LINN COUNTY, Iowa — Digital evidence draws ties Dakota Van Patten to the night of February 17, 2024, when a 20-year-old Marion woman went missing. She was found dead at Amana Lily Lake the next day.
Dakota Van Patten is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly helping McKinley Louisma murder Melody Hoffman.
Van Patten called and messaged his girlfriend from jail in March 2024, asking her to delete photos from around the time of Hoffman’s death…