Law enforcement officers believe tonight that they are one step closer to closing an investigation surrounding the death of Karen Weber. Weber was found murdered on April 20, 1986, her body near a gravel road northwest of Prairie City. An autopsy determined the woman died as a result of multiple stab wounds.
Today, agents with Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation and Jasper County Sheriff’s deputies announced the arrest of Gottlieb William Baumann, Jr. The man, 46, is being charged with first degree murder.
The Iowa crime lab matched DNA at the Jasper County crime scene to DNA found in the Combined DNA Index System. Because of that match, Martin S. Duffy of Des Moines was arrested in January and subsequently convicted of the first degree murder of Weber.
Baumann, however, was considered a person of interest in the investigation. DNA evidence collected from him was sent to the crime lab and indicated that Baumann’s DNA fits the profile for evidence found at the murder scene and on the Weber’s body.
Baumann is currently serving a sentence at the Anamosa State Penitentiary on unrelated charges.
