Iowa man found guilty of killing his wife is arrested after failing to show up to court to hear verdict

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A convicted Iowa murderer who vanished Friday after failing to show up in court to hear a jury find him guilty of killing his wife has been taken into custody. 

Gregory Showalter Sr. of Ottumwa, 63, had previously been out on bail since August 2021 when a judge allowed him to post 10% of his $250,000 bond as long as he attended court hearings and wore a GPS monitor.  

Ottumwa Police Lt. Jason Bell said Friday that when police went to Showalter's home in Ottumwa, they found a woman outside who said she was his friend. She said Showalter had given her keys to his vehicle "and made a comment about not needing those keys anymore." She thought he was going to walk to the courthouse and didn't know where he had gone. 

Showalter, who was considered "armed and dangerous," had an arrest warrant for Failure to Appear – Murder in the First Degree, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety. It later said Saturday he has been taken into custody.

IOWA MAN FOUND GUILTY IN MURDER OF 10-YEAR-OLD AFTER 8-MONTH DISAPPEARANCE 

Defendant Gregory Showalter Sr. returns to his seat after testifying during his first-degree murder trial at the Wapello County Courthouse in Ottumwa, Iowa, on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.  (Kyle Ocker/The Ottumwa Courier via AP)

"We thank everyone that provided information that lead to the arrest of Showalter," the Iowa Department of Public Safety said.

Officials there said earlier that "Showalter was not present when the jury found him guilty today, September 22, 2023, for the murder of his wife in August of 2021."

Prosecutors alleged that Showalter – who in 2021 was going through a divorce with his wife Helen after being married for more than 40 years – lured her to a job site, killed her and then dumped her body along the Des Moines River, according to the Ottumwa Courier. 

The newspaper says Helen Showalter was reported missing by her family the next day, and a local found her body floating in the river. 

IOWA POLICE OFFICER FATALLY SHOT DURING ARREST ATTEMPT 

Gregory Showalter was found guilty Friday of killing his wife Helen in 2021. (Iowa Department of Public Safety)

While police searched for Showalter on Friday, the judge ordered that the verdict be read, citing Iowa court rules in cases where a person on trial is voluntarily absent. The jury found Showalter guilty of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, willful injury causing serious injury, and domestic abuse assault by strangulation or impeding blood circulation. 

Showalter’s lawyer said he had called his client and told him to come to the Wapello County Courthouse to learn his fate Friday before police later learned he cut off his GPS monitor and shut off his cell phone, according to the Associated Press. 

A police dog on Friday followed a scent to a motel about 1,000 feet away from Showalter’s home but wasn’t able to find him, the Ottumwa Courier reports. 

A check of Showalter's home Friday by the Ottumwa Police Department turned up no signs of him. (Ottumwa Police Department)

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A sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 16. In Iowa, a first-degree degree murder conviction carries a mandatory term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.