MASON CITY – A preliminary report provided by the State Medical Examiner’s Officer has ruled the manner of death of Sarah Winters as a homicide caused by strangulation.
Winters was discovered by Mason City police in the early morning hours of July 10, 2012 after responding to a suspicious activity call to 410 N. Washington (pictured).
Subsequent investigation into the incident has led to the arrest of Aaron Harris who has been charged with 1st degree murder and is currently being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail.
Listen to audio discussion with a person who arrived at homicide scene minutes after incident took place Tuesday morning (voice disguised at bystander’s request):
httpv://youtu.be/qBYSRryOOlI
Aaron Harris
57 thoughts on “Medical examiner: Sarah Winters strangled; Listen to audio with bystander from homicide scene”
People with alcohol problems resulting in incarceration or people being hurt by them should be court ordered to have anabuse injections, I’m pretty sure he was drunk when this happened, which would;ve never happen if doctors in psych wards made people get court ordered anabuse injections, psychologists/doctors can keep someone as long as they want in 5east , so they could make them sign a paper to receieve these injections, I believe it would save many lifes or people from getting hurt…
wow this really shouldnt have been online! m.c. police need more training!
He wiped out all the comments because they had NOTHING to do with the article. You and others being childish and going back and forth on something that had absolutely nothing to do with anyone involved in that accident. If you are going to comment, you might also want to get your facts right as her name was Sarah, Dawn is her middle name.
Adios!
TO Peter L
if you think in your mind that Aaron Harris, could stop his actions, there is no way he could, he was a drunk a drug addict and also on prescription meds, so my thought is stop reading the laws to us, since they don’t work anyway, he should have never been let out of Cherokee, because he is just that stupid of a person that better get 1st degree murder and never make bail
To those who havr posted before:
The articles on thia site seem to provide a proper picture of where we all live, work, and attempt to enjoy life. We can all look at the problems, point the fingers, and say we will do this or that.
With that being said it seems this community is on a drastic downward slide as of late. We have witnessed a significant increase in not just the number, but the brutality of crimes in what I once felt was a good homest town.
I, like many others, have had what I felt was a priviledge to grow up in this town while feeling safe and secure. That feeling is gone. I will admit that I will not be a prisoner to my own home (which doesnt seem to matter it your in your home or not anymore) but I dont know if i will be walking the streets without personal protection.
I will not get on this site and join in with others pointing finger and speaking in a forum as though i have the answer, because i do not, but those opting to react in this fashion should reconsider their words and understand the impact of the words without action. Without action behind what you say nothing changes and solutions are never found.
I wholeheartedly believe there is a solution for the increase in violent crime in this town, and again i dont havr the solution, but there are people we pay to make the necessary decisions to make sure our children (regardless of age) are protected and provided the same security from evils as persons before us were afforded.
As a disclaimer, i want all to understand talk with no action has as many consequences and possibly more than turning a blind eye to the troubles we see. And again i have solution to the problem but i feel those we have chosen need to reassess their decisions and make corrective actions as necessary to restore the safety we all deserve.
In closing any person knowing this or any other individual who has been met with violent actions please accept my condolences as a human being because there is nothing that warrants the taking of anothers live
Live well.
Aaron said’ “I THINK I killed Sarah” to me those words mean he didnt “really” know if he killed her and that hes not certain whether he did it or if someone else did it. Those could be key words. very sad
I Think
but the simple fact that he was dragging her down the stairs means he was trying to hide something, and use that as a way of getting away with murder, he knows what he did and he is gonna pay, hope for the rest of his life, and hope they do the same to him that he did to her it is just the simple fact that he did, he had to make her unconscious and that is the only way he would have been able, she was a strong girl and he is a weenie ass
That’s my point, according to people who knew her she was very strong thats why I think there was more than just Aaron involved with the actual killing.
the mental moron was released from Cherokee because of government beauracracy, now a special person is gone in my life and other family members, I hope the other people that helped the moron drag her back upstairs remember to tell the truth to the cops, justice will be served, and not this because of medication he freaked out, this will not set well and will hurt the family all over again, hope this time he and the others that helped, stay where they should, and I am being nice about this now, so bring on the arguement,
Whitey has nothing to do qith it he was in his room sleeping, he got interveiwed bcuz he knew both the ppl & was was sleeping qhen happenes, funmy how tou guys are all talking shit whwn you knoq nothong that heppened exactly!
I bet he knows exactly what happened!
Aren’t you just a fun little lollipop triple dipped in psycho!!
oh girl,
funny how you can’t spell what school did you go too
school like he did, the retard,
Since im the 14 year old that saw it and none of you guys seen what i did, i know what happened. My voice is disguised for a reason. I was gping up there at midnight to get my stepdad if its any of yur bussiness! You people have no clue wht happened so shit up!
Id advise you to stop commenting on here right now!
WHO are YOU to tell somebody what to do!!!!!!!!
Don’t you have something better to do Whitey!
I can’t believe everything that ppl are saying! Almost everything this guy said in the interview. Was said a 14 year old girl said. I just dont get it! Where are the guys that helped Aaron take her back upstairs? I just hope answers are found for the closer of her family and her friends! RIP Winters! You will be missed by many ppl!
WRONG! The guy in the interview didnt tell the WHOLE story!
CORRECTION:
The guy that did an interview and the globe had on their website didnt tell the whole story!
Terrible interview. Things in this that should not have been released until investigation was completed. And how stupid can you be to disguise your own voice. What a mook
This isn’t 60 minutes. Both voices were disguised. Get over it. At least the victim wasn’t revealed.
Dori, You are always on this site bashing everyones comments. Have a little respect please!
Amy if you don’t like it don’t read it
Good questions, great interview. So Sorry for the family of this girl, who I hear had a heart of gold. 🙁
I know this girl personally, u may have been misinformed… girls I know with ‘a heart of gold’ don’t run off to California to make porn videos NOR do they abandon their child for a relationship with a psychotic man who eventually kills them…. just saying, because THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT SHE DID!!!
And she deserved to die for this?
Why would you even say something like this? Why would you hurt her family? You sound like you have more mental problems than the guy who did this to her. What a very awful person you are.
“ANONYMOUS” You are clueless, heartless and classless. Get a life!
Dori: Well said! Thank you!!
yes she did have the biggest heart,
All this and more is exactly why I myself do not care for the judicial system.
Not only does the Mother and 13 yr old have to mentally deal with what they saw, they also are homeless now AND have to possibly watch over their shoulders as well. Very sad!
I am sure this house (rental) isnt up to code why arent the owners being made to get these properties up to code that just might drive some of the shitbags out. The people of MC need to get together for once if they want to do something about the trash in the city be it white, black, mexican whatever. Get a few hundred citizens and go to the council meeting and demand they send or hire more housing inspectors to inspect the rentals in this town and FORCE the slumlords to bring the properties up to code or be heavily fined. They would eventually get sick of fixing the rental time and time again or they would raise the rent and that would drive at least a few out. Its a start and legal.
I heard the owner of this building is related to 2 officers. If so, that explains everything.
How are you going to get anyone to launch a profest about the housing codes in MC when only ONE person showed up to challenge Alliant about their rate increase. All kinds of people on this site bitched and moaned about it, but only one person from Rockford bothered to show up to voice displeasure. The people on this site are all mouth and no action.
people murder in mansions just sayin… the rental property has nothing to do with it
operater error or equipment malfunction??? which ever I FIRMLY believe this should not have been released to the public… so far articles no where have stated if or when they would charge 2 that helped after the fact, never know if any retaliation could take place against mom or 14 yr old kid… seriously, did u not playback for yourself to MAKE SURE voice ‘disguised at request’ before posting the audio?? although it does raise more questions as to why it took so long for police to check welfare of dawn 1st then ask questions- if they had and contacted ambulance, slim chance she could have been resuscitated…. not only did cops mishandle sledgehammer case, surely seems they did this one… I foresee QUITE a few lawsuits in this case’s future!!!
WHY THE FUK NOT?????????????????????
for 1, still ongoing investigation- no where has it been reported that the 2 who aided in transportation of her body going to be charged… potentially there is chance they could retailiate for implicating them… and 2ndly, clearly NO confirmation playback done by person ‘recording’ interview, if there had been- person responsible would’ve known witness’ voice wasn’t disguised per requested…
I can tell both voices are disguised.
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.”
― George Orwell
There’s a reason the voices were disguised you idiot!
Considering the violent nature of this crime and a possibility more were involved THIS IS a clever way to handle a interview, Great Job! I love NIT!!
This site is WAY better than that POS rag that Howard Query puts out. REAL journalism, not just what the cultural elite want u to know.
First and only time–did you feel that way about Globe advertisers when they were supporting CES? By the way where is Skipper’s article telling us where CES landed their big gig? Did they save some other town from ruin with all of their great jobs? We want to know, don’t we?
MC Citizen why do you think I was censored by Matthew? How many more are censored because he doesnt like their free speech. All you have to do is look at the video and listen. It is all goofy the funny color of the house the lines running in the video. The distorted voice on the wrong person. This is not journalism its amateur nite at best. Here it comes DELETE ME
Matt, this is obviously a crazed moron, obsessed with NIT’s success. My daughter and I read NIT everyday. We LOVE it. Keep up the amazing work and don’t let weirdos bring you down. Thanks for all you do.
Matt-I think you might have disguised the wrong voice.
you are posting potentially incriminating TESTIMONY in an ongoing criminal investigation regarding a murder case? I’m going to bet you will be contacted by law enforcement very soon.
So over an hour for the paramedics to get there, and the cops didn’t even get to her for at least 20 min.? WTF is wrong with the cops in Mason City? Are the police just looking for a lawsuit. Don’t you think that if the police are called and told that the victim is being dragged down the steps with blood coming out of her mouth they would contact the paramedics also. What a joke, I am so glad I don’t live in that shithole!
Tell this to that quack Laker dude that’s high and mighty on you should only call 911. How’d that work out here Laker? Where’s your o so wise comments on this one? Bet if she had a gun maybe the right person would be in the morgue right now.
Thank you Matt for this report!
I can’t believe the police didn’t get her help!!! How could they make the determination if she needed help without getting someone in there.
Outrageous!!!!!!!!
I guess the police should just start kicking down doors whenever someone reports suspicious activity, whether its legit or not. Because they never get false calls of suspicious activity.
Maybe the reports of the potentially dead person being dragged down the stairs might have been enough??? Doy – listen to the tape.
they barg into my house all the time no questions asked just because im datin someone with an unsavory last name…give me a break- blood out of the mouth as a report is probable cause, why wait so long?