Authorities say two neighbors in an Iowa City apartment complex got into a fight over a game of chess early Sunday morning. Thirty-nine-year-old Michael Steward wound up dead. Steward’s neighbor — 29-year-old David Christian — has been charged with second-degree murder and public intoxication. Another neighbor, Jessie Witherell, says the two liked to play chess together.
"They just liked to hang out together and party, you know, for the most part," Witherell says. "I think that whatever happened was probably an accident." Gail Cox, another neighbor, says she never saw any problems.
"They drank a lot and hung outside here a lot, but that’s all I know," Cox says. Police aren’t releasing many details, such as just how Steward died or whether a weapon was used.