Confessed killer appears in court

WATERLOO - Bond for the California man who allegedly confessed this week to a 1981 double slaying has been raised to $2 million.

Jack Wendell Pursel, 66, recently of South Gate, was originally held on $500,000 bond for two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of 85-year-old Robert Huntbach and his 77-year-old wife, Goldie.

During a Thursday morning initial appearance, Judge Joseph Moothart raised the bond amount to $2 million - $1 million for each count - at the request of Black Hawk County Attorney Thomas Ferguson, who cited the brutal nature of the killings and the fact Pursel has prior convictions in California.

The defense didn't challenge the bond hike.

Pursel, who was arrested Wednesday after admitting to the decades-old crime, entered the courtroom dressed in a suit and tie. He spoke little but gave the correct pronunciation of his middle name. “What is your current address?” Moothart asked. “The jail, here,” said Pursel, who said he had no other address.

Moothart said there was probable cause to believe Pursel committed the crime and set a preliminary hearing for May 18.

No relatives of Pursel or the Huntbachs were in court for the proceeding.

Trelka said Pursel knew the Huntbach family and may have dated a relative around the time of the crime.

“At one time, he was one person of several persons of interest,” Trelka said. Pursel had been interviewed but then moved to California where he remained until only recently when he returned to Iowa.

“It's my understanding he found Christ and felt this was the right thing to do,” Trelka said.

Court records show Pursel served prison time in California, and he is currently listed on that state's sex offender registry.

Within a year of the Waterloo killings, Pursel was in a California prison for three counts of oral copulation with a minor, a charge he picked up in Los Angeles County, according to the California Department of Corrections. In September 1981, he started serving what was supposed to be a 21-year sentence.

He was paroled in September 1992 and completely discharged from his sentence in September 1995, according to corrections officials.

During his interviews with Waterloo detectives, Pursel provided details that only a person involved in the crime would know, according to court records. Capt. Tim Pillack said investigators worked to verify information.

The Huntbachs have one surviving daughter, Barbara Beck, who said she couldn't believe authorities had finally made an arrest but declined further comment Wednesday.

A son of the Huntbachs, Arthur Robinson, has also since died.

Another daughter, Carol West, died in 2007. Her husband, William, said she frequently talked about the crime. He said Waterloo detectives contacted him Tuesday seeking any newspaper clippings he had that detailed the slayings, apparently in an attempt to see what information had been publicly available.

Robert Huntbach was 85 and had retired from Rath Packing Co., and his wife was 77.

A friend notified police when they failed to answer the door on Jan, 12, 1981. Inside, officers found the couple bound and gagged and dead from gunshot wounds. The house had been ransacked.

Pursel allegedly told police he planned to rob and kill the couple.