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Cedar Rapids man denied involvement in Marion woman’s assault, strangling last year
In police interview, he denied being able to ‘kill an animal, little lone a person’
Sep. 24, 2025 5:26 pm
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
CEDAR RAPIDS — Dakota Van Patten, in a police interview, denied several times that he didn’t know anything about and wasn’t involved in the kidnapping and strangling of 20 year-old Melody Hoffman on Feb. 17 and 18, 2024.
He even denied being present with his friend, McKinley Louisma, already convicted in the case, when it happened, which is his defense.
The prosecution rested after a video recording of a police interview was played for jurors Wednesday. Van Patten, 19, of Cedar Rapids, then waived his right to testify, which isn’t uncommon, and the defense rested without calling any witnesses.
Closing arguments are set for 9 a.m. Thursday and the jury will start deliberations by early afternoon. The trial started Sept. 15 in Linn County District Court.
Van Patten is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony. Louisma, 24, of Marion, was convicted of the same charges last year.
According to testimony last week, Hoffman was killed around midnight Feb. 18. Investigators said she was tortured and strangled at Morgan Creek Park in Cedar Rapids and then her body was left at Lily Pond Park in Amana.
Van Patten’s DNA was found on a roll of duct tape used to bind Hoffman’s wrists and ankles, on the inside of coated gloves, and on Hoffman’s eyeglasses, which he posed in to take 200 selfies after she was killed, according to testimony Monday.
Hoffman may have been pregnant at the time she died, or she may have had a miscarriage shortly before she was fatally assaulted, according to an autopsy. The prosecution believes that is a possible motive.
In video of the police interview, Van Patten became upset and defensive with investigators, and repeatedly raised his voice and cursed in denying his involvement.
Van Patten told Marion Police investigators he didn’t know what day he went with Louisma to Walmart. He remembered that another person he didn’t know — Logan Kimpton, also charged in this case — went with them and purchased a machete and stocking cap.
Initially, Van Patten said there was only one machete purchased by Kimpton, but later he said it was two. Van Patten claimed he thought they were toys. He said he didn’t know why they purchased them, but he doesn’t ask questions and kept to himself.
He denied knowing Kimpton’s name because he was Louisma’s friend.
After Marion Investigator Tom Peterson told Van Patten they had surveillance video of the three men at Walmart, Van Patten said it might have been Feb. 17.
When confronted about Hoffman’s killing, Van Patten repeatedly denied being involved, denied knowing Hoffman and said he didn’t know why or how Hoffman’s phone would be using his hot spot on Feb. 17 and 18. He denied being with Louisma and Hoffman after that trip to Walmart.
While the video was playing in court, Van Patten laid his head down on the defense table. He stayed that way for several minutes.
Van Patten, during the interview, said Louisma knew his hot spot password, which he gave to the investigators. The password matched cellphone evidence presented last week in court by investigators.
He also denied being with Louisma in Amana, where Hoffman’s body was found, on Feb. 18. Van Patten told investigators he was only in Cedar Rapids and Marion, and he never goes outside those areas.
Van Patten then asked Peterson if a phone’s location has to be on for Life360 to work. That’s the app Hoffman’s mom used to tracked her daughter’s phone when she went missing Feb. 17.
When Peterson questioned him about GPS information police obtained that showed he was with Louisma in Amana, Van Patten told investigators he had another phone.
Van Patten said he couldn’t “kill an animal, little lone a person.” He asked who said he was involved and then guessed that it had been Louisma.
Peterson confirmed it was Louisma.
Van Patten again denied it, saying he couldn’t live with himself if he “murdered” someone. He didn’t understand why Louisma would say he was involved. There were no issues between them, Van Patten said.
He even defended Louisma, saying he wasn’t capable of killing someone. Louisma was a “soft, nice and chill dude,” Van Patten said.
Peterson asked if there was any reason his DNA would be in Louisma’s vehicle trunk and Van Patten said he had put things in the trunk and touched clothing and a blanket.
Van Patten also told investigators he would never “lay his hands” on a woman.
When Special Agent Ryan Kedley with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation joined the interview, Van Patten, without being asked, mentioned a phone with a flower design case that an unidentified person gave him that night and told him to enter his password.
Kedley, showing Van Patten a photo of Hoffman’s phone case and asked if that was the case.
Van Patten said it looked familiar.
Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks asked Kedley, after the video ended, how Van Patten reacted when he saw a photo of Hoffman.
Kedley said he had no reaction.
On cross, Kedley said Louisma was the person who first mentioned Van Patten in this case, and that was before investigators had all the evidence.
Trish Mehaffey covers state and federal courts for The Gazette
Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com
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