BLACK HAWK COUNTY — A 21-year-old Northern Iowa man is accused of killing his own grandfather inside the rural home they shared, then hiding in another room as sheriff’s deputies arrived Saturday night.
Eric Paul O’Connell II has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 75-year-old Gale Anthony Mervin following the October 3 incident at 137 S. Elk Run Road in rural Black Hawk County.
According to Black Hawk County Sheriff Nathan Neff, deputies were dispatched to the residence at approximately 8:40 p.m. for what was initially described only as an “unknown problem.”
What deputies found inside quickly turned the call into a homicide investigation.
Deputies find signs of struggle and grandfather dead
Authorities said deputies entered the home and discovered evidence of a struggle.
Mervin was found dead inside the residence.
Deputies then located O’Connell hiding in another room of the house, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators say Mervin was O’Connell’s grandfather and that the two men lived together at the Elk Run Road residence.
The sheriff’s office has not yet publicly disclosed exactly how Mervin was killed or what investigators believe led up to the deadly confrontation.
Sheriff says grandson admitted killing grandfather
O’Connell was taken by ambulance to UnityPoint Allen Hospital for evaluation after deputies located him.
Sheriff Neff said O’Connell subsequently admitted to officers that he killed Mervin.
After O’Connell was released from the hospital, authorities transported him to the Black Hawk County Jail and charged him with first-degree murder.
He was scheduled to make his initial court appearance at 9 a.m. Sunday.
First-degree murder is a Class A felony in Iowa and, upon conviction, carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
O’Connell is accused of the crime and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Another major homicide case in Black Hawk County
The killing comes amid several serious homicide investigations in the Waterloo and Black Hawk County area this year.
Just last week, Waterloo police launched a homicide investigation after a 17-year-old boy was found dead in a brushy area and investigators later executed a search warrant.
Earlier this year, NIT reported on a Waterloo woman found dead inside a residence, leading to the arrest of a suspect on a second-degree murder charge.
In another case, a Waterloo man was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a woman in Cedar Falls.
Investigation continues
The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Waterloo Fire Department, Black Hawk County Conservation Department and Black Hawk County Consolidated Communications Center.
Authorities have not yet announced whether an autopsy has been completed, whether a weapon was recovered or what evidence deputies found inside the residence beyond the reported signs of a struggle.
The investigation into Mervin’s death remains ongoing.