Prosecutor: Marion man ambushed 4 people last June, bludgeoning each with pipe

CEDAR RAPIDS — The question jurors will probably ask during the trial of Luke Wade Truesdell is how one man can kill four people, a prosecutor Wednesday told a Linn County jury during his opening statement.

“It’s simple — ambush,” Assistant Linn County Attorney Jordan Schier said. “Luke Truesdell brutally beat, bashed and destroyed the lives of Brent Brown, Keonna Ryan, Romandus Cooper and Amanda Parker. How? With a 3-foot black metal pipe.”

Schier said only one person committed this “horrible” bludgeoning.

Truesdell, 35, of Marion, is on trial this week for four charges of first-degree murder. He is accused of killing Brent Anthony Brown, 34, and his girlfriend, Keonna Victoria Ryan, 26, of Cedar Rapids, Amanda Sue Parker, 33, of Vinton, and her boyfriend, Romandus Lamar Cooper, 44, of Cedar Rapids.

The trial is expected to go into next week. A jury was selected Wednesday afternoon and the judge allowed opening statements before sending the jurors home for the day. Testimony will continue at 9 a.m. Thursday.

If convicted, Truesdell faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Schier, in his opening, laid out the details of what happened June 5, 2024 when Linn County Sheriff’s deputies initially responded to what they thought was people passed out from possible carbon dioxide poisoning. He said the jurors will see surveillance video taken from the property, owned by Brent Brown’s father, Lon Brown, the evidence collected, and what Luke Truesdell told deputies.

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Schier said the four individuals killed had been living in a tent for some time in a large garage or outbuilding on the property at 3699 Otter Rd., north of Marion.

Truesdell brought his father, Larry Truesdell, to Lon Brown’s property to work on a boat. The videos show Brown and Ryan doing yard work near the garage and then Parker and Cooper, riding a green motorcycle as they return from work.

The video shows them all talking to each other, including Truesdell and his dad.

It shows Cooper going into the garage to work on a truck and Parker taking water in and out. As Parker goes back in the garage, Truesdell follows her inside.

Schier said it was windy that day, but the wind dies down for a moment in the video and there’s a loud scream — “the last scream of life from Amanda,” Schier said. Brent Brown and Ryan hear it and stop what they’re doing. As they approach the garage, Truesdell is coming out, but as the couple go inside, Truesdell makes an “about-face” and follows them in.

Truesdell then comes out and there’s some chaos between him and his father, as they are talking, Schier said. At some point, Lon Brown calls his other son, Matt Brown, and asks him to come to his property.

Schier said Matt Brown will testify that he thought there was a carbon dioxide issue and he smelled burned oil near the garage, but when he entered the garage, he saw blood by the truck, Schier said. There were pools of blood under Cooper, Matt’s brother Brent, and Ryan, all near the truck. And then he saw blood under Parker who was near the back of garage.

Schier said Matt Brown tried to render aid, but Truesdell wasn’t around. He was inside with his dad — “doing nothing.”

Matt Brown called 911, but he didn’t know what happened, Schier said.

When a deputy arrived, three of the four were dead and Brent Brown was “hanging on for his life,” Schier said.

Schier said when a deputy questioned Truesdell, who was sitting outside the garage, he “casually says ‘I hit ‘em.’”

The 3-foot pipe was found inside the garage and it was covered in blood and hair, Schier said. The DNA results showed the blood belonged to Cooper, Ryan and Truesdell.

Schier warned jurors they will see graphic photos. A medical examiner will testify about the victims’ injuries, which include “crushed” skulls from the pipe.

He asked them to find Truesdell guilty of the four murder charges.

Adrian Haughton, one of Truesdell’s lawyers, during his opening, agreed with the prosecution that this was a “brutal attack,” but there is no evidence of an ambush and no video will show that Truesdell attacked anyone.

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Lon Brown had surveillance cameras all over his property but none will show Truesdell attacking or fighting with anyone, Haughton said.

Law enforcement will testify about their “theories” of what happened that day, but Haughton noted but they are just that.

He agreed with the prosecution that the jurors will have to see brutal images and a lot of blood, but despite the amount of blood at the scene, they won’t see evidence of it on Truesdell.

Haughton asked the jurors to listen to Truesdell’s statements to law enforcement and determine “if they make any sense or are credible.”

He also asked that when they watch the surveillance videos, they also pay attention to what they don’t see.

Haughton said they might have more questions than answers, and he reminded them the prosecution has the burden. If they aren’t “firmly convinced,” they should find Truesdell not guilty on all charges.

Trish Mehaffey covers state and federal courts for The Gazette

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