The weekend death of Jim Klindt in Davenport is the final chapter in the story of one of Iowa’s most gruesome murders. The 62-year-old Klindt died Saturday of possible internal injuries suffered in a fall Thursday at his house. Klindt, who at one time was a respected chiropractor, was convicted of second-degree murder in 1984.
His trial marked the first use of D.N.A. evidence in an Iowa criminal trial. Klindt killed his wife Joyce with a billiard ball in 1983, dismembered her body with a chainsaw and dumped it in the Mississippi River. Fishermen found the torso, but the rest was never recovered. He was released from prison in 2004.
By Phil Roberts, Davenport