Judge will allow part of Marion man’s confession to killing 4 people with metal bar

CEDAR RAPIDS — A judge ruled Monday part of a confession made by a Marion man who is accused of killing four people last year — including him identifying a metal pipe he used in the attack — will be allowed at trial.

A lawyer for Luke Wade Truesdell, 35, charged with four counts of first-degree murder, argued, in his motion and during a May hearing, that his client was in custody but wasn’t read his Miranda rights during investigators’ questioning, so any admissions made about what happened on June 5,2024 should be tossed out.

The prosecution argued investigators were trying to figure out what had happened after finding the bodies and were gathering initial statements. Truesdell wasn’t in custody, wasn’t restrained and voluntarily answered their questions.

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When law enforcement received the 911 call at 3699 East Otter Road in Marion, the caller said “victims were down” and there was a possible “carbon dioxide” incident in an outbuilding on the property. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Graham Palas and Linn County Sheriff’s Investigator Todd Egli, who testified during the May hearing, said Truesdell initially wasn’t a suspect, but he was a witness found at the scene and also found the victims.

Egli told Truesdell more than once he wasn’t under arrest. He explained they just needed to find out what happened because three people were dead inside the outbuilding and another person was in critical condition.

Amanda Sue Parker, 33, of Vinton, her boyfriend, Romondus “Roe” Lamar Cooper, 44, of Cedar Rapids, and Keonna Victoria Ryan, 26, of Cedar Rapids, were found dead at the scene.

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The other person, Brent Anthony Brown, 34, Ryan’s boyfriend, “still showed signs of life,” according to court documents. He was flown by air ambulance to a hospital but died three days later.

The property where the killings happened is owned by Lon Brown, the father of Brent Brown.

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Judge’s ruling

Dupuich said the questions by investigators were open ended to find out what happened, such as “What time did you say you got out here?” “What happened from there?” and “Walk me through how everything happened today.”

A few minutes into the conversation, Truesdell “faintly” said he “hit em each,” but Payne testified during the May hearing that he didn’t know what that meant. He knew there were three people dead and one in critical condition, but had “no clue” what Truesdell meant.

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Payne said it was difficult to believe what Truesdell was saying because he was smaller in stature, had no visible injuries or blood on him, and didn’t seem physically capable of killing four individuals at once.

Egli also testified he was surprised by Truesdell’s appearance and would expect him to be covered in blood. He also didn’t know what Truesdell meant that he “hit” them. Did Truesdell mean it was in self-defense or was he attacked himself, Egli said.

Egli said he wasn’t sure Truesdell was making sense and it seemed unclear if Truesdell could kill four people by himself.

Dupuich, in her ruling, said the investigators attempted to follow up on the vague admissions by Truesdell asking, “You hit each of them? Why? Did they do something to you?” At this point, the questions dramatically shifted from broad and opened-ended fact-finding inquiries to questions that would “likely evoke incriminating responses from an individual who was rapidly evolving into a suspect,” the ruling stated.

The purpose of the interview changed after investigators determined a specific murder weapon, Dupuich said in the ruling.

“But you say that you hit them,” Egli asked Truesdell. “What did you hit them with?”

Truesdell said “Right inside the door on the right is a metal bar.”

Questioning followed to determine a motive, and that weighed in favor of Truesdell being in custody at that point, but no Miranda warning was given, the ruling states.

“While the image of Defendant’s involvement may have been previously blurred, the offer by the Defendant of a specific weapon rapidly clarified the image making it sharp and clear,” Dupuich said in the ruling. “At that moment, no reasonable person would have felt they were at liberty to terminate the interrogation and leave the scene of a quadruple homicide, mid-interrogation, directed at determining means, motive and opportunity, culminating with the recovery of the alleged murder weapon.”

According to the ruling, Payne admitted his focus shifted to Truesdell being a suspect as early as when the pipe was found with possible blood on it.

Dupuich concluded any statements made after Truesdell said he “hit” them and where the metal pipe could be found will not be admissible at trial, except for purposes of impeachment. Any statements Truesdell provided after he was read his rights will be allowed.

Truesdell’s trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 4.

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