Rodney Heemstra freed from prison after 4 years, 4 months
Fort Dodge, Ia. – Milo farmer Rodney Heemstra, who shot his neighbor in the head after an argument and dumped his body in a cistern nearly six years ago, walked out of prison today as a free man.
Heemstra, 49, wearing a dark coat and carrying a cardboard box with his personal property, headed out the front door of the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility at 7:55 a.m.He was met by a throng of media and offered no comment and expressed no emotion as he quickly paced through the frosty morning air into the prison parking lot. He went directly to a dark four-door Hyundai sedan, put his box in the trunk, got into the vehicle and was driven away from the prison by his wife, Berta Heemstra.
Fort Dodge Warden Cornell Smith said that Heemstra turned in his state property Monday night and packed his belongings. After waking up this morning in his cell, he was allowed an opportunity to shower, then headed to the prison discharge area to get his paperwork before leaving. A correctional officer led Heemstra out of the prison, and Fort Dodge police cars were stationed near the prison parking lot, but he left without incident.
Heemstra spent four years and four months behind bars for the slaying of rural Warren County farmer Tom Lyon, 52, in January 2003. Prosecutors said he killed Lyon with a single rifle shot, then dragged his body more than a mile before dumping it and covering it with hay. He claimed he killed Lyon in self-defense after Lyon lunged at him.
The Iowa Board of Parole twice rejected Heemstra for early release- most recently in May. State officials said they ultimately had no choice about freeing him today because he had served the maximum time possible on his 10-year sentence of voluntary manslaughter – including time off for work and good behavior.
He is not expected to return to rural Warren County, where some Milo residents still harbor deep animosity towards him. Instead, Heemstra is believed to be moving to the Panora area – about 45 miles west of Des Moines – to a single-family home at Lake Panorama with three garage stalls and an assessed valuation of $410,526.
Voting records show Heemstra’s wife, Berta Heemstra, lives in the house, which is owned by Cool Acres LLC, the same limited liability corporation that owns the family’s farm home in the Milo area. The house is near the Lake Panorama National Golf Course.
Joseph Hrvol of Council Bluffs, who is Heemstra’s lawyer, declined to comment on Heemstra’s plans. Guthrie County Sheriff Gary Baird said he was aware of the possibility Heemstra could be moving to the Panora area, but he hadn’t confirmed it.
Heemstra, who killed Lyon after a series of confrontations over land and cattle-watering equipment, was disciplined by prison officials in May after he was accused of threats and intimidation and breaking other prison rules, prison records show.
An administrative law judge ultimately found Heemstra guilty of obstructive and disruptive conduct, attempt or complicity and unauthorized possession, said Iowa prison spokesman Fred Scaletta, who declined to elaborate what happened. He said Heemstra received five days of disciplinary detention, but didn’t have additional time tacked onto his prison term.