Evan Kibbe, who had been a hired hand on the farm, testified during the final day of a civil trial that Lyon had ranted and raved about problems with water being shut off for his cows after Heemstra had purchased the farm. Heemstra wasn’t scheduled to take possession immediately, so Lyon continued to graze his cows on the land.“I should shoot the son of a bitch and go on,” Kibbe quoted Lyon as saying. He also said Lyon had also talked about acquiring a firearm “to run off varmints” and that Lyon told him the weapon was kept in his pickup truck. Kibbe acknowledged under cross-examination never seeing the firearm.

The defense witnesses testified in the fifth day of a wrongful death case filed by Lyon’s family against Heemstra. The trial ended early this afternoon and Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert gave each side 30 days to submit final written arguments.

He plans to take the case under consideration and will issue a decision at a later date. Huppert has already ruled Heemstra is clearly liable for killing Lyon and that Lyon’s family can seek punitive damages.

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“Ronda was left without a husband. ... Her future has literally been destroyed,” said lawyer Donald Beattie in opening arguments in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Beattie described the slain farmer as a hard working, respected figure in the community. He decried the killing by Rodney Heemstra, a neighboring farmer, and he said the assailant has never shown any remorse for ending the life of a defenseless man.

Lawyer Joseph Hrvol, who is defending Heemstra in the civil trial in Polk County District Court, made no effort to argue that his client didn’t kill Lyon. That finding has already been made by the jury that convicted him of voluntary manslaughter, which resulted in Heemstra spending more than four years in prison.

“This has been a tragedy for two families, not just one,” Hrvol said.

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Fort Dodge, Ia. - Milo farmer Rodney Heemstra, who shot his neighbor after an argument and dumped his body into a cistern nearly six years ago, walked out of prison Tuesday as a free man.

Heemstra, 49, wearing a dark coat and carrying a cardboard box with his belongings, headed out the front door of the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility at 7:55 a.m.

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 case generated statewide interest and included two criminal trials and a wrongful death lawsuit that will be heard for the second time in civil trial that starts Nov. 5.

What's next for Heemstra?

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 Tuesday into the prison parking lot. He went directly to a dark, four-door Hyundai sedan, put his box into the trunk, got into the vehicle and was driven away from the prison by his wife, Berta Heemstra.

He is not expected to return to rural Warren County, where some Milo residents still harbor deep animosity toward 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 a triple-space garage and an assessed value of $410,526.

Voting records show Heemstra's wife 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.

Joseph Hrvol of Council Bluffs, who is Heemstra's lawyer, declined to comment. 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.

Norm Wadle, a longtime Milo resident, knows the Lyon and Heemstra families and said the whole incident should never have happened.

"It's not a very good deal in a small community like this," Wadle said. "There's nothing we can do."

Heemstra spent his last night Monday at the Fort Dodge facility turning in his state property and packing up, said Warden Cornell Smith.

After waking up Tuesday morning in his cell, Heemstra was allowed an opportunity to shower, then headed to the prison discharge area to get his paperwork. A correctional officer led Heemstra out of the prison, and Fort Dodge police cars were stationed near the parking lot, but he left without incident.

The Iowa Board of Parole had twice rejected Heemstra for release - most recently in May. State officials said they ultimately had no choice about freeing him because he had served the maximum time possible on his 10-year sentence of voluntary manslaughter - including time off for work and good behavior.

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 obstruction and disruptive conduct, attempt or complicity, and unauthorized possession, said Iowa prison spokesman Fred Scaletta, who declined to elaborate. He said Heemstra received five days of disciplinary detention, but didn't have additional time tacked onto his prison term.

The incident in May was serious enough that Heemstra was moved from the minimum-security North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City to the medium-custody Fort Dodge state prison, which is surrounded by a double fence topped with razor wire. Such a shift to a higher level of security is not common for an inmate in the final stages of preparing for release from prison.

Heemstra's case has been unusual. He was originally convicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and was sentenced to life in prison. Three years later, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled he deserved a new trial. During a second trial last year, he was convicted of manslaughter and received credit for his previous time in prison.

Heemstra's release doesn't sit well in Milo, a farming community of 839 people.

"I think it's ridiculous," said Wadle. "I think anybody should have got a lot more sentence. It doesn't seem like it's been but a couple of years."

Jodi Rushing, a pastor for three Methodist churches in Warren County, has seen the emotional effect on the community. Ronda Lyon, Tom's wife, is a member of the Milo United Methodist Church, and Heemstra was a member of the Milo Christian Union Church.

"We can always find hope and help and healing through God," Rushing said. "We can find it through the community of faith through our churches."

Church families offer a place for people to turn when they are feeling frustrated or disappointed, she said.

"I really do believe the community is trying to heal," Rushing said. "We endure; we go through."

The wrongful death civil trial that starts next week will determine the outcome of a lawsuit filed by Lyon's family.

An earlier civil trial - largely based on the murder conviction - resulted in a Warren County judge awarding Lyon's family $11.5 million in damages. A three-judge panel of the Iowa Supreme Court last year declared the initial civil verdict invalid.

However, District Judge Michael Huppert ruled earlier this year that Heemstra was clearly liable for Lyon's death and that Lyon's family will be allowed to seek punitive damages in the second trial.

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.

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A Des Moines man's bid to have his life sentence for murder vacated will move forward.

Polk County Judge Don Nickerson last week denied a motion by prosecutors in the case of David Flores, convicted in 1997 of killing bank executive Phyllis Davis in a gang-related shootout.

The judge's decision means the 31-year-old Flores, who has spent 11 years behind bars, could have his conviction reconsidered before the end of the year.

It also means Flores' defense will be allowed to proceed with its strongest argument. That argument is based on Des Moines police acknowledging in June that they failed to turn over to Flores' trial attorney an FBI report that pointed to an alternative suspect, Rafael Robinson.Prosecutor Joe Weeg had argued that a newly found police report downplayed evidence of an alternative suspect. But a legal assistant for John Wellman, Flores' original defense attorney who is now deceased, told Nickerson that Wellman never had that police record.

In the ruling last week, Nickerson sided with Flores and denied the state's request for a partial summary judgment.

"We just want the case to move ahead now," said Mary Kennedy, Flores' Waterloo defense attorney.

The high-stakes case is similar in some respects to that of Heidi Anfinson, another convicted murderer who was granted a new trial last week by the Iowa Supreme Court. Like Flores, Anfinson appealed for post-conviction relief, arguing that she received inadequate defense in the drowning death of her two-week-old son Jacob.

Her new defense attorney, Alfredo Parrish, argued successfully that her original attorney, Bill Kutmus, should have submitted evidence of post-partum depression at her trial.

Anfinson lost her post-conviction case at the district and appelate-court levels but won on appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. In a rare move, the Supreme Court ruled that evidence of her mental health problems would have aided her defense.

Experts in wrongful conviction cases have said it's extremely rare for a judge to overturn a murder conviction, but Flores' appeal for post-conviction relief is compelling. As his controversial bid for freedom nears, however, tensions among those with a stake in the case are rising.

Kennedy has said in court that a key witness has been moved several times by the California corrections system, making communication difficult.

A spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections also has acknowledged that Kennedy has been blocked from speaking to another witness, who is behind bars, unless she has a court order.

Corrections spokesman Frank Scaletta said the unusual move was made on the recommendation of the Iowa attorney general's office, which sometimes assists county prosecutors in post-conviction cases.

Last month, vandals shattered the car and house windows of David Flores' mother on East 13th Street.

Diane Flores and other family members said it's possible she could have been a random victim, or targeted for other reasons, but they doubt it.

"We think it's because of David," she said.

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The Byers' claimed that the premature release of preliminary autopsy results, stating suicide as the manner of death in their son's accident, by Dr. Dennis Crab, medical examiner, resulted in extreme emotional distress.

Chapter 670 of the Iowa Code allows civil law suits to be brought against governmental subdivisions if liability is proven.

The civil wrongdoing must result in wrongful death or injury to a person and may be based upon negligence, error or omission, nuisance or breach of duty.

The Court based its decision, in part, on Chapter 331.802 that states, "If a person's death affects the public interest, the county medical examiner shall conduct a preliminary investigation of the cause and manner of death, prepare a written report of the findings. A death affecting the public interest includes... Violent death, including homicidal, suicidal, or accidental death."

The case was dismissed because the Byers' did not prove Dr. Crabb and Crawford County were acting outrageously either in depositions or affidavits.

Summary of Events

* June 11, 2005: Iowa National Guardsman Spc. Casey Byers, 22 of Schleswig a member of the 224th Engineer Battalion, is killed, with two other Guardsmen, while on duty in Iraq.

* June 20, 2005: Justin Paul Byers, 19, younger brother of Casey, dies after being involved in a late night pedestrian versus vehicle accident.

* June 22, 2005: Dr. Dennis Crabb, Crawford County Medical Examiner, releases a preliminary report that Justin Byers' death was intentional - a suicide. The final report rescinded the former statement and ruled the death accidental.

* December 30, 2005: Brandon N. Laubscher, 23 of Vail, is charged with supplying alcohol or beer to a person under legal age, resulting in the death of a person, a Class D felony.

* July 14, 2006: Ann and William Byers, parents of Justin and Casey Byers, file a civil suit against Crawford County and Dr. Crabb claiming defamation and the intentional infliction of emotional distress.

* February 27, 2007: Following a motion by Crawford County, the defendant, The Iowa District Court ruled in a summary judgment in favor of the defendant, concerning the defamation claim. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a summary judgment is "a decision made on the basis of statements and evidence presented for the record without a trial. It is used when there is no dispute as to the facts of the case." According to the ruling at that time, the court declined to find, as a matter of law, that the defendants' conduct was not outrageous (a key component in establishing intentional emotional distress).

* March 26, 2007: Laubscher plead guilty to supplying alcoholic liquor or beer to a person under legal age, resulting in serious injury to a person, an aggravated misdemeanor. He was sentenced to serve 30 days of a two-year sentence, which would subsequently be suspended, in the Crawford County Jail, then two years probation.

* October 17, 2008: Following a second motion for summary judgment by Crawford County The Iowa District Court dismissed the Byers case at their cost.

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The trial for a wrongful death lawsuit against Hillcrest Family Services has been delayed for the second time because of scheduling conflicts.

The trial is now scheduled for Aug. 11, 2009.

Rodney and Michelle Skadburg, of Mason City, Iowa, brought the suit against Hillcrest after their 16-year-old son, Michael, hanged himself on the Dubuque campus of the treatment center in April 2004. The suit alleged that Hillcrest left Michael Skadburg unattended "in a clearly suicidal state."

Hillcrest denied the allegation, stating the incident was thoroughly investigated by city, county and state officials and the staff were found to be in compliance with all policies and procedures.

The trial initially was slated for January 2008, but a judge bumped it to September for scheduling conflicts. Originally, if the case weren't tried by July 2009, it would have been automatically dismissed, according to court procedure. However, a judge waived the automatic dismissal deadline when attorneys had trouble completing all the depositions for the case in time "because of the geographic location of key witnesses," documents state. Many of the witnesses are now living across the United States.

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Crawford County officials last year paid a $350,000 settlement to the family of Kirk A. Ullrich, 49, of Davenport, who was killed while descending a hill on County Road E-16. His family had sought an additional $1.6 million from state officials until agreeing in August to accept $50,000 to end their lawsuit, state records show.

The state’s payment is expected to be ratified on Friday by the State Appeals Board, which considers claims made against the state, state officials said Tuesday. The Iowa attorney general’s office has already approved the settlement, said Bob Brammer, a spokesman for Attorney General Tom Miller.

Ullrich was thrown from his bicycle after hitting a center-line crack on the county road. His widow, Betty Jo Ullrich, and their two daughters, asserted wrongful death claims.

Scott County District Judge Charles Pelton in July rejected the state’s request that the plaintiff’s lawsuit be dismissed. He said a factual question remained whether state troopers’ involvement with RAGBRAI was sufficient to create a special relationship between RAGBRAI bicyclists and the state. Such a relationship would open the state to liability.

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But in an eight-page ruling, the court disagreed, noting that the shooting terrorized drivers who had done nothing to make Blanton angry, and the trial court was free to consider that as an aggravating factor in his sentence.

"The harm to the motoring public is inherent to this offense -- randomly and intentionally shooting at cars with a rifle from a highway overpass creates a public fear beyond that of the 'ordinary' manslaughter in which the victim is at least associated with creating the sudden heat that results in the death," the court wrote in its ruling Thursday.

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