What happened to Laura van Wyhe?
Laura Van Wyhe died in the early morning hours of October 26, 1996, after celebrating her 21st birthday. Laura’s childhood friend, Anne Champion, has created a $10,000 reward that will go to the first person who provides new information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the person (s) responsible.
Who are Laura van Wyhe's parents?
Laura L. Van Wyhe was born Oct. 23, 1975 to William and Leanne Van Wyhe. Survivors included her son, Samson Knight of Iowa City; her mother, Leanne Thomas and husband John of Iowa City; her father, William of Tacoma, Wash.; and her sister, Sarah B. Van Wyhe of San Francisco.
Why did Leanne Thomas and Chris van Wyhe break up?
According to Leanne Thomas in statements made during a custody battle between Thomas and Van Wyhe, the couple broke up in July of ’96 after Knight hit Van Wyhe during a trip to Montana. Thomas said Knight had struck her daughter in ’94 as well and made threats against her.
Who was awarded temporary custody of Laura van Wyhe’s son?
On Monday, Dec. 30, 1996, a judge awarded temporary custody of Laura Van Wyhe’s 16-month-old son to Van Wyhe’s mother, Leanne Thomas, rather than the child’s father, the Gazette reported Tuesday, Dec. 31, 1996.
Who is Laura Van Wyhe?
About Laura Van Wyhe. Laura L. Van Wyhe was born Oct. 23, 1975 to William and Leanne Van Wyhe. Survivors included her son, Samson Knight of Iowa City; her mother, Leanne Thomas and husband John of Iowa City; her father, William of Tacoma, Wash.; and her sister, Sarah B. Van Wyhe of San Francisco.
What is the phone number for Laura Van Wyhe?
If you have any information regarding Laura Van Wyhe’s unsolved murder, please contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010, email [email protected], or contact the Missouri State Patrol, Troop B, at (660) 385-2132.
How did Van Wyhe die?
A coroner’s inquest determined Van Wyhe died of brain trauma, massive blood loss and blunt force trauma to the head and legs , and officials ruled her death a homicide.
How old is Van Wyhe's son?
On Friday evening, October 25, Van Wyhe and her 14-month-old son, Samson, went to Bonaparte, Iowa, to visit the family of Donald Knight III — Van Wyhe’s ex-boyfriend and Samson’s father — to celebrate Van Wyhe’s birthday. She’d just turned 21 years old on Wednesday, October 23.
When did Van Wyhe and Knight break up?
Van Wyhe and Knight had split up in July 1996 after a trip to Montana, and Van Wyhe returned home on a bus. When Knight got back to Iowa, he moved into his own apartment but continued working for his ex-girlfriend’s mother. After Laura died in October, Knight had helped care for Samson at Thomas’s residence.
Where was Van Wyhe found?
Just before 2 a.m. Saturday, the truck driver discovered her body on the shoulder along Highway 136 just west of Kahoka. Van Wyhe’s belongings were found in trees and in a cornfield near the highway where her body was discovered. Her young son was found naked at the Bergman residence in Kahoka.
Who was the lead detective in the Van Wyhe case?
The case’s lead detective, Trooper Bruce Clemonds of the Missouri State Patrol, spoke at the Dec. 13, 1996 inquest in Quincy about how very little blood was found at the scene even though Van Wyhe had suffered massive blood loss.
Episodes
Twenty five years after Laura Van Wyhe’s body was found by the side of the road, prominent Manhattan attorney Anne Champion is returning to Iowa to find out what happened to her friend.
Popular Podcasts
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
BONAPARTE
Documentary podcast series Executive produced for Imperative Entertainment It’s been 25 years since Anne Champion’s friend was killed, but the case was never solved.
AMERICAN COYOTE
Documentary podcast series Produced for Imperative Entertainment Between 1987 and 2001, one American crossed over a thousand migrants from Mexico into the United States, using a variety of wild, comical, and harrowing schemes to outwit authorities on both sides of the border.
AMERICAN SKYJACKER
American Skyjacker is the tale of a small-time crook named Martin 'Mac' McNally, who dreamed of the ultimate mile-high score: hijacking a plane and getting away with $500,000 in cash; but Mac's hijacking is just the beginning of a truly epic and incredibly wild true-crime saga.
PASS THE BUCK
Pilot script for one-hour serialized drama When 17-year-old Samantha Sawyer learns her family’s farm is being foreclosed, the meek and acquiescent art prodigy realizes she can use her skills to counterfeit money and save their home, a plan made viable when she breaks into high school to use computer-imaging equipment.
THE OATH
A surgeon, distraught after the loss of his wife and daughter, struggles with thoughts of vengeance when the man responsible for their deaths shows up on the operating table.
CONTRAILS
A young man dreams of flying with the birds and builds a jetpack with mixed results.
