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On the morning of Thursday, October 15, 1959, Frederick “Fred” Leonard Coste, 47, was brutally murdered while at work in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Coste, the manager of the Family Finance Corporation, was found stabbed to death inside his small loan interview cubicle at the company’s office located at 312½ Second Avenue SE. He was the only employee on duty that morning.
Shortly before noon, two customers—Thomas McMurrin of Linn Junction Road NE and Donald McSpadden of H Avenue NW—arrived at the office to discuss loan matters. Upon entering, they discovered Coste lying on his back in a pool of blood. The men immediately went downstairs to the DeVar Restaurant and notified Patrolman Donald Hollister, who responded to the scene.
Investigators determined that Coste had suffered a violent attack. Linn County Medical Examiner Dr. Percy Harris reported that Coste had a bruised left eye and six stab wounds to the chest, one of which pierced his heart and caused instantaneous death. Harris noted that several of the wounds penetrated Coste’s rib cage, indicating the use of a heavy weapon. He estimated the time of death to be between 11:10 and 11:35 a.m.
Detectives George Matias and Roy Walker, along with Identification Officer T.C. McDermott, processed the crime scene. Smears of blood were found on the walls and on the cash register drawer. Investigators also discovered that $258.58 was missing from the drawer. Despite the evidence of a struggle, no usable fingerprints were recovered.
Later that evening, Cedar Rapids Police Chief Carl Badger announced that detectives had recovered a knife from the possession of a possible suspect. The knife contained what appeared to be traces of blood and flesh and was sent by Officer McDermott to the FBI laboratory in Washington, D.C., for testing. However, results released in January 1960 revealed that the stains on the knife were not human blood, effectively eliminating it as the murder weapon.
As the investigation continued, police interviewed dozens of individuals. McMurrin and McSpadden voluntarily submitted to polygraph examinations conducted by University of Iowa Professor Richard Holcomb, both of which indicated they were telling the truth. A third individual also underwent a lie detector test, though police declined to identify that person, stating the results were still under evaluation.
Investigators noted that loan records for two customers were missing from the office and pursued the possibility that the murder stemmed from a dispute over a denied loan. Police theorized that Coste may have argued with his attacker before being stabbed and that the theft of money may have been a secondary act rather than the primary motive.
In the days following the killing, a reward fund was established in hopes of generating leads. On October 22, 1959, the Iowa Consumer Finance Association offered a $200 reward. Two days later, an anonymous donor increased the reward to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Coste’s killer. Police reported receiving numerous tips, all of which were investigated, but no arrests were made.
Despite years of effort, the case remained unsolved. Five years later, Detective Captain John Kuba stated that while the trail had gone cold, the department had not abandoned the investigation. Police continued to believe the case could still be solved, noting that other murders had been cleared decades after they occurred. By 1964, however, no new leads had emerged.
Fred Coste was remembered by neighbors as a quiet, polite, and well-mannered man. Born December 9, 1911, in Kobe, Japan, to Louise and Frederick Walter Coste, he later served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He had worked for Family Finance Corporation for 18 years and had held positions in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Baltimore before being transferred to Cedar Rapids 14 months before his death.
Coste lived with his wife and their seven-year-old daughter, Diane, at 512 A Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids. Following his death, his family returned to Atlanta, Georgia, where Coste was laid to rest at Westview Cemetery. He was also survived by his mother, Louise Coste. More than six decades later, his murder remains one of Cedar Rapids’ most haunting unsolved cases.
