A Sioux City man is being held on a one-million-dollar bond on charges related to a home invasion that left one man dead and a woman injured early Wednesday. Twenty-three-year-old James Kroll is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and first-degree robbery.
Sioux City police chief, Doug Young, says officers were called to the scene around three a.m. Young says,”They looked inside… and discovered a male laying on the floor. They then made entry to the residence and upon entering went to the male. The also discovered a female in the resident that had severe head trauma.”
Court documents say Kroll observed the man and woman for several hours before entering a window of the home. Police say Kroll went into the bedroom of 54-year-old Jefferey Moravek and struck him twice in the head with a crowbar as Moravek slept. Moravek later died at the hospital.
Court documents say Kroll then went into a separate bedroom and struck 54-year-old Mary Tope in the head with the crowbar as she slept. Tope is hospitalized, but no information on her condition is being released.
Young says Kroll was arrested without incident. Young says they received information on a possible suspect and contacted Kroll by his cellphone and he agreed to surrender.
Court documents revealed that Tope’s daughter, who lived in the home, gave police Kroll’s cellphone number and that the family was acquainted with him. Kroll is being represented by a public defender, and his preliminary hearing is set for June 25th.
By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City