One of Iowa’s most haunting unsolved murder cases unfolded in Fremont County between 1948 and 1949, when three members of the prominent Rhode family died under strikingly similar and mysterious circumstances. What initially appeared to be illnesses would later raise suspicions of deliberate poisoning motivated by inheritance.
The first victim was 72-year-old Lucy Ann Rhode, who became violently ill in May 1948 with severe stomach pain and persistent vomiting. Despite medical treatment, she died on May 31 after doctors were unable to determine the cause of her illness. Nearly a year later, her husband, 75-year-old Alonzo Rhode, suffered nearly identical symptoms before dying on April 28, 1949. Just months afterward, their daughter, 47-year-old Winifred Rhode Elefson, also became seriously ill and died on August 22, 1949, after experiencing many of the same symptoms.
Authorities became suspicious after noticing the pattern of deaths within the same family. Fremont County Sheriff A.S. Christopher and Iowa Bureau of Criminal Investigation Agent Bob Gregerson reopened the case. The bodies of Lucy and Alonzo were exhumed, and toxicology testing found arsenic and mercury in Alonzo Rhode’s organs. Experts concluded he had been poisoned over time with repeated small doses. Unfortunately, Winifred had been cremated, preventing investigators from conducting similar tests.
Investigators focused on Winifred’s son, 22-year-old Lyman Harvey Elefson. He had been present with all three victims when they became ill and inherited approximately $15,000 following his mother’s death. Authorities also noted that another elderly relative became seriously ill after Elefson moved in with her but survived.
Elefson was arrested in late 1949 and charged with murdering his grandfather. However, despite testimony confirming poison in Alonzo Rhode’s body, prosecutors concluded there was not enough evidence to secure a conviction. A grand jury returned a “no bill” in February 1950, and the charges were never refiled. No one has ever been convicted in the deaths of Lucy, Alonzo, or Winifred Rhode.
Elefson later filed a lawsuit claiming malicious prosecution against his uncle, Wayne Rhode, who had signed the murder complaint. The case was ultimately dismissed in favor of Wayne Rhode. Records later showed Elefson lived in several states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, and reportedly Missouri. As of the article’s publication, the Rhode-Elefson family poisonings remained one of Iowa’s enduring unsolved murder mysteries.
Source: Nancy Bowers, Iowa Unsolved Murders: Historic Cases.
