On Tuesday, September 22, 2020, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation released a press release announcing Steven Vogel, 31 of Grinnell has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. Currently, Vogel is held in the Marshall County Jail on unrelated charges. Julia Cox, 53, Roy Lee Garner 57, and Cody Johnson, 29 were also arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse, destruction of evidence, and accessory after the fact. The three people are also residents of Grinnell. At the moment this group of three is being held at the Poweshiek County Jail. Â
Although all the people charged in connection with the murder are white and Williams is black, during the Tuesday news conference police said that they do not believe the murder was race-related, adding that Vogel knew Williams. Betty Andrews, president of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP, who was also present during the conference, concurred, but as the investigation continues, she would look over the evidence when it will be available. Â
On September 16 authorities found Williams’ body burning in the ditch in the 8100 block of North 67th Ave. E in Kellogg. According to the Iowa DCI press release when the body was found it was wrapped in cloth and plastic and secured with rope and tape. According to an affidavit in the case, the perpetrator, Vogel, confessed to witnesses that he strangled Williams. This affidavit also gives details of how the other three were involved. It is stated that Vogel showed the body to Johnson and promised drugs to him in exchange for helping him to get rid of the body. The next day Garner, Vogel, and Cox took the body in a 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup truck and took Williams’ body to the roadside ditch. Cox helped Vogel to pull the body into the ditch and Garner took Vogel to Marshalltown, while Cox proceeded to try to get rid of the evidence. The Medical Examiner ruled Williams’ death as homicide through strangulation. Â
Williams moved to the Midwest from Syracuse, New York 24 years ago. He was diagnosed with a learning disability but wanted to prove to his family he can do it on his own. The family in Syracuse are hoping to have Williams’ body returned to them for burial. Williams survived by his parents, five siblings, five children, and one granddaughter. Â
This homicide investigation is ongoing and law enforcement is asking anyone with information to contact Grinnell Police Department at (614) 623-5679 or the Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 752-6010.Â
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