THE DARK SIDE OF IOWA
Mark Wilson
#6260060
photo courtesy Des Moines Register
Full Name: Mark Anthony Wilson
DOB: December 3, 1958
Charge: 1st degree murder
County: Webster
City: Fort Dodge
Current Status: Iowa State Penitentiary
Date of Crime: July 6, 2001
Tentative Discharge Date: Life
Victim: Joni Manning
DOB: December 3, 1958
Charge: 1st degree murder
County: Webster
City: Fort Dodge
Current Status: Iowa State Penitentiary
Date of Crime: July 6, 2001
Tentative Discharge Date: Life
Victim: Joni Manning
In the summer of 2001, Joni Manning was living with her boyfriend, Mark Wilson, and four of her five children in her home just outside Fort Dodge. On July 1, Joni told her boyfriend, Sandra Darling, that she was having problems in her relationship with Mark and was planning to break up with him. On July 5, Joni also told her friend, Joan Smith, that she and Mark were having issues and she planned to break up with him.
On July 6, a Friday, Joni’s oldest son, Brandon, and his friend, Todd, stopped by Joni’s house around noon. The other children were not home, and they saw Joni and Mark talking at the kitchen table. Nothing appeared unusual, except that Joni and Mark “kind of followed [them] around the whole time,” and Joni “kept talking to [Brandon] for some reason.”
That weekend, Joni was scheduled to work her normal weekend shift as a nurse at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. She would normally leave her house mid-afternoon on Friday and drive her 2000 gold Mustang to Des Moines. At approximately 4:30 PM, that day, Joni’s friend, Peggy Ruebel, observed Mark driving Joni’s gold Mustang toward Fort Dodge. At approximately 4:45 PM, Mark cashed a check for $150 at Citizens Community Credit Union in Fort Dodge. The check was made out to him on the account of Joni, but the signature on the check was not Joni’s.
When Joni failed to arrive at Mercy Hospital for her shift and did not answer her home phone, her coworkers become concerned. They requested the Webster County Sheriff’s Office to make a welfare check on her home. An officer went to Joni’s house, but no one answered the door.
The next day, Saturday, July 7, Joni’s oldest daughter, Rachel, also saw Mark driving Joni’s gold Mustang. This struck Rachel as odd because she knew Joni was supposed to be in Des Moines and did not think Joni would let Mark bring her car back, as the car “was her baby.” Joni’s son, Brandon, was unable to reach his mother by phone on that day.
On Sunday, July 8, Joni’s thirteen-year-old son, Jordan, returned home from a weekend visit with his father. The front door was locked, so he entered through the garage. He noticed an unpleasant odor, and saw the kitchen was in disarray. No one else was home, and Joni’s gold Mustang was gone. Jordan played in his room for a while then went out to the garage to skateboard when he could no longer tolerate the smell. A short time later, Brandon and his friend arrived home. Jordan told Brandon to go look around the house “because something wasn’t right in there.” Brandon went inside and saw blood and broken glass in the kitchen, and noticed a “very bad smell.” He looked in Joni’s bedroom, which was off the kitchen, and saw his mother on the floor. She was not moving and was bound in duct tape. Brandon called 911.
When authorities entered the house, they noticed things were in disarray; items were tipped over and blood splatters and smeared throughout the kitchen and bedroom. They found Joni on the master bedroom floor. Her body was clothed, but had both a clear tape and duct tape around her wrists, ankles and around her neck. There was a large pool of blood around the body.
DNA analysis of various blood spots and stains around the house matched both Joni and Mark. Mark’s DNA was found in blood on many objects in the house including a kitchen towel, a fan from the bedroom, a check carbon, a shirt from the kitchen, a gauze role, jeans found in the kitchen, and jeans found in the bedroom. Fingerprints left on several bloody objects found in the house were identified as Mark’s.
Joni had been beaten, suffering at least twenty-six separate strikes by a blunt object to her head and face. Two of Joni’s wounds appeared to have been made by a sharp instrument. She also had a broken nose. An autopsy showed she died from blunt force trauma to her head. The medical examiner estimated that Joni died at least forty-eight hours prior to being found, which meant she was most likely killed sometime on Friday, July 6.
On July 9, in Kansas City, Police Officer Brian Brewer was on routine patrol in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and noticed a gold Mustang with an Iowa license plate. The Mustang was parked in area called “Jurassic Park” that is “known for high levels of drug activity.” Officer Brewer ran the plate and discovered the vehicle was wanted in connection to an Iowa homicide. He observed two men in the car and stopped the vehicle. Officer Brewer recognized the passenger in the vehicle, Melvin Griffin, as someone he had previously investigated for drug-related incidents. The driver identified himself as Larry Ridgell. Neither man had any warrants. They told Officer Brewer they got the car from a man named “mark,” who they identified via a photograph of Mark Wilson.
A day or two earlier, Larry and Melvin, who trafficked crack cocaine in the Jurassic Park area, had been approached by Mark. Mark asked the men to “rent” the Mustang for a while in exchange for fifty dollars of crack cocaine. They agreed to meet later in the day for Mark to give the Mustang back, but Mark did not show. Among other items found in the search of the vehicle was a Fort Dodge newspaper dated July 7, 2001. Larry and Melvin were the last people to see Mark alive.
Eight years later, on August 8, 2009, Webster County Detective Kevin Kruse received a message to return a call from “Mark.” Detective Kruse reached Mark at the number he provided. Mark asked whether there were any outstanding warrants for him. Detective Kruse told Mark there was a murder warrant for him. Mark responded, “Murder? …Murder? …Is Joni dead?” Mark was emotional and also made the statement that “he’d go to prison for the rest of his life.”
Detective Kruse told Mark to turn himself in, and Mark said he was currently in Los Angeles. Investigators later learned that at various points between July 2001 and August 2009, Mark worked for a carnival in California, going by the name of Don Winget. Mark was fired in August 2009. On August 18, 2009, Mark walked into a Sacramento police station and informed California Highway Patrol Officer Joseph Pickar there was an arrest warrant for him in Iowa and indicated he was tired of running. Officer Pickar soon discovered the warrant was for murder.
On July 6, a Friday, Joni’s oldest son, Brandon, and his friend, Todd, stopped by Joni’s house around noon. The other children were not home, and they saw Joni and Mark talking at the kitchen table. Nothing appeared unusual, except that Joni and Mark “kind of followed [them] around the whole time,” and Joni “kept talking to [Brandon] for some reason.”
That weekend, Joni was scheduled to work her normal weekend shift as a nurse at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. She would normally leave her house mid-afternoon on Friday and drive her 2000 gold Mustang to Des Moines. At approximately 4:30 PM, that day, Joni’s friend, Peggy Ruebel, observed Mark driving Joni’s gold Mustang toward Fort Dodge. At approximately 4:45 PM, Mark cashed a check for $150 at Citizens Community Credit Union in Fort Dodge. The check was made out to him on the account of Joni, but the signature on the check was not Joni’s.
When Joni failed to arrive at Mercy Hospital for her shift and did not answer her home phone, her coworkers become concerned. They requested the Webster County Sheriff’s Office to make a welfare check on her home. An officer went to Joni’s house, but no one answered the door.
The next day, Saturday, July 7, Joni’s oldest daughter, Rachel, also saw Mark driving Joni’s gold Mustang. This struck Rachel as odd because she knew Joni was supposed to be in Des Moines and did not think Joni would let Mark bring her car back, as the car “was her baby.” Joni’s son, Brandon, was unable to reach his mother by phone on that day.
On Sunday, July 8, Joni’s thirteen-year-old son, Jordan, returned home from a weekend visit with his father. The front door was locked, so he entered through the garage. He noticed an unpleasant odor, and saw the kitchen was in disarray. No one else was home, and Joni’s gold Mustang was gone. Jordan played in his room for a while then went out to the garage to skateboard when he could no longer tolerate the smell. A short time later, Brandon and his friend arrived home. Jordan told Brandon to go look around the house “because something wasn’t right in there.” Brandon went inside and saw blood and broken glass in the kitchen, and noticed a “very bad smell.” He looked in Joni’s bedroom, which was off the kitchen, and saw his mother on the floor. She was not moving and was bound in duct tape. Brandon called 911.
When authorities entered the house, they noticed things were in disarray; items were tipped over and blood splatters and smeared throughout the kitchen and bedroom. They found Joni on the master bedroom floor. Her body was clothed, but had both a clear tape and duct tape around her wrists, ankles and around her neck. There was a large pool of blood around the body.
DNA analysis of various blood spots and stains around the house matched both Joni and Mark. Mark’s DNA was found in blood on many objects in the house including a kitchen towel, a fan from the bedroom, a check carbon, a shirt from the kitchen, a gauze role, jeans found in the kitchen, and jeans found in the bedroom. Fingerprints left on several bloody objects found in the house were identified as Mark’s.
Joni had been beaten, suffering at least twenty-six separate strikes by a blunt object to her head and face. Two of Joni’s wounds appeared to have been made by a sharp instrument. She also had a broken nose. An autopsy showed she died from blunt force trauma to her head. The medical examiner estimated that Joni died at least forty-eight hours prior to being found, which meant she was most likely killed sometime on Friday, July 6.
On July 9, in Kansas City, Police Officer Brian Brewer was on routine patrol in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and noticed a gold Mustang with an Iowa license plate. The Mustang was parked in area called “Jurassic Park” that is “known for high levels of drug activity.” Officer Brewer ran the plate and discovered the vehicle was wanted in connection to an Iowa homicide. He observed two men in the car and stopped the vehicle. Officer Brewer recognized the passenger in the vehicle, Melvin Griffin, as someone he had previously investigated for drug-related incidents. The driver identified himself as Larry Ridgell. Neither man had any warrants. They told Officer Brewer they got the car from a man named “mark,” who they identified via a photograph of Mark Wilson.
A day or two earlier, Larry and Melvin, who trafficked crack cocaine in the Jurassic Park area, had been approached by Mark. Mark asked the men to “rent” the Mustang for a while in exchange for fifty dollars of crack cocaine. They agreed to meet later in the day for Mark to give the Mustang back, but Mark did not show. Among other items found in the search of the vehicle was a Fort Dodge newspaper dated July 7, 2001. Larry and Melvin were the last people to see Mark alive.
Eight years later, on August 8, 2009, Webster County Detective Kevin Kruse received a message to return a call from “Mark.” Detective Kruse reached Mark at the number he provided. Mark asked whether there were any outstanding warrants for him. Detective Kruse told Mark there was a murder warrant for him. Mark responded, “Murder? …Murder? …Is Joni dead?” Mark was emotional and also made the statement that “he’d go to prison for the rest of his life.”
Detective Kruse told Mark to turn himself in, and Mark said he was currently in Los Angeles. Investigators later learned that at various points between July 2001 and August 2009, Mark worked for a carnival in California, going by the name of Don Winget. Mark was fired in August 2009. On August 18, 2009, Mark walked into a Sacramento police station and informed California Highway Patrol Officer Joseph Pickar there was an arrest warrant for him in Iowa and indicated he was tired of running. Officer Pickar soon discovered the warrant was for murder.
Source: Justia US Law