THE DARK SIDE OF IOWA
Unsolved
Patricia Ann Veach
photo courtesy Iowa Cold Cases
Offender: Unsolved
Age: 8 years old
Case #: 69-12925
County: Polk
City: Des Moines
Date of Crime: July 10, 1969
Age: 8 years old
Case #: 69-12925
County: Polk
City: Des Moines
Date of Crime: July 10, 1969
On Thursday morning, July 10, 1969, 8-year-old Patricia “Trish” Ann Veach was found dead in her bedroom at her Des Moines home. She had been sexually molested and police said she either was strangled or smothered by her slayer.
On July 14, the medical examiner revealed that Patricia had been smothered to death, but was uncertain whether it was accomplished with a pillow or a hand. Blood and hair found on the scene were sent for analysis but came back incomplete.
Patricia’s father, William “Bill” Veach, told police he’d gone to check on his daughter at 7:25 a.m. Thursday morning after discovering the home’s front door screen slashed near the latch. Bill said he found his daughter lying on her back, uncovered and clad only in her pajama top, and that there was blood on her body and on the bed.
Patricia lived with her parents, Bill and Etta Veach, and her older brother, Billy, at 805 SW Lally Street on Des Moines’ south side. Billy had spent the night with his paternal grandparents that night. The Veaches told police they’d gone to bed around 2 a.m. and that their daughter was all right at that time. They said they’d heard no unusual noises in the house, and that their dog – who was kept in the basement overnight – had not barked.
Police canvassed the neighborhood in search of persons who might have seen someone or heard something near the Veach’s home. Detectives questioned more than 500 persons by Sunday and there were seven detectives and two identification officers assigned to the case. The department didn’t have any clues regarding the identify of Patricia’s killer.
Patricia’s brother, Billy, remembers all too well the weeks, months, and years following his little sister’s murder – and the decades under which he felt his father lived under a cloud of suspicion. His father was questioned daily the first week after Patricia’s murder, and by month’s end, the family could no longer make it through the night in their home.
Members in the community viewed the family with suspicion and passed around a petition to keep the family out of the neighborhood. Billy said he lived in fear his father would never fully be cleared. Out of 81 pieces of evidence, the State Crime Lab had obtained only a few DNA markers – not enough at the time to run through the FBI database.
On March 8, 2011, Billy said he received word the family had waited decades to hear; the State Crime Lab had resubmitted the evidence to check for familial DNA. According to Billy, the FBI was “able to definitively exclude my dad, his brothers and myself from any suspicion.” Billy said when he told his father about the results, they both broke down in tears.
If you have any information about the murder of Patricia Ann Veach, please contact the Des Moines Police Department at 515.283.4864.
On July 14, the medical examiner revealed that Patricia had been smothered to death, but was uncertain whether it was accomplished with a pillow or a hand. Blood and hair found on the scene were sent for analysis but came back incomplete.
Patricia’s father, William “Bill” Veach, told police he’d gone to check on his daughter at 7:25 a.m. Thursday morning after discovering the home’s front door screen slashed near the latch. Bill said he found his daughter lying on her back, uncovered and clad only in her pajama top, and that there was blood on her body and on the bed.
Patricia lived with her parents, Bill and Etta Veach, and her older brother, Billy, at 805 SW Lally Street on Des Moines’ south side. Billy had spent the night with his paternal grandparents that night. The Veaches told police they’d gone to bed around 2 a.m. and that their daughter was all right at that time. They said they’d heard no unusual noises in the house, and that their dog – who was kept in the basement overnight – had not barked.
Police canvassed the neighborhood in search of persons who might have seen someone or heard something near the Veach’s home. Detectives questioned more than 500 persons by Sunday and there were seven detectives and two identification officers assigned to the case. The department didn’t have any clues regarding the identify of Patricia’s killer.
Patricia’s brother, Billy, remembers all too well the weeks, months, and years following his little sister’s murder – and the decades under which he felt his father lived under a cloud of suspicion. His father was questioned daily the first week after Patricia’s murder, and by month’s end, the family could no longer make it through the night in their home.
Members in the community viewed the family with suspicion and passed around a petition to keep the family out of the neighborhood. Billy said he lived in fear his father would never fully be cleared. Out of 81 pieces of evidence, the State Crime Lab had obtained only a few DNA markers – not enough at the time to run through the FBI database.
On March 8, 2011, Billy said he received word the family had waited decades to hear; the State Crime Lab had resubmitted the evidence to check for familial DNA. According to Billy, the FBI was “able to definitively exclude my dad, his brothers and myself from any suspicion.” Billy said when he told his father about the results, they both broke down in tears.
If you have any information about the murder of Patricia Ann Veach, please contact the Des Moines Police Department at 515.283.4864.
Source: Iowa Cold Cases
