Teenager 'stripped and raped pensioner before beating her to death because he was bor

Teenager 'stripped and raped pensioner before beating her to death because he was bored'

• 11:18, 5 SEPTEMBER 2015
• UPDATED 14:50, 5 SEPTEMBER 2015
• BY SIOBHAN MCFADYEN

The 19-year-old told stunned officers there was 'nothing better to do'

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Sick thug: Helmon Betwell was so bored he stripped a pensioner naked, had sex with her and then beat her to death

A depraved teenager who allegedly subjected a vulnerable pensioner to an horrific sex attack before beating her to death told officers he did it because he was bored.
The vile crime has left hardened detectives shaken after Nancy Ann Krapfl, 66, was found fighting for life with her injuries sustained in the appalling incident.
Helmon Betwell from Dubuque, Iowa, allegedly told officers he launched the random attack because there “was nothing better to do.”
He said the victim was in the “wrong place at the wrong time”.
Police told local news that the woman was found lying on the ground in a residential area with severe facial injuries.
Documents show that Betwell was taken to the Dubuque Law Enforcement Center and admitted to seeing the woman, knocking her out and that he continued to “hit her everywhere” and have sex with her.

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A crime that shocked America: the murder took place in Dubuque, Iowa, United StatesThe teenager then told investigators that when he returned to the scene after going home, he noticed the woman had crawled into the grass, and he began to strike her again.
He left her lying there naked and returned home.
She was later discovered but despite the efforts of hospital medics, she soon died.
It's claimed no weapons were involved, and that local woman Ms Krapfl, 66, most likely was beaten to death.
Betwell, 19, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, first-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree burglary.
After a brief initial court appearance, bail was set at £660,000 in cash.
Police were initially called when a member of the public saw a man repeatedly hit an elderly woman while laying on top of her.
The assailant spotted the witness and reportedly pulled up his trousers and fled.
The woman was already unresponsive when the witness approached.
Local CCTV footage appear to show the suspect stalk and then assault her.
There is a confrontation between the two, and it appears the man knocks her unconscious, picks her up and carries her up the stairs to a vacant property, court documents say.
He is off camera for a few minutes before walking away.
Police say the images suggested he was of Marshalese or Pacific Island descent and an officer used Facebook to find common family names linked to those communities that are known to live in Dubuque.
When he typed in Betwell, he found Helmon Betwell, and said his profile picture seemed to closely resemble the photos from the traffic cameras.
Calling at his home, police say they found blood stained shoes and Betwell had scuffed knuckles.
Investigators used that information to execute a search warrant, finding shoes that matched the suspect’s from the camera footage, as well as blood smears in a main floor bathroom and a towel with what appeared to be blood stains on it also in the bathroom.
When asked why he did it, he said: “there was nothing better to do” and he wanted to get in more trouble.
According to the documents, he did not know the victim and said she was “just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Betwell’s next court appearance is set for Friday, September 11.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-n...s=1%20category

UPDATE: Police ID woman killed Tuesday morning in downtown Dubuque

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Dave Kettering
Denise Lippens, of Dubuque, lays flowers alongside other memorials for the woman assaulted Tuesday in an area of West 17th Street. The woman later died, and Helmon Betwell, 19, of 1763 White St., is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree burglary.

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Nancy A. Krapfl

Posted: Thursday, September 3, 2015 4:19 pm | Updated: 7:38 pm, Thu Sep 3, 2015.
TH MEDIA

UPDATE

Police today released the name of the woman who died after being attacked in downtown Dubuque early Tuesday.
Nancy A. Krapfl, 66, of Dubuque, died Tuesday at UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital. Police said she was attacked while walking in the area of Heeb and West 17th streets.

Helmon Betwell, 19, of Dubuque, has been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree burglary in relation to the incident. He remains in custody on a $1 million cash bond.

Police said Betwell admitted assaulting Krapfl. Betwell told police that the woman “was in the wrong place and the wrong time” and he attacked her because “there was nothing better to do.”

Police Lt. Scott Baxter said authorities had difficulty identifying Krapfl because she was not carrying identifying information and didn’t have family members locally.

‘Private person living a quiet life’

Krapfl grew up near Farley, Iowa, and has lived in Dubuque since 2000, according to an email statement from her nephew Mike Krapfl, a former TH Media reporter. She worked as a church secretary at Holy Trinity Catholic Church and St. Matthias Parish in Cascade, Iowa.

“Nancy Krapfl was a private person living a quiet life on Clarke Drive,” Mike Krapfl wrote. “We are shocked by her death. We will never understand the brutality.”

Nancy Krapfl walked early on summer mornings to avoid the heat, he wrote. She was a regular at family reunions and enjoyed learning details of her family members’ lives.

“We grieve for her,” Mike Krapfl wrote. “We can’t even think about how she died.”

A makeshift memorial

A day after Krapfl was killed, a small memorial popped up near the scene of the crime. Neighborhood residents placed flowers, a statue of hands folded in prayer, a stuffed animal and cards on the steps at 75 W. 17th St.

Jeff Montgomery Sr., vice president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, helped start the memorial. He and several other neighborhood residents also planned a peace rally at 1 p.m. Sunday in nearby Jackson Park.

Nancy Krapfl’s death had a profound impact on the entire community, Montgomery said.

“I talked to a lady yesterday that brought up a wind chime (to the memorial),” he said. “And she wasn’t even from the downtown area. ... It’s affecting the whole town. It’s not just affecting the people in the neighborhood.”

Area resident Leonard Foulk said the attack, coupled with spike in gun violence in recent years, has locals rattled.
“We have kids that play in the neighborhood,” he said. “With the shootings going on and now this, it’s very concerning.”
Montgomery said residents from across the city — or “anyone that wants to make a difference” — are invited to the rally. A vigil at the memorial site will follow the rally, he said.

“It’s basically to keep people vigilant,” Montgomery said of the rally. “Keep your eyes open. If you see something, say something.”

Four homicides

The homicide rate in Dubuque so far this year is more than quadruple the average of the last several years.

Dubuque Police Department spokesman Lt. Baxter said the city had averaged just less than one homicide per year for the last several years. But in 2015, police already have dealt with four cases.

In May, police responded to the scene of a murder-suicide on Roosevelt Street. An investigation revealed that Andrew J. Birch, 27, shot Miranda M. Hogan, 20, in the home they shared before turning the gun on himself, according to police.

On June 9, police arrested Robert C. Stern 62, of 2155 Clarke Drive, on a charge of first-degree murder. Police said he shot his daughter, Kimberly L. Stern 27, of the same address, several times with multiple guns.

On June 17, police arrested Eddie J. Hicks, 26. Police said he stabbed his girlfriend, Kahdyesha J. Lemon, 21, more than 20 times at her apartment on Arlington Street, killing her.

Baxter noted that the first three homicides involved domestic situations. However, Tuesday’s attack was seemingly random.

“That just makes this horrible ordeal even that much worse,” Baxter said.

Baxter has been in contact with organizers of Sunday’s rally. He said he hopes the tragedy helps rally the community and reinforces the role that citizens play in keeping the city safe.

“You can do that by keeping an eye out, with helping us keep everybody safe,” Baxter said. “Report what you see immediately. Take accountability for your safety and that of your community.”

http://www.thonline.com/news/dubuque...d28b86333.html

I hope sincerely that this crime is enough fuel to convince the public that the utter destruction of the republican party is not only necessary but necessarily eminent. Clinton on law and order campaign as president funds extra police, crime goes down Bush soon defunds extra police, crime goes up. Dammit republicans, with this and with deaths by aliens why will you not discuss your loudest and most harmful errors? If you cannot discuss them, quietly correct them. Is that beyond republican conservatism?