On May 26, 1998, Patricia Jauron was murdered in her old home. The only lead: she was meeting a man who had responded to an ad she had placed for a waterbed she was selling. Her murder remains unsolved.

On the morning of Tuesday, May 26, 1998, Woodbury County authorities responded to a call at a home south of Sioux City, Iowa. Initial reporting on Wednesday, May 27th, 1998 from Maggie O’Brien in the Des Moines Register stated authorities had found a woman dead Tuesday at a rural home. The woman, revealed in the article, was Patricia Jauron.

Patricia Jauron was 45 years old and recently retired from her job as a secretary at Sergeant Bluff Middle School. Patricia was also a member of the school board and had worked her way up in the school system, starting as a school aid and eventually becoming the middle school secretary.

Patricia was married to Gene Jauron, and they had two sons, Jason and Kevin, both older and moved out. Gene had recently retired as well from a career with Mid American Energy, and the two had plans to travel.

At the time of her death, Gene and Patricia had just moved to a new home at 1515 Old Highway 141, and their old home was actually just across the road at 1516 Old Highway 141. Patricia was found dead at the old home. Friends of the Jaurons said that the two had inherited the new home from an elderly neighbor, and had been living in it for about six months at the time of her death.

According to Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Bob Henderson, investigators were at the scene until late Tuesday. Witnesses at the time said the crime scene was cordoned off, and that police seemed to be centering their investigation on a pickup truck that was parked nearby.

Now, beyond revealing it was a family member who placed the 911 call, investigators were very tight-lipped about the scene, not revealing Patricia’s specific cause of death, or confirming other reports about the circumstances surrounding why she was at the old home. They weren’t revealing why the death was being considered a homicide, but that “circumstances” indicated foul play.

Early on, reports were circling that Patricia was scheduled to meet a prospective buyer at their old house. Despite living in the new home for a while, they were still trying to sell the old home along with some of their belongings that they had left in it.

And by Thursday, May 28th, this was confirmed by investigators. According to the Des Moines Register, investigators said that the day Patricia was murdered, she had plans to show a waterbed to a person who had responded to an advertisement she had placed on the KSCJ “Swap Shop” show.

Investigators also revealed, following an autopsy, that Patricia had died of multiple stab wounds, her body was found in the yard of the old home, and she was killed shortly before 911 was called. Reporting by Michele Link in the Sioux City Journal stated that Gene Jauron had gone to the house and was the one to call 911 after suspecting a problem at the home.

The medical examiner said there was no evidence Patricia had been raped. They declined to say how many times Patricia was stabbed, what type of knife was used, or if the weapon had been found. Investigators said a suspect had not been identified but said that a red vehicle was seen in the area at the time of the murder. Despite these details, investigators said they didn’t believe there was any imminent danger to the public following her murder.

Patricia was well-known and respected in the community. She was described as being “committed, unselfish, and always looking out for the interests of the school and children”. A friend of Patricia’s was quoted in the Sioux City Journal as saying “It wasn’t just anybody that was murdered, she was a wonderful person”. The friend added that Patricia had touched the lives of so many children in the school, that she was someone the kids trusted and came to for advice.

A few days into the investigation, the Woodbury County Sheriff relayed that they were looking into who responded to Patricia's radio advertisement, but that was just one focus of the search, adding that there are dangers in only focusing on the most promising leads.

Rolling into June, residents and businesses in Woodbury County came together. They raised around $6000 for a reward fund, but investigators continued with few leads and very little new information being released to the public.

The Sioux City Journal reported on June 5th that the Sheriff’s Department and other area law enforcement agencies continued looking for a red passenger car that was seen at the address during the time of the killing, which they suspected occurred between 9 and 9:45 am.

On June 13th the Sioux City Journal reported that investigators still had no new information but that they were waiting for forensic test results to come back that could point them in the direction of who killed Patricia. This article also states that authorities were considering speaking with a criminal profiler to study the case but that that decision was still a ways off.

On July 30th, Lynn Zerschiing reported in the Sioux City Journal that the red vehicle spotted at the scene continued to be the primary focus of investigators. As the article states, it’s clear at this point they still have not identified the driver of the red vehicle or the person who responded to the radio ad. Woodbury County Sheriff Dave Amick said no strong new leads had developed and continued to plead to the public to call in with any information they had.

He said “We are still looking for a smaller red vehicle, which was seen during that time frame. We are still trying to identify that vehicle.” He goes on to say “There may be people in this community who probably have a suspicion who this may be, but don’t think it’s important enough. My message today is even if it seems so remote, please still share that with us. There is no such thing as a bad lead, just some that are better than others”.

It’s also clarified that Gene Jauron found his wife’s body in the yard downhill from the home prior to calling 911. Investigators say they have been working with other law enforcement agencies around the country, trying to see if similar murders had occurred, but nothing has come back as being potentially related.

He said that while they have other leads they are pursuing, the red car is their biggest question mark, and at a minimum, that person might be a good witness or could be a suspect.

Months go by with very little reporting, and no new leads, with investigators admitting they have run out of investigative paths. In November, however, in an article written by Jason Clayworth in the Des Moines Register, it was revealed that Woodbury County officials had turned to the FBI for help in solving Patricia’s murder. They say they have exhausted all leads, and the case has gone cold.

Investigators presented the case to the National Center for Analysis of Violent Crime. After this presentation, a Captain with the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Department said their review gave them several leads, but that all had been discounted, another investigator said no profile was made of a suspect.

Years go by with very little reporting and no new leads. In 2002, Jim Jenkins reported in the Sioux City Journal that authorities would be reviewing Patricia’s unsolved murder. The Woodbury County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said they planned to reinterview witnesses and information hoping new information would turn up. Sheriff’s Deputy David Fox said at the time “We’ll see if there’s anything we might have missed. We don’t believe we have missed anything. It’s just to go over the case with the witnesses to see if they can add any information to getting this crime solved.”

Fox said time has not run out on the investigation, he said “I think with the right information, time is not going to matter. A good lead could still be developed”.

If anything came from the 2002 review of the case, I wasn’t able to find it in my research.

In 2005, Gene Jauron spoke with reporter Melissa Lanzourakis during an interview with KTIV News Channel 4. During this interview, he gave his account of what happened the day of Patricia’s murder.

According to Gene, the couple had held a yard sale at some point prior to Patricia’s murder, and said a person who had attended that yard sale apparently paid for a dresser that day but never came back for it. The same man then called several times afterward inquiring about purchasing the waterbed and wanting to set up a time to meet. Gene said the man told him he worked at an area packing plant, and that the phone calls the guy made were traced to a pay phone near a local convenience store.

Gene alleges that Patricia went to the old house at the time she had scheduled with this person and that she was only supposed to be gone for a few moments. Gene said that from his home across the highway, he could see a red car and believed it belonged to the person looking at the waterbed, and who would eventually kill his wife.

Gene goes on to say that when Pat didn’t return home, he went over to the old house to check on her. When he arrived, he said he found the waterbed covered in blood.

Gene is quoted as saying “He’d hit her in the head, knocked her down and tied her up. She still had the twine on her one arm, but she got loose. He started stabbing. She got out the basement door and she got out into the yard and he must have stabbed all the way out.”

Gene said he found Patricia’s body over an embankment and that all he could do was hold her. He claimed the stabbing had been so forceful, that the knife’s bad had broken off in her chest. Gene called 911 at 10:52 a.m. According to the medical examiner, Patricia had died sometime shortly after 9 a.m.

I haven’t found any articles with comments from investigators on Gene’s version of events. His comments about a yard sale and that person calling back multiple times are not mentioned in any of the other articles on the case, the only mention is that someone called responding to a radio ad Patricia had put out, which Gene doesn’t mention in his account. I have not read any statements from investigators on the extent to which Gene himself was investigated for Patricia’s murder, but it is safe to assume he was investigated. Investigators called the murder savage, and “personal in nature”, indicating the victim likely knew her killer.

In 2015, the Iowa Cold Cases Facebook page made a post on the 17th anniversary of Patricia’s murder, and from the tone of the post, it seems clear they are suspicious of Gene. They highlight that Gene appears to be the only witness and person who saw the red vehicle that was the main focus of the investigation and that a girlfriend Gene had after Patricia died left him because she was afraid of him. The post says that he had threatened her after the breakup by bringing a photo of her to her place of employment, and the photo was full of holes from a shotgun blast. I rely on news articles and never social media like Facebook when researching a case, but the Iowa Cold Cases organization is run by a well-known journalist in Iowa, Jody Ewing, who helped stand up the most recent Iowa Cold Case Unit. So, I do consider their posts to be more reliable, though they did not include sourcing on that specific post.

Unlike previous cold cases I have looked into, I haven't encountered a single news article or statement from investigators insinuating they were ever suspicious of Gene. Most of the articles didn't mention Gene at all, in fact.

Gene Jauron passed away in 2012. He always believed someone in the area knew what happened.

If you have any information on the murder of Patricia Jauron, please contact the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office at 712-279-6010, or Crime Stoppers.

SOURCES:

• Maggie O’Brien, Woman stabbed multiple times, autopsy shows, The Des Moines Register, May 28, 1998
• Michele Linck, Police investigate woman’s death, The Sioux City Journal, May 27, 1998
• Maggie O’Brien, Woman found dead at rural home; investigators suspect homicide, The Des Moines Register, May 27, 1998
• Michele Linck, Car sought in probe of murder, The Sioux City Journal, May 28, 1998
• Michele Linck, Investigation continues into woman’s slaying, The Sioux City Journal, May 29, 1998
• Patricia A. Jauron Obituary, The Sioux City Journal, May 29, 1998
• Followup: Sioux City slaying, The Des Moines Register, June 7, 1998
• Michele Linck, Reward offered for information in woman’s death, The Sioux City Journal, June 5, 1998
• Murder probe awaits test results, The Sioux City Journal, June 13, 1998
• Lynn Zerschiing, Red car may hold key to Jauron murder, The Sioux City Journal, July 30, 1998
• Followup: Authorities stymied, The Des Moines Register, August 2, 1998
• Jason Clayworth, FBI help sought in identifying killer, The Des Moines Register, November 7, 1998
• Michael Koehler, Murder case analyzed to get profile of killer, The Sioux City Journal, November 7, 1998
• Jim Jenkins, Authorities will review unsolved homicide, The Sioux City Journal, June 20, 2002
• Melissa Lanzourakis, Interview with Gene Jauron, KTIV News Channel 4, 2005
• https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/patricia-jauron/
• https://database.projectcoldcase.org/?name=&city=&state=Iowa&year=