Doctor, police at odds over Benton homicide ruling

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A medical examiner ruled the death of a Dysart woman a homicide, but the Iowa State Patrol trooper who investigated the crash isn't willing to say the same.

Stephanie Dripps, 36, was killed when she was ejected from a car driven by her boyfriend, Paul Lauritson, 42, on Oct. 8. Authorities said the car they were in was broadsided by a sport utility vehicle as it crossed 19th Avenue south of Garrison. Lauritson, of Dysart and formerly of Hudson and Kalona, also died at the scene.

Trooper Nathan Miller said a hill to the north, where the SUV came from, makes him skeptical that Lauritson can be blamed for Dripps' death.

“I'm not comfortable saying it was a homicide, just because of that hill - you can't see,” Miller said. “I just think it was a freak accident.”

Dripps' relatives, though, agree with a ruling by the Benton County Medical Examiner's Office that Dripps, a mother of four girls, died by homicide due to “multisystem trauma caused by a motor vehicle accident.” Deputy Medical Examiner Mark Dearden, who made the ruling, has not explained how he came to that conclusion.

But Dripps' former mother-in-law, Hope Triplett of Cedar Rapids, said Dripps told her she had been threatened by Lauritson and was scared. Triplett said she heard Lauritson calling Dripps filthy names during a phone conversation she had with Dripps the morning before the crash.

It wasn't the first time Dripps cried on the phone with Triplett. Her seven-month relationship with Lauritson had soured in recent weeks, Triplett said. Once, Dripps told Triplett that Lauritson would sometimes drive erratically, just to scare her.

“I knew enough about him to know that she needed to be careful,” Triplett said.

Lauritson, who was born Paul S. Baker but took the name of his new wife in 2002, had been to jail four times and was a convicted sex offender. According to an obituary submitted to The Gazette, he worked in the roofing business.

Deb Lauritson, Lauritson's estranged wife, declined to comment on the case.

Dripps also spent time in jail, on a theft conviction, and had struggled with drug addiction in the past, Triplett said. She helped Lauritson with roofing jobs and relied on him for financial support, Triplett said.

“She was staying clean, and she was feeling good about herself,” Triplett said. “She had plans to leave Paul and get an apartment on her own so her girls could come over.”

Lauritson dropped Dripps off at Triplett's apartment hours before the crash. Dripps spent the day with Triplett, her mother-in-law until a divorce two years ago, and they ran some errands. Lauritson was “antsy” when he showed up to get Dripps about 4:30 p.m., Triplett said.

“I said, ‘You want a Pepsi, Paul?' and he said, ‘We gotta go,'?” Triplett said.

An hour later, Dripps and Lauritson were dead.

Miller, the State Patrol trooper, said he determined Lauritson's car was moving when it was struck by the SUV. The driver of the SUV, Jennifer Engler of Garrison, told him the car ran the stop sign and the location of the wreckage confirmed her statement, Miller said.

“The relationship was rocky, and he very well could have tried to end it,” Miller said. “But my part of this, in the investigation of the accident, with the evidence I saw, it just looked like they blew the stop sign. I don't know the intent behind it.”

Miller said his investigation won't be complete until mid-November. An autopsy for Lauritson has not been completed.