amandabanana
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2011
- Messages
- 96
- Reaction score
- 340
The victim in a rural Jasper County homicide case has been identified after authorities discovered a burned body in a ditch Wednesday.
Just after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jasper County authorities responded to a roadside fire near the 8100 block of North 67th Ave. East, in rural Kellogg, according to a news release from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
The body of Michael Williams, 44, of Grinnell was discovered after the fire was put out, authorities said.
Burned body found in Jasper County, authorities investigating as homicide
For 24 years since Michael Ronnell Williams left his native Syracuse, New York, for the Midwest, his large, tight-knit family tried to convince him to move home.
But Williams was determined to live life on his own terms. He was diagnosed with a learning disability as a child and wanted to prove he could be on his own, according to his aunt Paula Terrell.
Terrell, 57, of Syracuse said Williams first moved to Nebraska before settling in Grinnell about 12 years ago. He worked at a few fast food restaurants but was recently unemployed due to worsening diabetes.
He would check in with family on a daily basis, she said. He wanted to know how his mother was doing and he'd always update them on what he'd been up to.
But the calls stopped Sept. 12, two days after his 44th birthday.
Four days later, Williams was found dead, his body burning in a ditch in rural Jasper County.
Michael Williams: Family remembers Grinnell man as 'gentle giant'
Just after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jasper County authorities responded to a roadside fire near the 8100 block of North 67th Ave. East, in rural Kellogg, according to a news release from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
The body of Michael Williams, 44, of Grinnell was discovered after the fire was put out, authorities said.
Burned body found in Jasper County, authorities investigating as homicide
For 24 years since Michael Ronnell Williams left his native Syracuse, New York, for the Midwest, his large, tight-knit family tried to convince him to move home.
But Williams was determined to live life on his own terms. He was diagnosed with a learning disability as a child and wanted to prove he could be on his own, according to his aunt Paula Terrell.
Terrell, 57, of Syracuse said Williams first moved to Nebraska before settling in Grinnell about 12 years ago. He worked at a few fast food restaurants but was recently unemployed due to worsening diabetes.
He would check in with family on a daily basis, she said. He wanted to know how his mother was doing and he'd always update them on what he'd been up to.
But the calls stopped Sept. 12, two days after his 44th birthday.
Four days later, Williams was found dead, his body burning in a ditch in rural Jasper County.
Michael Williams: Family remembers Grinnell man as 'gentle giant'
Ship 'em out to the sharks!
