An Ottumwa man who was found guilty of killing his wife in 2021 has died in prison.
The Department of Corrections says Gregory Allen Showalter Senior died December 28th at the University of Iowa Medical Center, he was 64. No cause of death was given and the Department of Corrections has not responded to a request for that information.
Showalter was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Helen. Prosecutors said Showalter strangled his wife and dumped her body in the Des Moines River near Ottumwa. Showalter set off a manhunt when he failed to show up the day the jury reached the guilty verdict. He had been out on bail and was missing for some 20 hours before being captured.
Showalter began his life prison sentence in October of 2023.