An Iowa woman has made continued claims about her late father being a serial killer, ultimately leading to an investigation, according to a published report.
Lucy Studey continues to ring the alarm about her father’s alleged crimes, with one of the earlier instances happening in 2007, according to a published report.
Studey contacted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, saying her father, Donald Dean Studey – who died in 2013 at 75 – was a serial killer who buried the remains of dozens of women on his property, According to WHO-TV local outlet.
She says that her father was responsible for the death of up to 70 women, most of whom were sex workers, and that she was forced to help hide the bodies, According to KETV.
“I know where the bodies are buried,” she told Newsweek, sharing how she allegedly used a wheelbarrow in the warmer months and a toboggan in winter to help their father transport bodies.
“He would just tell us we had to go to the well, and I knew what that meant,”Lucy spoke to the outlet.
“Every time I went to the well or into the hills, I didn’t think I was coming down. I thought he would kill me because I wouldn’t keep my mouth shut.”
“We have heard about this for years,”WHO-TV spoke with Deputy Sheriff Tim Bothwell, in reference to the claims of the deceased Iowa resident.
According to Newsweek and WHO TV, authorities claim they had previously followed the tip. Two cadaver dogs, who were trained by WHO-TV, detected the smell of human remains at four sites, including a well that is 90 feet deep.
“She [Lucy] told us in 2007 and we went out and there was only one well on the property that we could see, we didn’t realize that it was on other people’s property,”Bothwell stated that the outlet was closed.
Despite these longstanding claims, Studey’s older sister, Susan Studey, refutes them, according to Newsweek.
“My father was not the man she makes him out to be. He was strict, but he was a protective parent who loved his children,”Susan spoke to the outlet.
“Strict fathers don’t just turn into serial killers … I’m two years older than Lucy. I think I would know if my father murdered.”
According to Des Moines Register Lucy reportedly alerted authorities of her father’s alleged crimes again in 2021.
Studey told them that her dad would hunt for his alleged victims some 40 miles away in the Omaha, Nebraska, area, and murder “five or six”According to the outlet, women are affected by this every year.
According to KETV: The sheriff said that there was no record of Donald Studey’s problems while he was alive. Fremont County does not have any reports of missing people and no one has ever come forward with information about a missing individual.
According to reports the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and Fremont County authorities will coordinate how to proceed in the investigation.
“We are actively investigating this, and who wouldn’t?”Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope spoke to KETV.
“We have a scene, but we don’t know whether it’s a crime scene,”The sheriff spoke to the outlet. “We don’t have victims, bodies. Nothing.”
WETV reports that authorities have said that digging on the site is not an option due to the possibility of losing $300,000.
“And with a county with a $1.8 million law enforcement budget, that would just devastate our budget,”Bothwell spoke to the local outlet.
Other options for further investigating the site could include core drilling, other ground testing, or more cadaver dogs, according to the outlet.
According to KETV the investigation involves federal, state, and local agencies, including the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and the FBI.
“They’d asked us to assist with the investigation as well as the FBI and we’re happy to do so, you know, and try to provide manpower and resources,”KETV heard from Mitch Mortvedt – assistant director at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation
Mortvedt stated to the outlet that the suspect died in 2013 and law enforcement agencies will continue their investigation.
CNNThe investigation is still ongoing. “infancy,” — the authorities did not give a timeline but told the outlet it would be “months in the making.”