MASON CITY – Peter Veal has been convicted by a Webster county jury of two murders in Mason City he committed last November.
Peter Veal murdered Caleb Christensen and Melinda Kavars on November 17, 2016 at a Mason City house, 1620 North Hampshire. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Judge Rustin Davenport ruled Veal competent to stand trial on May 23 after Veal was mentally evaluated. His trial was held this month in Fort Dodge. A jury returned a guilty verdict this week. He will be sentenced in August and will be given a mandatory life sentence.
Days after the killings, the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted autopsies and determined that 54-year-old Melinda Kavars died of a single gunshot wound to the neck and chest. Also, 37-year-old Caleb Christensen was found to have died of multiple sharp force injuries.
