An Oxford, Iowa man has been charged with kidnapping after police say he threatened an Iowa City woman, who had a no contact order against him related to previous charges of assault and sexual abuse, with a knife and forced her to get in her car drive him toward Cedar Rapids on Thursday.
Articles Tagged: kidnapping
Crime & Courts Sep. 25, 2025 8:05 am26d ago
Dakota Van Patten repeatedly told police he had no knowledge and wasn’t involved in Melody Hoffman’s assault and strangulation in February 2024. He wouldn’t be able to “live with himself” if he killed someone, he told investigators.
Crime & Courts Sep. 24, 2025 7:42 am27d ago
A state medical examiner testified Tuesday 20-year-old Melody Hoffman was strangled from behind by her attacker and likely died within minutes on Feb. 18, 2024.
Crime & Courts Sep. 23, 2025 7:26 am28d ago
Dakota Van Patten took 200 selfies of himself wearing Melody Hoffman’s glasses after she was killed Feb. 18, 2024. An investigator found the photos on his cellphone during the investigation.
Crime & Courts Sep. 24, 2025 5:11 pm26d ago
Marion police investigators testified Friday about how traffic cameras and cellphone data helped them piece together what happened to Melody Hoffman, who was kidnapped and killed in February 2024.
Crime & Courts Sep. 19, 2025 9:32 am31d ago
Megan Hoffman testified Thursday about tracking her daughter’s phone the night Melody Hoffman was kidnapped, strangled and killed in February 2014. The information helped police piece together the crime.
Crime & Courts Dec. 27, 2024 7:41 am298d ago
The U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District had nearly twice as many trials in 2024 and is ranked second for cases filed among the other 25 federal districts of its size. The district includes Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Fort Dodge and Sioux City.
Crime & Courts Dec. 23, 2024 7:35 am302d ago
A judge on Friday sentenced McKinley Louisma to life in prison without parole for the kidnapping, torture and strangulation of Melody Hoffman, 20, of Marion, on Feb. 17. Melody’s mother said her daughter would want her to forgive Louisma but she couldn’t.
Crime & Courts Dec. 5, 2024 7:43 am320d ago
A North Liberty man was arrested Tuesday in Linn County on charges that he assaulted a woman in Center Point and attempted to sexually abuse her. He was sentenced this week to 100 years in two other rapes, and faces trial in Johnson County for another rape.
Crime & Courts Mar. 20, 2024 8:57 am580d ago
Four members of a rural Iowa family are accused of abducting and abusing an 18-year-old relative who had been handcuffed to a bed and beaten so badly that he had brain bleeding and multiple broken ribs, and who was so malnourished that he weighed just 70 pounds when he showed up at a hospital earlier this year, court documents say.
Crime & Courts Feb. 26, 2024 8:09 am603d ago
Linn County prosecutor says investigation leading to three arrests in the kidnapping and fatal assault of 20-year-old Marion woman is the ‘swiftest’ during his tenure. He attributes it to the dedication and work ethic of the multiple law enforcement agencies investigating the slaying.
Crime & Courts Feb. 23, 2024 5:58 pm605d ago
Family and friends gathered in Marion Thursday night for a candlelight vigil to commemorate the life of Melody Hoffman, a 20-year-old Marion woman who police say was kidnapped and murdered over the weekend.
Crime & Courts Feb. 21, 2024 9:47 am607d ago
Data from her iPhone and Apple Watch indicated she was at Morgan Creek Park Saturday night when her heartbeat intensified before it either stopped or the watch was deactivated.
Crime & Courts Oct. 19, 2023 12:32 pm732d ago
A Storm Lake man, who kidnapped his wife by gunpoint and led police on a foot pursuit through an Iowa City parking ramp last year, pleaded to guilty Wednesday and faces 40 years in prison. His trial was set to start next Tuesday.
Crime & Courts Oct. 5, 2023 7:27 am747d ago
A Georgia man was arrested Tuesday after he dropped off a woman authorities say he had assaulted at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics emergency department and then led UI police on a car chase