ONAMA, Iowa (AP) - A judge in western Iowa on Friday found a man guilty of first-degree murder for killing his grandmother in 2018.
District Judge Zachary Hindman on Friday ruled Eliot Stowe is guilty for the beating death of 66-year-old Cheryl Stowe at her rural home in Castana in June 2018, the Sioux City Journal reported.
Eliot Stowe faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without opportunity for parole.
Cheryl Stowe’s body was found wrapped in a rug and duct tape at the edge of a cornfield near her home on June 27, 2018, a day after her supervisor had asked authorities to check on her.
Prosecutors say Eliot Stowe had beaten her with a baseball bat. Eliot Stowe’s defense team has argued that he suffers from schizophrenia and that he’s not guilty by reason of insanity.
“I’m very disappointed with the decision, based on the evidence that was presented at trial,” his public defender Jennifer Solberg said.
A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
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