THE DARK SIDE OF IOWA
Unsolved
Cody James & Gary Harker
Offender: Unsolved
Age: both were 30 years old
County: Scott
City: Davenport
Date of Crime: December 25, 1979
Age: both were 30 years old
County: Scott
City: Davenport
Date of Crime: December 25, 1979
Cody James and Gary Lee Harker met at Moline High School in Illinois and remained great friends long after their graduation. Even their birthdays were just one month apart. Not surprisingly, they were together on Christmas Day, 1979, painting in Cody's woodcarving shop in Moline. Later in the day, they stopped painting and hopped into Cody's 1965 black Chevrolet pickup truck. They had an air compressor to deliver in Rock Island and afterwards were to pick up the $500 payment for it in Davenport.
The two knew they had enemies and wanted to be prepared. They'd gone so far as giving a roll of film to another friend with explicit instructions: "If anything happens to us, develop this film." Gary's wife, Marie, also had reason to worry about the risky business in which her husband and his friend had become involved. She was into her third trimester expecting their new baby. Cody and Gary delivered the compressor in Rock Island and headed toward Davenport that night, but never arrived to pick up the $500 payment. Neither were ever seen alive again.
On February 22, 1980, the black pickup truck that sat parked in the 600 block of Iowa Street in Davenport - its bed full of grass, branches, other debris and snow - was tagged as an abandoned vehicle. On March 3, police had it towed to Road and Wrecker Service's yard where it would be held for a 40-day minimum stipulated by city ordinance before being put up for auction. A certified letter with towing details was sent to the truck's registered owner, Cody James, at 1019 25th Street in Moline, Illinois. The letter was returned, unanswered.
On Thursday, April 24, 1980 - five days before Gary's 31st birthday - James Spurling, Jr., 25, and his brother, Richard, 19, spotted the black pickup at the Davenport police auction. They had another truck in need of repairs and thought the black Chevrolet would be perfect for salvageable parts. Around noon and $140 later, the pickup belonged to them. When the auction ended, they drove the truck back to their father's farm in Muscatine County.
A few hours later, the elder brother noticed a foul odor coming from the truck and drove it out to a field where he could empty the grass and branches from the truck's bed. He went ot grab a shovel to begin shoveling out the debris when he noticed a boot. He tried to pull it out but it wouldn't move. That's when he saw a leg - a bug crawling across it - and realized a decomposing body lay beneath the refuse.
James, who said he initially thought the smell came from a dead animal, went back home to phone the police. Once there, and not quite certain what he'd seen, he decided to have another look before placing the call. He then discovered the second set of boots and the other body, and immediately phoned police.
The Davenport police said the bodies had probably been in the truck for about 60 days. Security Death Index lists Cody's death as December 1979, and Gary's death as January 1980. Officials determined both had been struck in the head with a wedge normally used for tree cutting. No foreign objects were found inside the bodies.
As the 25th anniversary of Gary and Cody's death approached, a friend - one who'd been entrusted with a certain roll of film - opened up his nightstand. He pulled out the photos. The time had come. He knew what he had to do.
On December 17, 2004, Davenport police announced they were renewing investigation into the double homicide after a friend of the victim handed over photographs from a roll of film given to him by the victim before they died. "He turned over photos of suspects we believed are involved in the killing," said Detective Greg Keller. Keller, who'd started looking at the case after a February tip to Davenport police said that when he read the case, he found a multi-jurisdictional investigation in 1980 that could be reignited due to computer databases that made it easier for police to follow leads and connect evidence.
Keller said a drug supplier was involve din the killings, and that when he'd first opened the file - the first time the case had been reviewed since 1996 - he found "there were things that weren't done that needed to be done." Many of the people the victims hung around were involved in drugs and would not go to police in 1970-1980, but 25 years later, were more willing to answer the investigators' questions and provide evidence. The ones talking now, Keller said, were the same ones who listened to Cody and Gary talk about concerns for their safety a quarter-century ago.
The soil and shrubbery found in the truck was tested to determine whether it matched similar materials from a suspected murder site, though police would not disclose the location. Davenport officers who'd towed the truck in 1980 remained optimistic about the direction of the renewed investigation. It already had turned up hair and blood samples on old evidence for possible DNA analysis.
In May 2004, an evidence technician used a chemical process just being developed at the time of the slayings, to find a fingerprint on evidence discovered in the truck with the bodies. Detectives interviewed people in at least five states but looked to question more. Keller said they felt people were still out there who knew what happened.
On December 23, 2004, Keller announced that photos on the roll of film were believed to have been taken in Bolinas, California, a coastal village about 30 miles north of San Francisco. Keller said police suspected that two men shown in the snapshots could have lived in the Bolinas area and might have information about the drug-related killings.
If you have any information regarding this unsolved murder, please contact the Davenport Police Department at 563.326.7979.
The two knew they had enemies and wanted to be prepared. They'd gone so far as giving a roll of film to another friend with explicit instructions: "If anything happens to us, develop this film." Gary's wife, Marie, also had reason to worry about the risky business in which her husband and his friend had become involved. She was into her third trimester expecting their new baby. Cody and Gary delivered the compressor in Rock Island and headed toward Davenport that night, but never arrived to pick up the $500 payment. Neither were ever seen alive again.
On February 22, 1980, the black pickup truck that sat parked in the 600 block of Iowa Street in Davenport - its bed full of grass, branches, other debris and snow - was tagged as an abandoned vehicle. On March 3, police had it towed to Road and Wrecker Service's yard where it would be held for a 40-day minimum stipulated by city ordinance before being put up for auction. A certified letter with towing details was sent to the truck's registered owner, Cody James, at 1019 25th Street in Moline, Illinois. The letter was returned, unanswered.
On Thursday, April 24, 1980 - five days before Gary's 31st birthday - James Spurling, Jr., 25, and his brother, Richard, 19, spotted the black pickup at the Davenport police auction. They had another truck in need of repairs and thought the black Chevrolet would be perfect for salvageable parts. Around noon and $140 later, the pickup belonged to them. When the auction ended, they drove the truck back to their father's farm in Muscatine County.
A few hours later, the elder brother noticed a foul odor coming from the truck and drove it out to a field where he could empty the grass and branches from the truck's bed. He went ot grab a shovel to begin shoveling out the debris when he noticed a boot. He tried to pull it out but it wouldn't move. That's when he saw a leg - a bug crawling across it - and realized a decomposing body lay beneath the refuse.
James, who said he initially thought the smell came from a dead animal, went back home to phone the police. Once there, and not quite certain what he'd seen, he decided to have another look before placing the call. He then discovered the second set of boots and the other body, and immediately phoned police.
The Davenport police said the bodies had probably been in the truck for about 60 days. Security Death Index lists Cody's death as December 1979, and Gary's death as January 1980. Officials determined both had been struck in the head with a wedge normally used for tree cutting. No foreign objects were found inside the bodies.
As the 25th anniversary of Gary and Cody's death approached, a friend - one who'd been entrusted with a certain roll of film - opened up his nightstand. He pulled out the photos. The time had come. He knew what he had to do.
On December 17, 2004, Davenport police announced they were renewing investigation into the double homicide after a friend of the victim handed over photographs from a roll of film given to him by the victim before they died. "He turned over photos of suspects we believed are involved in the killing," said Detective Greg Keller. Keller, who'd started looking at the case after a February tip to Davenport police said that when he read the case, he found a multi-jurisdictional investigation in 1980 that could be reignited due to computer databases that made it easier for police to follow leads and connect evidence.
Keller said a drug supplier was involve din the killings, and that when he'd first opened the file - the first time the case had been reviewed since 1996 - he found "there were things that weren't done that needed to be done." Many of the people the victims hung around were involved in drugs and would not go to police in 1970-1980, but 25 years later, were more willing to answer the investigators' questions and provide evidence. The ones talking now, Keller said, were the same ones who listened to Cody and Gary talk about concerns for their safety a quarter-century ago.
The soil and shrubbery found in the truck was tested to determine whether it matched similar materials from a suspected murder site, though police would not disclose the location. Davenport officers who'd towed the truck in 1980 remained optimistic about the direction of the renewed investigation. It already had turned up hair and blood samples on old evidence for possible DNA analysis.
In May 2004, an evidence technician used a chemical process just being developed at the time of the slayings, to find a fingerprint on evidence discovered in the truck with the bodies. Detectives interviewed people in at least five states but looked to question more. Keller said they felt people were still out there who knew what happened.
On December 23, 2004, Keller announced that photos on the roll of film were believed to have been taken in Bolinas, California, a coastal village about 30 miles north of San Francisco. Keller said police suspected that two men shown in the snapshots could have lived in the Bolinas area and might have information about the drug-related killings.
If you have any information regarding this unsolved murder, please contact the Davenport Police Department at 563.326.7979.
Source: Iowa Cold Cases
