NEWTON – A Northern Iowa man who along with his nephew kidnapped a woman from a grocery store at gunpoint back in 1993 and committed heinous acts before leaving her in a ditch has died in prison.
Pete Michael Alspach (pictured at top via Iowa Dept. of Corrections) was pronounced dead due to an unexpected medical emergency at 3:08 PM on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in the Newton Correctional Facility. Alspach was 73 years old at the time of his death. Foul play was not suspected. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.
Alspach had been serving a life sentence for the crime of Kidnapping 1st Degree from Wright County. His sentence began on July 9, 1993.
According to court documents:
On January 3, 1993, Pete Alspach and his nephew Charles Alspach randomly selected C.B. as the victim of their planned sexual assault. Charles hid in the back of C.B.’s van in a grocery store parking lot. When she returned from the store he forced her at gunpoint to drive into the country. Pete followed in another vehicle. C.B. was ordered to pull over and was then forced into the car Pete was driving. Pete and Charles both forced C.B. to submit to sexual abuse. C.B. was then allowed to leave the vehicle and told to lie in a country ditch. After the vehicle left, she found her way to a farmhouse and law enforcement was summoned.
Pete returned to his brother John Alspach’s house, where he had been living. John agreed to take him to a drug rehabilitation center the following day. Upon returning from the rehabilitation center the next day, Pete told John he had raped a woman the previous night. John told Pete he had to turn himself over to police. Pete was initially resistant to the idea, however, he agreed to go to the authorities after speaking with Charles and Charles’ father, George Alspach.
At about 10:30 PM on January 4, 1993, Pete and Charles arrived at the sheriff’s office in the company of John and George. They stated they were involved in the rape that had occurred the previous night. Both Pete and Charles waived their Miranda rights and gave oral and written statements confessing their roles in the assault.
A physical examination of C.B. yielded semen samples consistent with both Pete and Charles. A hair was also taken from C.B.’s mouth that was consistent with Pete’s hair.
Pete was charged with first-degree kidnapping. He filed notices of intoxication and diminished responsibility. Pete filed a motion to suppress his confession to law enforcement. At the suppression hearing Dr. Dan Rogers testified that Pete did not voluntarily confess to the rape, but rather he confessed based on the “delusion” that it would result in religious redemption, forgiveness and acceptance by his brothers. Dr. Rogers testified that Pete also believed that the confession would make the victim forgive and love him. He also testified that Pete was not mentally incompetent. The district court found no “hint of coercive activity by law enforcement officers” and denied the motion to suppress.
