116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Brother of bludgeoned victim wasn’t prepared for bloody scene found in outbuilding
He was panicked after getting distressed call from his father
Nov. 6, 2025 6:55 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS — When Matt Brown stepped inside an outbuilding on his father’s property, he wasn’t expecting to see pools of blood, three people dead and his brother, barely showing any signs of life.
His father, Lon Brown, called him at work on June 5, 2024 and asked him to come out, saying “They’re all hurt,” Matt testified Thursday during the trial for Luke Truesdell, who’s charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He didn’t know what happened, but he had never heard his dad’s voice like that, he said.
Matt started to panic and sped out to the property. It usually took him about 15 minutes to get there, but he made it to 3699 Otter Rd., just north of Marion, in eight minutes. His youngest brother, Corey Brown, followed him out.
Matt testified both double garage doors of the outbuilding were closed, but the entrance single door was slightly ajar. He smelled “burning oil” and knew Romondus Cooper, who was lived in the outbuilding, was working on his Dodge pickup truck inside, so he initially thought it was carbon monoxide poisoning.
He testified that he first saw Keonna Ryan, 26, who lived with Cooper in the building, lying on the concrete floor, about 10 feet from the truck. Matt said he was in “shock.” He called 911 as he and Corey opened the garage doors because it was dark inside. He wasn’t prepared for what he saw next.
Truesdell, 35, of Marion, is accused of bludgeoning Brent Brown, 34, and his girlfriend, Keonna Ryan, 26, of Cedar Rapids, Amanda Sue Parker, 33, of Vinton, and her boyfriend, Romondus Cooper, 44, of Cedar Rapids, with a 3-foot black metal pipe.
Opening statements followed jury selection on Wednesday. The trial is expected to go into next week. The prosecution will continue its case Friday.
‘I was trying to grasp what was going on’
Matt Brown, during his testimony, said when they opened the doors of the building, he could see a pool of blood under Ryan’s head and she wasn’t moving. The amount of blood he saw didn’t make sense.
“I was trying to grasp what was going on,” Matt said.
Everything changed when he saw Cooper and his brother, Brent Brown, also lying on the floor in front of the truck. He knew it wasn’t carbon monoxide poisoning. Matt said Cooper’s face was seriously injured and Brent was next to him with similar injuries, only Brent was breathing — “very, very slow.”
Matt said he didn’t know there was another person hurt, Parker, who was in the back corner of the outbuilding. Corey found her. She had similar injuries and he thought she was dead, Matt testified.
He said Larry Truesdell, Luke Truesdell’s father, came from the house into the outbuilding and he was “panicked.” He took off his shirt and put pressure on Brent’s head wounds.
Matt said Larry Truesdell is good friends with his dad, Lon Brown.
The prosecution played the emotional 911 call Matt made that day. He told a dispatcher that there were people passed out and “a lot of blood. Matt, who broke down and started crying, told the dispatcher he didn’t know what happened.
Matt said first responders told him Ryan, Parker and Cooper were dead.
Matt said Brent was airlifted to University of Iowa Health Care, but he died two days later on June 7, 2024.
After first responders and law enforcement arrived, Matt went into his dad’s house, which is about 80 feet from the outbuilding. His dad, who had heart and kidney issues and uses a wheelchair most of the time, was sitting on the sofa.
Matt testified that Truesdell and his father also were in the house, along with a Linn County Sheriff’s deputy and Corey Brown.
Matt said he didn’t talk to Luke Truesdell, but he described his demeanor as “blank, no emotion.” Truesdell and his dad were at Lon Brown’s home before Matt arrived.
Matt said Brent and Ryan lived in the house with Lon Brown and his friend, Koady McClaud Jr., who wasn’t home when the murders happened. Cooper and Parker stayed in a tent inside the outbuilding. They had been living in the outbuilding for about a year or so, he said.
On cross, Matt said he had met Luke Truesdell at Lon Brown’s, but had only seen him twice, including on June 5.
Law enforcement searched outbuilding for a suspect
In other testimony Thursday, law enforcement officials testified about responding to the scene.
Linn County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Loftsgard said he first saw Matt and Corey Brown, who flagged him down when he drove up to the outbuilding. He also talked to Larry Truesdell, who was rendering aid to Brent, who told him he was working outside and he found the bodies inside the outbuilding.
Loftsgard’s bodycam video showed the graphic scene of the four individuals who had similar head and facial wounds. There was blood throughout the area where the bodies were lying on the concrete floor.
Ryan’s body was found partially under a vehicle bench seat that was next to Cooper’s truck. The bodies of Brent Brown and Cooper were lying next to each other in front of the truck. Loftsgard said Parker was found in the back corner of the outbuilding. Her body was “wedged” behind a work table full of equipment and a wire shelve or rack.
Parker’s body wasn’t immediately found because the outbuilding was full of materials, equipment, tools and a large tent. There were only narrow walkways between all those items.
Loftsgard said they searched the outbuilding for a possible suspect, in case there was someone hiding, but no one was found.
The bodycam video showed a chaotic scene as first responders and law enforcement started arriving at the crime scene. Several responded after learning there were four possible victims. Loftsgard said they try preserve a crime scene, but their first priority is to save lives.
Scan of outbuilding shows maze of equipment, materials
Linn County Sheriff’s Sgt. Detective Eric Lear identified a 3D scan of the inside of the building for the jurors, which showed an aerial view of the inside of the outbuilding, which looked like a maze created by all the equipment and materials inside.
Lear also identified photos of blood and spatter from the attacks. He said the location of the spatter from the injuries of Ryan, Cooper and Parker indicated they may have been on the ground when struck with the pipe.
A photo of the black metal pipe, which measured about 42 inches, showed the black powder coating covering the pipe was worn off at one end. Lear said there was hair and what appeared to be blood on the pipe. The pipe was lying near one of the garage doors.
Lear also collected Truesdell’s clothing after he was arrested. Truesdell’s sneakers, T-shirt and jeans had stains that appeared to be blood. Those items were sent to the state crime lab for testing.
Trish Mehaffey covers state and federal courts for The Gazette
Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com
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