COLD CASE: Popular Cedar Rapids singer goes missing in 1982; husband’s stories inconsistent

This is the seventh installment in an occasional series about cold case investigations in Cedar Rapids and Linn County.

CEDAR RAPIDS — Denise Fraley was always the star when she was singing with the One Night Stand band, but neither she nor the audience knew a big backyard party on Lawndale Drive SE on Sept. 11, 1982 would be her last performance.

People around Cedar Rapids called the 30-year-old woman the “talent” when she performed with her husband, David Fraley, 29, who played piano. They played frequently, sometimes with different band members, and had a regular following in the area.

Denise’s sister, Linda Plowman, 76, of Lathrop, Missouri, told The Gazette last week she thought Denise had met her husband through musical pursuits. Growing up, her sister — Denise Stark back then — had always been a talented singer and musician.

“She could play any instrument — clarinet, trombone and piano,” Plowman said. “She also was a high school cheerleader and active in sports. She played basketball. She was fun and had a good sense of humor. And she had a great compassion for people and loved cats.”

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Plowman said Denise also would try new things and was far more “carefree” than Plowman.

“We didn’t always see eye to eye,” the big sister said. “I was more conservative.”

Plowman, Denise and their two brothers grew up in a small community near Winston, Missouri. Later, the family moved to a farm around the same area. There were four years separating Plowman and Denise, and the sisters grew apart when Plowman got married and moved to Germany for five years with her husband who was in the military.

After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class, Denise enrolled in classes at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. She studied music until she had to drop out of college when she couldn’t afford to continue.

Denise moved to Cedar Rapids in the early 1970s to live with her grandmother. Plowman said they also had other relatives on their mother’s side of the family who lived in Cedar Rapids. Denise and David married in 1975 in his hometown of Urbana.

The couple had a daughter, Haley Jo, in 1979 and Denise stayed home to raise her. She also owned a secondhand clothing store on Center Point Road and her husband worked for his family’s pest control business. They both continued to perform in bands.

Plowman said her family didn’t always know what was going on in Denise’s life, or her relationship with her husband, until nearly a year before Denise went missing.

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David filed for divorce in 1982 and Denise responded by asking the court for full custody of their toddler. She cited domestic abuse incidents in her request for a no contact order.

Plowman and Denise lost touch over the years, but they saw each other at family events and holidays. One of the last times Plowman saw Denise was Easter weekend of 1982.

“We were at our parents’ house and we were in the bedroom, away from David, and she told me ‘If anything happens to me, I want you and Gordon (Plowman’s husband) to raise Haley,’” Plowman said. “I didn’t know what to think at the time.”

Plowman wanted Denise to leave Cedar Rapids and move near them.

According to investigation files, the Fraleys reconciled between May and September 1982.

Denise Fraley goes missing

David, Denise and two friends were hanging out after the backyard gig at the Fraleys’ house during the early morning hours of Sept. 12, 1982, Cedar Rapids Police Investigator Matt Denlinger said. The friends left about 4 a.m., and Denise was going to bed when they left. David had already gone to bed, the friends told police.

About a month later, after having no contact with Denise for several months, her mother, Nadine Stark, called from Maysville, Missouri, hoping to talk to Denise. Instead, David answered, and when Nadine asked to talk to Denise, he hung up. On Oct. 18, 1982, Denise’s parents reported her missing.

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Denlinger, who also is a member of the department’s Cold Case Unit, said Denise’s parents told police they were concerned for her safety, so officers went to the Fraleys’ house.

“They got no clear answers where she was,” Denlinger said of the officers’ visit. “He (David) told officers she just took off. They had nothing to go on.”

Haley Jo, who was 2 year old at the time, wasn’t home on Sept. 11 and 12. Her parents had left her with her David’s family in Urbana.

About a week after her parents reported Denise missing, David called the Starks and told them Denise had tried to run off with thousands of dollars of drug money and he had been kidnapped. He said he’d been forced to take a lie-detector test by people involved with the “mafia,” and they were looking for Denise and the money.

Plowman said David warned the family that the mafia wouldn’t be happy if the Starks came to Cedar Rapids snooping around. Her parents were scared, so they didn’t go to Cedar Rapids for about six months.

During an interview with The Gazette, Plowman said she never believed the mafia story. She and her mother started making trips to Cedar Rapids in 1983, searching for answers. Police were still looking at the case, but the family also hired a private investigator.

Plowman said the investigator thought Denise had been killed and he had a suspect, but he couldn’t prove it.

Marriage issues

Denlinger said David and Denise Fraley had a history of domestic violence, and family and friends were aware of some of the incidents.

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David told police all the domestic abuse incidents stemmed from him defending himself. Denlinger said that’s a typical answer from accused abusers.

“When there’s a situation like this — someone is missing or killed — the spouse or partner are always going to be looked at as the person of interest,” Denlinger noted.

According to court documents from a custody battle over Haley Jo in 1984, which were accessed by a reporter from The Gazette in the 1990s, a judge’s ruling cited two domestic abuse incidents in which Denise went to the hospital for treatment after her husband tied her up and beat her. Police also were called to their home in June 1981 after David Fraley threatened his wife with a gun while he was drunk.

The custody case was part of David’s divorce case, which he pursued after Denise went missing, according to court records. The judge’s ruling also indicated the judge thought David was lying about being the victim in the domestic abuse.

After Denise went missing, Plowman had custody of Haley Jo for about six months while she was fighting David for permanent custody. She had hoped she and her husband could raise the toddler, but a judge granted custody to David. He also was granted a divorce from Denise in 1984.

Possible suspect

Forty years ago, investigators had suspicions about David, but they didn’t have the proof for an arrest, Denlinger said.

During the investigation, police learned David also told other stories about what had happened to Denise. He told numerous people that Denise took her belongings and was gone when he awoke on Sept. 12. He told other people she had run off to perform with different bands and that she was involved with narcotics traffickers.

The couple both abused marijuana and cocaine, but it’s unclear whether they were involved in trafficking, Denlinger said. According to the case file, their friends didn’t think that was true.

Later, when law enforcement confronted David about his inconsistent statements, he clarified those were only speculation on his part.

Investigators back then interviewed the couple’s friends and family. Some said Denise would run off to stay with friends when she and David fought, but she always took Haley Jo with her.

In addition to the interviews conducted in the case, police also searched the home, but nothing was found that would provide any answers of what happened to Denise, Denlinger said. Investigators also checked phone, bank and employment records, along with her driver’s license to see if anyone was using her personal information, opening bank accounts or acquiring loans after she went missing. There was no activity.

“She had money in her checking account,” Denlinger said. “Why wouldn’t she withdraw it and contact friends and family? She didn’t take anything. She even had a check someone had given her and it was never cashed. Doesn’t make sense.”

Denlinger said he believes this is a homicide and that Denise died on Sept. 12 or shortly after. Technically, it’s still a missing person case because a body has not been found.

Plowman said she believed her sister was killed not long after she went missing. She knows Denise wouldn’t have left on her own without her daughter.

“She loved that little girl,” Plowman said.

Investigation now

Police have received various tips over the years, but nothing provided any clues to finding a body. They have dug up possible sites where her body was allegedly disposed, but nothing was found.

In January 2017, Denlinger and another cold case investigator met an acquaintance of the Fraleys who said he wanted to provide some information. This was the first attempt by the current cold case unit to reopen this case. They searched some areas for several months based on the credibility of the witness, but no physical evidence was found.

Denise has been listed in the National Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons System — NamUs — since the early 2000s. The database helps investigators match long-term missing persons with unidentified remains and provides a free service to law enforcement agencies in the collection of DNA from family members of missing persons.

Denlinger has collected DNA from Denise’s immediate relatives, including Plowman and Haley Jo Carpenter, who lives in Florida, to see if there may be a match from human remains found in NamUs.

Denlinger said Carpenter talked with him last year, but hasn’t reconnected with him since that phone interview. He and another investigator also attempted to interview David Fraley late last year, but it was brief and he didn’t add any new information.

Denlinger said he has a suspect but, as with some unsolved cases, he can’t yet prove it.

Last year, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation reached out, offering to help the police department resolve this case. They have had some good results investigating “bodiless” cases — homicide case where the victim’s body has not been found. DCI has proved it can identify a killer and prosecute and convict the guilty.

One of these cases was in Tama County in 2017 when Tait Purk was convicted for killing his ex-fiance, Cora Okonski, 23, whose body was never found after she went missing in April 2000. Purk was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving 50 years in prison.

New evidence

Denlinger said investigators recently decided to search the house where the Fraleys lived in 1982 for any possible evidence. The owners “graciously” allowed them.

Investigators took photos and used new technology to search for forensic evidence. Denlinger said they don’t always have this opportunity because the house where a victim lived years ago may have been renovated or demolished if the neighborhood has changed.

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“We found blood evidence on the original hardwood floor,” Denlinger said. “It’s too early to determine the value of the evidence, but more testing is on the horizon. Until we know more, we won’t comment further.”

Plowman said she is happy Denlinger and the department haven’t given up on her sister’s case. She’s getting older and has some health issues, so she hopes for answers soon.

“I know nothing can bring her back or change anything, but I hope we can find out what happened and Haley Jo will find out what happened.”

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

Information?

If you have information about Denise Fraley’s 1982 disappearance — or any other unsolved Cedar Rapids murder — call Investigator Matt Denlinger at the Cedar Rapids Police Department at (319) 286-5442.