The Murder of John Robert Hill

On the morning of November 22, 1976, at 5 a.m. two young men went to Ottumwa Launderette and found a body lying face down. It was soon found out that it was the laundromat's 51 years old owner John Robert Hill.

It was believed that he had been attacked during a robbery. It was a bloody mess with obvious signs of a long struggle. There were also words written in blood by someone saying "black" or "lack" and the word "older". It's unknown if it was actually written by Hill. If it was though it is possible that it was written to describe the attacker if he didn't know him.

The attack on Hill was brutal. Hill had been stabbed 21 times and was shot with a .25-caliber pistol. The piston was laying near Hill's right hand. It had been fired 5 times. The police found 5 bullet holes by the front door but only found 4 bullets. Hill's pockets were turned inside out and it is believed that the murderer took off with several hundreds of dollars.

This case is currently unsolved. The police do have suspects, but no one has ever been prosecuted due to there not being enough evidence to stand up in court.

SOURCES:
http://www.ottumwacourier.com/news/local_news/searching-for-answers/article_c3d7f407-dfc5-5974-a840-efe50574f9bc.html
https://iowacoldcases.org/2010/11/clues-written-in-blood-the-murder-of-john-robert-hill/
https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/john-hill/