Friend: 2 killed in quadruple murder near Marion lived in building where attack happened

Two of the four people fatally beaten with a metal pipe last week in rural Linn County were living in the property’s outbuilding the where the attack occurred after being evicted from their home, according to a friend.

Amber Sangalli said Amanda Sue Parker, 33, and her boyfriend, Romondus “Roe” Lamar Cooper, 44, had been evicted last summer and started living about two months later in the outbuilding at 3699 East Otter Road, near Marion.

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Sangalli became friends with Parker when they started working as servers last year at the Olde Brick House Pub at the Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids. She gave Parker rides to work because the couple’s vehicle wasn’t working and it was difficult for Parker to get around.

Sangalli said Parker was “kindhearted, generous and hardworking.” She always stayed busy and was always the first to help others when she had time during her shift.

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She said Parker and Cooper were having a tough time making a living and had been living in a tent inside the outbuilding for almost a year. They also had two dogs.

The outbuilding and property are owned by Lon Brown, the father of Brent Brown, 34, who was also attacked June 5 and died Friday from his head and neck injuries. Lon Brown told The Gazette last Thursday tests results showed his son had no brain activity.

Linn County sheriff’s deputies responded just before 4 p.m. June 5 to the property after a witness discovered four individuals with bleeding head wounds in the outbuilding, according to a criminal complaint.

All the victims — Parker, Cooper, Brent Brown and Keonna Victoria Ryan, 26, of Cedar Rapids, had blunt force injuries to the head, the complaint stated.

The suspect in the quadruple murder, Luke Wade Truesdell, 34, told deputies he bludgeoned the four with a metal pipe. The pipe, with blood and hair on it, was collected by investigators. Video surveillance captured images of Truesdell in the area of the outbuilding, the complaint stated.

Sangalli said she didn’t know how Parker and Cooper knew Lon Brown or how they came to live on his property. She did learn from Parker that Brent Brown and Ryan were in a relationship.

Both Sangalli and Parker also worked at a Subway restaurant. On the day of the killings, Parker had relieved Sangalli, who needed to attend her grandson’s birthday party, about noon that day.

Parker was four hours late for the shift but that wasn’t unusual because of Parker’s transportation issues, Sangalli said. The two had made plans to have lunch the next day.

Sangalli said Parker had gotten off work from Subway just about an hour and a half before the fatal attack happened.

When Sangalli would pick up Parker at the outbuilding, there was always several people working around the area on vehicles but she said she never saw Truesdell there and doesn’t know him.

Sangalli said she started a gofundme.com online fundraiser for Parker family to help with her memorial expenses. Donors have contributed $9,905 as of Tuesday morning.

Truesdell remains in the Linn County Jail on a $4 million cash-only bail after being charged Monday with a fourth count of first-degree murder, after Brent Brown died.

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A complaint stated Truesdell provided “several motives” including he thought a movie would be made about the killings. The other motives were not included in the complaint.

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner has declined to provide more details about how the deadly attacks happened and if Truesdell knew the four killed.

Both Gardner and Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks said this is an ongoing investigation and further details would not be provided.

The Gazette attempted to contact other family members, besides Lon Brown, but they haven’t responded or declined to comment.

This is the first quadruple murder case in Linn County, according to the Linn County Attorney’s Office. There have been two triple homicides — one committed by Alexander Jackson in 2021 and another committed by Bruce Ferris in 1982, according to the office.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com