Deceased/Not Found IA - Cora Okonski, 23, Tama, 16 April 2000 *T. Purk guilty*

[Whiskers16]

Jury finds man guilty in Tama County cold case homicide:
http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Tama-County-cold-case-homicide-case-goes-to-jury-421872513.html

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Prosecutors win conviction in rare Iowa 'no body' murder case

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2017/05/10/prosecutors-win-conviction-rare-iowa-no-body-murder-case-tait-otis-purk-cora-ann-okonski/316262001/

Prosecutors have won a conviction in a rare Iowa first-degree murder trial where no body has been found, convincing jurors that a former Tama man killed his girlfriend — who vanished without a trace.

The jury verdict in the case against Tait Otis Purk was announced at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday after more than four hours of deliberation, according to Cedar Rapids Gazette court reporter Trish Mehaffey, who tweeted the news from the courtroom.

Purk, 50, now faces a mandatory life sentence for the death of Cora Ann Okonski, who was 23 and planning to marry the man before she disappeared. Prosecutors called witnesses who testified that Purk himself claimed he killed Okonski using a choke hold before burying her in a remote location, reportedly because she threatened to tell police about a truck theft and store robbery he was involved in.

Sentencing is set for July 10th.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Purk motion for new trial under advisement

http://www.tamatoledonews.com/page/content.detail/id/604559/Purk-motion-for-new-trial-under-advisement.html?nav=5006

Arguments for a new trial in the 1st degree murder conviction of Tait Otis Purk were heard by Judge Mitchell E. Turner in Tama County District Court in Toledo Friday morning, July 14.

.....

Judge Turner said he would try to rule in the case before the sentencing date later this month and allowed a request by Heeren for the prosecution and defense to submit briefs to him by July 21.

The sentencing date was pushed back to July 28th.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/sentencing-for-tait-purk-convicted-of-killing-fiancee-reset-to-aug-11-20170726

Sentencing for Tait Purk, convicted by an Iowa County jury for killing his fiancee in 2000, has been reset to Aug. 11 in Tama County District Court.

6th Judicial District Judge Mitchell Turner reset the sentencing, previously set for Friday, court documents show. He hasn’t ruled on the defense’s motion for new trial, which may be reason for the delay.

 

[PastTense]

An Iowa man convicted in May of murdering his girlfriend, whose body has never been found, will receive a new trial, a judge ruled Monday.

Tait Otis Purk, 50, was previously found guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the disappearance of his girlfriend, Cora Ann Okonski of Tama. She was last seen about 17 years ago, when she was 23 years old.

The court ruling that overturned that verdict on Monday cited lack of evidence presented during the May trial as one reason for granting Purk a new trial.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...rned-rare-no-body-iowa-murder-case/569322001/

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

New murder trial set for Tait Purk

http://www.tamatoledonews.com/page/content.detail/id/604795/New-murder-trial-set-for-Tait-Purk.html?nav=5006

In an order filed on Monday, Judge Turner ruled Purk's right to a speedy trial was back into effect and set the trial for Nov. 6 at the Tama County Courthouse.

 

[PastTense]

Jurors are “perplexed and confused” over a judge’s decision last month to throw out their guilty verdict in the first-degree murder trial of Tait Purk in Iowa County District Court.

“I’m dumbfounded, to be honest with you,” Ben Macumber, an Amana school principal who served as jury foreman in the May trial, said this week. “I’m frustrated. ... There’s no words to describe how I feel. But I have no doubt about our verdict.”

Two other jurors, who were willing to go on the record, echoed Macumber’s sentiments. They said they were shocked and confused by 6th Judicial District Judge Mitchell Turner’s ruling that grants Purk — accused of killing his fiancee Cora Okonski, 23, on April 16, 2000 *— a new trial.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...-tait-purk-first-degree-murder-trial-20170902

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Tait Purk waives jury for new murder trial

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/tait-purk-waives-jury-for-new-murder-trial/article_04d9e732-bae6-5e96-9839-b9374e9da018.html

Tait Purk has waived his right to a jury trial, meaning the state’s second attempt to lodge murder charges against him in the case of his missing girlfriend will be heard by a judge.

The move came earlier this week just as prosecutors appealed a district court judge’s ruling that threw out a first-degree murder verdict in Purk’s first trial.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

New murder trial for Tait Purk to move forward after appeal is dismissed

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/new-murder-trial-for-tait-purk-to-move-forward-after-appeal-is-dismissed-20171006

An appeal filed last month by a Tama County prosecutor, who said a judge “abused his discretion and manipulated the trial record” by overturning a jury’s first-degree murder conviction of Tait Purk, was “voluntarily” dismissed Thursday.

The appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court wasn’t dismissed by Tama County Attorney Brent Heeren, who filed it, but it was the decision of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which represents the prosecution in appeals.

The justices will not take up the appeal, according to a document filed Thursday. That officially sends the case back to the district or trial court.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Judge recuses self in Tait Purk murder trial

http://www.tamatoledonews.com/page/content.detail/id/605115/Judge-recuses-self-in-Tait-Purk-murder-trial.html?nav=5006

District Court Judge Mitchell E. Turner has recused himself from the Tait Purk murder trial. His action apparently came during a telephone conference call with prosecutors and defense attorneys on Wednesday, Oct. 11.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Testimony begins in retrial in Tama cold case disappearance

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/testimony-begins-in-retrial-in-tama-cold-case-disappearance-photos/article_67c8ccaa-26d1-549f-b795-4abf9533d37d.html

“There is only one truth in this case, and the state’s position is that the one truth is Tait Purk murdered his fiance, Cora Okonski. She is dead. This is not a case about a missing person or anything like that, this is a case about murder,” Heeren said.

Defense attorney Aaron Siebrecht called the allegations in Heeren’s opening statements “made up” and called the state’s case “speculation and conjecture about a man who is universally disliked, especially by a sheriff who decided to revive a closed missing person’s case and has transformed it to what it is today — an expensive, frivolous wild goose chase.”

http://www.tamatoledonews.com/page/content.detail/id/605259/Purk-1st-degree-murder-retrial-underway.html?nav=5006

Ricky Jo Weber Santos testified she was a friend and co-worker of Okonski at the King Tower Cafe in Tama, had given Okonski a ride to Irving, Iowa, on April 16 and returned there to pick her up and bring her back to a residence in Tama Okonski shared with Purk.

Santos testified Okonski expressed "fear for her life" and asked Santos to keep an eye on her home that night.

Okonski's adoptive parents, Jerry and Cecilia, gave testimony they were summoned by Tait Purk to come to Tama on April 18 to pick up Okonski's year and one-half year old son after she had not returned home on the night of April 16.

Cecilia Okonski denied under defense questioning Cora Ann had "run away 48 times" as a mental health document offered in court claimed.

 

[PastTense]

Tama County District Court Judge Ian K. Thornhlll heard closing arguments on Thursday morning, Nov. 9, and said he will review the 1st degree murder case of Tit Otis Purk, 51, Tama. The judge said he will set a hearing in open court to announce the verdict as soon as possible.

http://www.tamatoledonews.com/page/...ay-in-Tait-Purk-trial-in-Toledo.html?nav=5006

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/judge-to-issue-verdict-in-tait-purk-murder-trial-dec-8-20171128

A District Court judge will issue his verdict in the first-degree murder trial of Tait Purk at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8.

 

[Whiskers16]

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/judge-to-issue-verdict-in-tait-purk-murder-trial-dec-8-20171128

Guilty:
http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Ma...missing-fiance-for-second-time-462874563.html

 

[JerseyGirl]

Tait Otis Purk, 51, of Tama, was found guilty by Judge Ian Thornhill of second-degree murder in the 2000 disappearance of Cora Ann Okonski, who was last seen by family and friends more than 17 years ago whose body has never been found,

Purk faces 50 years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 1. He must serve 70 percent of the term before he is eligible for parole.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...-fiancee-rare-murder-trial-no-body/933553001/

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Tait Purk appeals murder conviction

http://www.tamatoledonews.com/page/content.detail/id/605740/Tait-Purk-appeals-murder-conviction.html?nav=5006

Tait Otis Purk, 51, is seeking a new trial and a stay of his second degree murder conviction. A motion for the new trial and in arrest of judgment was filed on Monday, Jan. 22, in Tama County District Court in Toledo.

Sentencing has been set for Feb. 1. It is not immediately known whether that will proceed in lieu of the motions.

 

[PastTense]

Thursday, 6th Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill sentenced Purk, 52, to 50 years in prison for killing his 23-year-old fiancee on April 16, 2000.

The sentencing went quickly. The conviction did not. The on-again, off-again verdict represents one of the rare cases in Iowa where a murder defendant has been found guilty without authorities ever finding the victim’s body.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...n-prison-for-killing-fiancee-in-2000-20180201

 

[imstilla.grandma]

It looks like Tama County is only an hour or so drive to Mitchell County. This is the only thread I see for a possibility.
No ID for human remains found near Mitchell