Father of victim testified Luke Truesdell was ‘out of it, mumbling’ after bludgeoning attack

CEDAR RAPIDS — Lon Brown testified Wednesday that when Luke Truesdell entered his house after having been in the outbuilding on Brown’s property on June 5, 2024, he looked “dazed,” much different from when he and his father arrived that day.

Lon Brown, who is on oxygen and wheelchair bound because of health issues and two broken ankles, said after sending his friend, Larry Truesdell, and Larry’s son, Luke Truesdell, to go look at a boat he was “junking,” which was outside of his outbuilding at 3699 Otter Rd., north of Marion, Luke came back “mumbling” and said everyone was “laying on the concrete.”

He said Luke was “out of it.” Lon said he told Luke to get his dad because he couldn’t make sense of him. When Larry came in he seemed “panicked and yelled to call 911” and then went back to the outbuilding.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Lon testified in a Linn County courtroom on Wednesday.

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Then Larry said, “These people are hurt up there and there had to be some dead people,” Lon said. Larry again told Lon to call 911 and Lon told Larry to go check on his son, Brent Brown, which Larry did.

Lon said he knew Brent, 34, and his girlfriend, Keonna Ryan, 26, of Cedar Rapids, and also Romondus Cooper, 44, of Cedar Rapids, and his girlfriend, Amanda Parker, 33, of Vinton, went into the outbuilding, but he didn’t understand what had happened.

Luke Truesdell, 35, of Marion, is on trial for bludgeoning Brent Brown, Ryan, Cooper and Parker with a metal pipe. He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder. His trial started last Tuesday and the prosecution rested its case Wednesday after testimony about the four autopsies and Brown testified.

The defense told 6th Judicial District Judge Liz Dupuich that Luke Truesdell will not testify and Luke also confirmed he wouldn’t. Luke’s lawyers didn’t say if they would call any witnesses.

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The judge told the jurors to return at 11 a.m. for closing arguments on Thursday.

Lon said Larry, who remained “panicked and excited,” told Luke something before going back to the outbuilding again, but Lon couldn’t hear him. Larry was “right up” in Luke’s face, Lon said.

Lon then called his other son, Matt Brown, who testified last week that his dad told him “to come out there fast.” Lon said he couldn’t explain why he didn’t call 911. He guessed he didn’t initially believe it.

While Luke Truesdell was in the house, he asked for something to drink. He still seemed “dazed,” Lon said. When Larry came back to the house, Luke started mumbling again. Larry told Lon that Brent was alive, but “not much.”

Lon didn’t go into the outbuilding during this time. It was too difficult for him to get there in a wheelchair or using a walker, which he could do at that time.

First Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter asked how Luke was acting — his demeanor.

Lon said he still seemed “dazed” after he went into the outbuilding and came back. Luke wouldn’t make eye contact with Lon and would look “off” when Lon asked him something. Lon said he yelled at Luke one time and Luke “jumped.”

Lon said he could see Larry at the boat before this happened. He was watching video from a surveillance camera on his television in the living room.

Lon Brown said he has been friends with Larry Truesdell for 25 years. Larry would visit every month or so. Lon had known Luke only in recent years. He didn’t think Luke was around before that. Lon said he thought Luke had been in trouble and maybe doing “time” — meaning that he’d been in jail or prison.

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Lon said Brent and Ryan lived in the house with him and his roommate, Kody McClaud, who was at work when the four people were killed. Cooper, who was friends with Brent, and Parker moved to Lon’s property about a year before — in 2023 — and initially lived in a tent outside the house.

When it turned cold, Cooper and Parker moved the tent into the outbuilding. There was no running water in the outbuilding, only heat and air conditioning, so Lon let them use the bathroom in the house. He allowed them to stay without charging rent.

However, shortly before the June 5 attack, Lon told Cooper he thought it was time for them to move on. Cooper didn’t say much and there was no argument, Lon said. Cooper didn’t have a job but Parker was working at a restaurant.

Medical examiner: Victims died from blunt force injuries

In other testimony Wednesday, a state medical examiner said Brent Brown, Ryan, Cooper and Parker all died as a result of blunt force injuries to the head. Dr. Rory Deol, an associate medical examiner, identified the graphic autopsy photos for the jury, as he described the injuries.

Each of the victims had the type of injuries — “high velocity impacts” — usually suffered in vehicle crashes, he noted.

Deol said each person received at least two or more “blows,” which caused death. He couldn’t be certain on those because one impact or blow could have caused multiple injuries.

Each had numerous total injuries, Deol testified. Parker had 44 injuries, Cooper had 33 injuries, Ryan had 46 and Brent had 19. All also had other injuries resulting from blunt force trauma to other areas of the body.

According to the toxicology reports, Parker tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine; Cooper tested positive for meth; Brent tested positive for meth; and Ryan tested positive for meth and amphetamines. However, Deol said the drugs did not contribute to their deaths.

The lacerations and skull fractures each suffered were significant and take “some amount of force” to penetrate the skull and brain, Deol said. The injuries were mostly to the back and top of the head. Ryan had a large skull fracture that went from one ear to the other on the top of the head.

Cooper and Ryan also had injuries to their faces.

Deol also said some of the injuries were embedded with a “black material,” which could have been the black coating on the metal pipe that was described and shown to the jury earlier in the trial.

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Testimony describes Truesdell’s phone calls from jail

Linn County Sheriff’s Lt. Todd Egli also resumed his testimony Wednesday. He was interrupted Monday by other out-of-town witnesses’ scheduled testimony. Egli answered questions about phone calls made by Luke Truedell from jail during his trial.

Egli said Luke seemed “excited,” during a call with a relative, that the prosecution hadn’t been able to find his dad, Larry, who was subpoenaed to testify. Luke told the relative he didn’t want prosecutors to use what his father would say.

Luke told the relative that his dad would be gone for a couple of weeks.

Egli said it appeared Larry Truesdell was “hiding” in order to avoid testifying against his son.

Judge Dupuich didn’t allow one of the jail calls regarding what the prosecutors considered could be related to a possible motive.

The defense continued to question Egli’s “opinion or interpretations” of the surveillance videos shown Monday during his testimony. They have suggested the killer could be Larry Truesdell.

Larry Truesdell wasn’t considered a suspect, according to testimony.

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Trish Mehaffey covers state and federal courts for The Gazette

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