A Creston man found guilty of beating his girlfriend to death with a hammer has died.
The Iowa Department of Corrections says 72-year-old Rick Bird died of natural causes Wednesday. Bird was found guilty of first-degree murder in Union County in the death of 47-year-old Linda Trenkle in Feburary of 1997.
Bird claimed Trenkle came at him with table leg and hammer during an argument. But prosecutors said Bird hit Trenkle in the head several times with a drywall hammer after she slapped him.
Bird started serving his life sentence on October 24th of 1997.