Some murder cases become part of a community’s history. Others slowly fade from memory, leaving behind only a name, a date and a lot of unanswered questions.
The murder of Melvin Royale “Mez” Adams is one of those cases.
Adams was 55 years old when he was found dead inside a small cabin south of Agency on February 13, 1983. The cabin was located near the Cliffland Bridge along the Des Moines River, on property owned by the Coghlan family.
Adams had turned 55 just five days earlier.
He was a Vermont native who had spent much of his life in Wapello County. He had served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and later worked at Whitham Nursery.
Those who knew him remembered him as an intelligent and kind man. His family also remembered his distinctive Vermont accent and his military service.
But on that February day, Adams was found dead.
His death was violent. Investigators determined that he had been killed with a sharp instrument. The remote location of the cabin made the circumstances even more difficult to piece together.
Adams lived next door to Ronald McLeran, a man he frequently drank with. It was McLeran’s companion, Betty Dyer, who discovered Adams’ body.
Wapello County Sheriff Bud Erwine investigated the killing.
And this wasn’t the first unsolved murder in the area.
Four and a half years earlier, 42-year-old Francis Jordon had been murdered in the same general area. Jordon was killed in July 1978 after two men reportedly came to his door claiming they needed help with their car.
That case also remains unsolved.
For Adams’ family, the lack of answers was especially painful.
His niece, Suzanne Eaves Koehler, later contacted Iowa Cold Cases and described her uncle as a truly nice person. She also said his death received very little attention at the time.
More than 40 years have now passed since Adams was killed.
There has been no trial.
No conviction.
And no definitive answer as to who walked into that cabin with Melvin Adams and took his life.
Adams was eventually laid to rest at Ottumwa Cemetery.
