FORT MADISON – A convicted Iowa murderer who killed a boy while robbing a supermarket in 1974 and had been appealing his case all the way until 2023 died in a prison hospice.
Kenneth Ray Sheffey (pictured at top) was pronounced dead due to natural causes at 9:53 p.m. on Thursday, February 8, 2024 in a hospice room of the Iowa State Penitentiary. Sheffey was 71 years old at the time of his death.
Sheffey had been serving a life sentence for the crime of Murder 1st Degree from Scott County, Iowa. His sentence began on November 5, 1974.
Records show that on August 13, 1974, Roddy Lee Hahn was killed and James Christensen was seriously wounded when the two came upon a breaking and entering in progress at a Davenport supermarket. Early in the morning of August 13, 1974, Christensen was delivering a semi-trailer load of bread to a supermarket on Rockingham Road. Hahn, a 15-year-old boy, was with him. After the semi-trailer had been backed into the loading dock, Hahn walked around to the front of the store and apparently observed someone inside. A few moments later the burglar came out on the dock where Christensen and Hahn were preparing to unload the bread. Presumably to forestall later identification, he shot and killed Hahn and seriously wounded Christensen. Christensen made positive identification of Sheffey as the person who shot him and Hahn. Sheffey was charged with Hahn’s murder, with an assault upon Christensen with intent to commit murder, and with breaking and entering. He was convicted on all counts.
Reports show that Sheffey was a spokesperson during a riot at the Iowa State Penitentiary and “made numerous demands, including getting to speak with selected members of the media to air some of the inmates’ grievances.”
Records show his last appeal was in 2023, and it was unsuccessful.
