Authorities in Northwood have identified the man who died while in custody while being detained on the suspicion of beating a woman. Iowa DCI special agent Mike Krapfl says a Worth County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a report of a domestic assault in progress at about 11:30 Sunday night at 208 Fourth Street North. “The officer was flagged down for what appeared to be a domestic assault. The officer went there and heard a female screaming and yelling for help. He entered the residence and discovered a male who was beating up a female,” Krapfl said. Other deputies arrived and helped subdue and handcuff the man, who then became unresponsive.
The man identified as 39-year-old Michael Zubrod of Charles City, died at the scene. An autopsy has been conducted by the State Medical Examier, but a full report, including toxicology, is not expected until later this week. The woman was taken by medical helicopter to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester for stab wounds and blunt force injuries. A DCI news release issued Monday night stated that the 48-year-old woman was in serious condition.
Krapfl said the man and woman knew each other well. “They had a personal relationship…it wasn’t anything that was random,” Krapfl said. Zubrod in 2004 was convicted in Cerro Gordo County of misdemeanor domestic assault without intent to cause injury. In May of 2007, Chickasaw County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the rural residence of Zubrod’s father because Zubrod was “out of control”. When deputies arrived, they found him agitated and under the influence of drugs, with deputies having to restrain him.
A search of a camper on the property turned up a .22 caliber rifle and ammunition, leading to a 46-month federal prison term for Zubrod after he was convicted of domestic abuse and possession of a firearm as a felon.
Bob Fisher of KRIB in Mason City also contributed to this story.