Police investigating former Manchester man's death in Alabama as homicide

Alabama law enforcement officials are investigating the death of a man with Eastern Iowa ties.

Marc Wenger, 46, formerly of Manchester, was found dead at his home in Harvest, Ala. earlier this week. The death was being investigated as a homicide, according to the Huntsville (Ala.) Times. Investigators at the Madison County, Ala. Sheriff's Office were not immediately available to comment on the investigation.

“It was such a shock,” said Patricia Wenger of Masonville, Wenger's aunt, who said she heard about the death earlier this week from a relative.

Marc Wenger enjoyed cutting trees from a young age. “I don't think he was in school yet, when he started cutting down trees with a toy saw,” Patricia Wenger said.

Wenger later started Wenger Tree Service in Alabama, which he had owned and operated for the last 16 years. His aunt said she last saw her nephew in 2004 when he came up to visit from Harvest, a town of about 3,000 people. The windy weather in Alabama provided work opportunities for Marc Wenger, his aunt said.

Even after an injury significantly affected his body, he continued to work hard in his business, said Patricia Wenger. “Oh, he'd work and work and work,” she said.

Marc Wenger was born in Hampton and graduated from West Delaware High School in Manchester in 1982.

A funeral service is planned for next Monday at 2 p.m. at the

Bohenkamp-Murdoch Funeral Home, 925 W. Main St. in Manchester.