LINN COUNTY, Iowa (IOWA’S NEWS NOW) — The man accused of killing a Linn County man and then avoiding arrest for more than four decades is set to appear in an Iowa courtroom this week for the first time since being taken into custody more than a year ago.
Michael Schappert is charged with first-degree murder for the December 1983 death of Ronald Novak. Schappert was arrested in Oregon, where he apparently lived for years, in May 2025 and was extradited to Iowa shortly after that. He’s due in court on Friday for a case management conference ahead of his trial in January…