Suspect identified in 1983 cold case death of Iowa man found beaten, bound, and shot

LINN COUNTY, Iowa (TCN) — Investigators recently identified a suspect in the death of a 24-year-old man who was found dead in a suspected robbery more than four decades ago.

According to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, on Dec. 24, 1983, a friend discovered Ronald Novak deceased in an unheated room at his residence in rural Walker. Novak’s hands were reportedly bound behind his back, and he had been beaten in the head and face and shot once in the chest.

Authorities said Novak died from his injuries, shock, and hypothermia. No arrests were made at the time, and the case went cold…

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