to Schappert.
They claimed that touch DNA found on Novak’s clothing and a hammer police believe was used in the assault linked Schappert to the murder.
The arrest of Schappert surprised his Oregon neighbors.
“I was shocked because I don’t see that in him,” Schappert’s neighbor Teresa Reittig told KCRG-9. “We’ve always been helpful to each other. He’s always been helpful, kind, and hardworking. Just a really nice person.”
Police believe that in 1983, Schappert and possibly others went to Novak’s house to rob him of money and marijuana. According to police, the case is still open.
