FARNHAMVILLE, Iowa (KCCI) – Police in Western Iowa are investigating the grisly murder of a 17-year-old.
Investigators said the crime occurred Sunday in Farnhamville and they have a suspect in custody.
Donna Holm is a resident of the small community. She said she is still in shock after hearing about the death of Michele Luna Jackson.
“You never think if it’s going to be in this small town of like 400 people,” she said. “It’s just unbelievable.”.
Law enforcement spent much of Sunday night and Monday searching around an area of blood in the city park.
Officials said 21-year-old Nathan Bevers McGivney has been charged with abusing a corpse and failure to disclose the location of a body.
A criminal complaint said Jackson’s family members ran into McGivney Sunday night as they searched for her. He was reportedly covered in blood.
Police eventually found Jackson’s body near a farm field just south of town.
Resident Matt Goodwin said he never expected such a horrific act would happen in Farnhamville.
“Thought it was a safe place,” he said. “Was shocking with all of the activity yesterday morning and then the results of course, feel for the family.”
Webster County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Dunbar said he used his drone to help with the search.
He was also the police chief in nearby Dayton, Ohio 13 years ago, and remembers working a case where a kidnapper killed a 15-year-old girl named Kathlynn Shepherd.
He said Jackson’s death is another tragic case in the same area.
“I knew coming over here that I had a mission to do, and we did it to the best of our ability,” he said. “ And unfortunately, again, we had a sad outcome, one that we never wish on anybody.”
Officials said the motive behind Jackson’s killing remains unclear and that the investigation will continue.
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