THE DARK SIDE OF IOWA
Unsolved
Charles Sanders
photo courtesy Iowa Cold Cases
Offender: Unsolved
Age: 67 years old
Case #: 1954-33401
County: Polk
City: Des Moines
Date of Crime: April 15, 1954
Age: 67 years old
Case #: 1954-33401
County: Polk
City: Des Moines
Date of Crime: April 15, 1954
On April 17, 1954, two Des Moines youth fishing along a river bank spotted a body floating in the water and notified police. Thomas Spagnola, 14, of 924 Second Avenue, and Harry Piagentini, 15, of 4200 SE Sixteenth Street, discovered the body caught in an obstruction near the Des Moines River's west bank beneath the Court Avenue Bridge. The body, clothed in long underwear, a t-shirt and socks, was taken to Dunn's Funeral Home where fingerprints were taken to establish the victim's identity.
Polk County coroner, Dr. Walter Anderson, said the body had been in the water somewhere between 48 and 72 hours. The body had no water in his lungs so Anderson ruled the cause of death as a fractured skull and brain injuries.
Through fingerprints and family members, officials identified the body as that of Charles Edward Sanders, 67, who lived with his son, Carver Sanders, a justice of the peace, at 4321 E. Aurora Avenue. Charles had been a semi-pro baseball pitcher for several Des Moines teams in the early 1900s. Most of his adult life, Charles had worked as a house painter and paper hanger.
Witnesses reported seeing Charles in a tavern Thursday morning and police speculated Charles had subsequently become involved in a fight where he was badly injured or killed before being thrown into the river. The previous Christmas eve, Charles had been seriously injured in a slugging in the city's east side business district. Charles' son-in-law, Curtis Walker, as saying Charles was knocked out in the 400 block of Sixth Avenue East and found in a nearby apartment by family members on Christmas day. Curtis said it took about a month for his father-in-law to recover from the head injury.
If you have any information about Charles' unsolved murder, please contact the Des Moines Police Department at 515.283.4864.
Polk County coroner, Dr. Walter Anderson, said the body had been in the water somewhere between 48 and 72 hours. The body had no water in his lungs so Anderson ruled the cause of death as a fractured skull and brain injuries.
Through fingerprints and family members, officials identified the body as that of Charles Edward Sanders, 67, who lived with his son, Carver Sanders, a justice of the peace, at 4321 E. Aurora Avenue. Charles had been a semi-pro baseball pitcher for several Des Moines teams in the early 1900s. Most of his adult life, Charles had worked as a house painter and paper hanger.
Witnesses reported seeing Charles in a tavern Thursday morning and police speculated Charles had subsequently become involved in a fight where he was badly injured or killed before being thrown into the river. The previous Christmas eve, Charles had been seriously injured in a slugging in the city's east side business district. Charles' son-in-law, Curtis Walker, as saying Charles was knocked out in the 400 block of Sixth Avenue East and found in a nearby apartment by family members on Christmas day. Curtis said it took about a month for his father-in-law to recover from the head injury.
If you have any information about Charles' unsolved murder, please contact the Des Moines Police Department at 515.283.4864.
Source: Iowa Cold Cases