Dubbed the "Trick or Treat Murder," Marvin Brandland, 69, was shot in his home on Ninth Avenue South, on Oct. 30, 1982, by a young man wearing a pillow case over his head - under the pretext of being a trick or treater.
When the man came to the door, Brandland's wife, Ethel, playfully tried to lift the disguise. But the man abruptly pulled it back into place... When she turned to get the bowl of candy, the gunman followed her into the house. Marvin Brandland got up from his chair. The man pulled a gun and demanded money.
Brandland reached for the gun. When he grabbed the gun, it discharged, with the bullet piercing the lower part of his neck. He was taken to Trinity Regional Hospital, then airlifted to a hospital in Des Moines, where he died the next morning.
