OTTUMWA, IA – A man from Iowa, recently convicted of murder, has vanished, eluding authorities after failing to attend his verdict hearing. Gregory Showalter Sr., a 63-year-old Ottumwa resident, was declared guilty of his wife’s murder, a verdict delivered in his absence.
Showalter had been granted bail in August 2021, with a judge allowing him to post a mere 10% of his $250,000 bond. His bail conditions mandated his presence at all court proceedings and required him to wear a GPS-tracking device. However, when law enforcement officers visited his home, they found him missing.
An acquaintance of Showalter, found at his home, informed the police that he had handed over his car keys to her, stating he wouldn’t be needing them anymore. She had assumed he was heading to the courthouse on foot but had no information about his current location.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety has now issued an arrest warrant for Showalter, labeling him as “armed and dangerous.” He is officially charged with Failure to Appear – Murder in the First Degree.
Showalter was absent when the jury pronounced him guilty on September 22, 2023, for the murder of his wife that took place in August 2021. Showalter, a tall man standing at 6 feet 2 inches and weighing 160 pounds, is now a wanted man.
According to the prosecution, Showalter, who was in the process of divorcing his wife Helen in 2021 after a marriage of over four decades, lured her to a job site. He then allegedly murdered her and discarded her body along the Des Moines River. Helen’s body was found floating in the river a day after her family reported her missing.
Despite intensive search efforts, Showalter’s whereabouts remain unknown. A police dog traced a scent to a motel close to Showalter’s home but failed to locate him. A thorough search of his home also yielded no clues to his location.
A sentencing hearing for Showalter is slated for October 16. In Iowa, a conviction of first-degree murder results in a mandatory life sentence without parole.