The 1996 murder of John Dale “Terry” Terry near Agency became one of southeast Iowa’s most notorious homicide cases. More than two decades later, it drew international attention when convicted killer Benjamin Schreiber argued that his life sentence had ended after he briefly died during a medical emergency and was revived.
On July 27, 1996, prosecutors said Schreiber met Terry and Terry’s girlfriend, Evelyn Tangie, at an abandoned trailer south of Agency. Authorities said Schreiber attacked the 39-year-old Terry with the wooden handle of an axe or pickaxe, striking him multiple times in the head before disposing of the weapon west of Agency. Investigators later recovered the blood-covered handle, which contained the victim’s hair.
Terry’s body was discovered the following day, and investigators quickly focused on Schreiber. Physical evidence, witness testimony, and the recovered weapon led to his arrest on July 30, 1996.
Schreiber maintained his innocence throughout his trial, arguing that the evidence was insufficient and suggesting someone else could have committed the crime. After about two hours of deliberation, a Wapello County jury convicted him of first-degree murder on Aug. 22, 1997. He was sentenced to the mandatory punishment of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Tangie was also charged in the case. Although she was initially convicted of second-degree murder, the Iowa Court of Appeals later overturned her conviction because jurors heard testimony that violated her constitutional rights, leading to a retrial.
For years, Schreiber unsuccessfully appealed his conviction. Then, in 2015, he suffered a life-threatening case of sepsis caused by kidney stones. According to court records, doctors revived him after his heart stopped several times.
In 2018, Schreiber filed an unusual legal challenge, arguing that because he had technically died, he had completed his “life” sentence and should be released. He also claimed doctors should have honored his do-not-resuscitate order.
The Iowa Court of Appeals rejected the argument in 2019, ruling that the legislature never intended for a life sentence to end because an inmate was temporarily revived by modern medicine. The court concluded that Schreiber was either alive and still required to serve his sentence, or dead, making the appeal irrelevant.
The unusual legal argument attracted worldwide attention, with major news organizations covering the case.
Benjamin Schreiber remained incarcerated until his death from natural causes on April 7, 2023, at the age of 70, bringing an end to one of Iowa’s most unusual legal cases.
