Harrison County in Iowa
John Lee Erickson
Killed near Mondamin, IA
Body dumped near Onawa, IA
On Wednesday, April 30, 1997, Vietnam veteran John Lee Erickson, 48, of Council Bluffs was shot in the head near Mondamin, Iowa, in Harrison County. His killer or killers then dumped his body in a ditch off I-29 south of Onawa in Monona County.The Harrison County's Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the homicide.
Erickson, the father of four children, had served as an SP4 with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
His death came exactly one week before his 49th birthday.
His murder remains unsolved.
About John Lee Erickson
John Lee Erickson was born May 7, 1948. He served as an SP4 with the U.S. Army in Vietnam.
Courtesy photo Dan E. W at findagrave.com
John Lee Erickson is buried at Garner Cemetery in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Survivors included his wife, Perlene; four children: Josh, Zach, John, and Sarah.
John was laid to rest in Garner Cemetery in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
His wife, Perlene Jo (Floerchinger) Erickson, died without answers on Monday, December 13, 2010 at Jennie Edmundson Hospital, where she'd worked for the past 33 years as a Physical Therapy Technician.
If you have any information about John Lee Erickson's unsolved murder please contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Council Bluffs, at (712) 322-1585.
Sheriff Patrick Sears, Harrison County Sheriff's Office, January 12, 2015
John Lee Erickson (1948 – 1997) — Find a Grave Memorial
Obituaries: Perlene Jo Erickson, Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil, December 15, 2010
"United States Public Records, 1970-2009," database, FamilySearch.org, John L Erickson, Residence, Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
"Find A Grave Index," index, FamilySearch.org, John Lee Erickson, 1997; Burial, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States of America, Garner Cemetery; citing record ID 106022153, Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/.
"United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch.org, John L Erickson, 30 Apr 1997; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
"BillionGraves Index", index, FamilySearch.org, JOHN L. ERICKSON.
Tagged with: Council Bluffs Iowa • Harrison County Iowa • Harrison County Sheriff's Office • Iowa Cold Cases • Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation • Iowa Unsolved Murders • John Lee Erickson • Josh Erickson • Mondamin Iowa • Monona County Iowa • Onawa Iowa • Perlene Jo Floerchinger Erickson • Pottawattamie County Iowa • Shooting Deaths • Shootings • Unsolved Murders in Harrison County • Unsolved Murders in Iowa • Veterans • Vietnam Veterans • Zach Erickson
3 Responses to John Erickson
Jodi Frye says:
How do they know he was shot in one place and dumped in another?
How can someone live with themselves after taking anothers life? Sick people out there! Thanks for keeping their stories out there! Ur doing a great thing!
Iowa Cold Cases says:
Jodi Frye, there are different ways officials can determine if a victim was killed and dumped elsewhere; one example is when the cause of death would have resulted in specific amounts of blood loss that's not found at the dump site. Another example is lividity; after death, gravity pulls red blood cells downward, leaving a purplish red discoloration beneath the body where the blood cells congeal. So if this discoloration is found on the victim's backside but he/she is found lying face down, coroners know the victim lay face up in the hours after death before later being moved.
Alberta Anderson says: