Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has announced an arrest for the murder of Barbara Lenz, of Woodbine, who disappeared in 1989.
Robert Davis, a 61-year-old man living in Council Bluffs and Lenz’s boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, was arrested on Monday and charged with first-degree murder.
This marks the first arrest made in a case that the Iowa Cold Case unit has helped investigate. Bird launched the unit in July of last year.
Lenz, who was 31 years of age at the time of her disappearance, was last seen on May 6, 1989. On May 17 of that year, her family in Woodbine contacted the Woodbine Police Department (WPD) to report that they had not had any contact with her since May 3. On May 17, family members and the police department entered Lenz’s apartment in Woodbine, where they found that her pets had not been cared for in some time, a criminal complaint against Davis states.
Some of Lenz’s personal items, such as her purse, wallet, clothing and luggage were there, and there was no sign of a struggle. Allegedly, Lenz had also not told any of her family or friends that she was planning to leave or go anywhere.
Davis, who was 26 years old at the time and also from Woodbine, was interviewed by WPD. He allegedly claimed to have last seen Lenz on May 6 when he dropped her off at her apartment. Davis also allegedly denied any knowledge of her whereabouts but claimed that she had called him later that day and told him that she was in Omaha visiting her daughter.
Investigators later found that Lenz was not in Omaha as Davis had allegedly said.
“In the days prior to Lenz’s disappearance in May 1989, investigators learned she had expressed to several people that she was in fear of her boyfriend Robert Davis and that she was trying to get away from him,” the criminal complaint states. “She told at least two witnesses Davis had threatened to kill her if she ever left him. These statements occurred shortly before May 6, 1989.”
Lenz’s relationship with Davis had lasted close to two years, and she was allegedly assaulted by him on multiple occasions over the course of the relationship, the criminal complaint states. One time she was allegedly strangled to the point of being unconscious.
In an interview with law enforcement on June 6, 1989, Davis allegedly admitted to “assaulting Lenz in the past and to having a violent temper when things went wrong with Lenz,” the criminal complaint states.
He allegedly mentioned an incident that occurred in May of 1988 when he assaulted Lenz’s juvenile daughter at a restaurant in Woodbine in front of several witnesses, according to the criminal complaint. He allegedly admitted to hitting her daughter, and witnesses interviewed by law enforcement at the time of the incident reported seeing Davis also pushing Lenz at the restaurant that day.
Davis also allegedly said that he and Lenz started “having problems” in July of 1988 that led to an argument between them, the criminal complaint says. During this argument, Davis said he hit Lenz and got his engagement ring back from her.
In August 1988, another fight allegedly occurred, the criminal complaint continues. During this fight, Davis said he choked Lenz until she was unconscious before carrying her out of the apartment. This was allegedly witnessed by another resident who lived at the apartment complex, and Lenz sought medical attention for her injuries following the incident.
“On another occasion, Davis said he and Barbara got into a fight at the bar,” the criminal complaint states. “They left the bar and once they got back to her apartment, the fight continued. He admitted to investigators that he again ‘choked her down’ during this fight. He then sat down and waited for her to regain consciousness, which she did. He told investigators they apologized to each other, and everything was OK.”
Over the course of their relationship, Lenz would visit her young daughter in Omaha, who was living with the daughter’s father. This allegedly upset Davis, who told investigators he didn't like Lenz doing it but that he was “getting over it,” the criminal complaint states. Several of the alleged fights and assaults by Davis occurred following Lenz’s visits to Omaha.
Lenz's daughter, Lindsy Baumgart, was 3-years-old when her mother disappeared.
In an interview with KCCI today, she told reporters that her mother had signed over custody “because she feared Davis and his violence toward both of them.”
Witnesses reported seeing Lenz and Davis together at her residence in rural Woodbine arguing during morning and daytime hours of May 6, 1989, the last day Lenz was seen. According to the criminal complaint, this argument became heated at times and seemed, at least partially, to be due to Lenz’s wish to go visit her daughter in Omaha.
Davis later confirmed to investigators that he had an argument with Lenz that day, and that it was, in fact, over her wanting to go to Omaha, the criminal complaint states.
A witness also allegedly visited Lenz and Davis at Davis’ residence the afternoon of that same day. During the visit, the witness allegedly observed Davis injure Lenz “by slashing her with a sharp instrument across the face, causing a considerable amount of bleeding, soaking Lenz’s shirt,” the complaint reads.
Davis and Lenz were last seen leaving Davis’ residence in Davis’ vehicle that same afternoon by another witness, the criminal complaint reads. Lenz has not been seen since, and no body has ever been found.
“The episode leading to the injury to Lenz’s face and the numerous prior assaults demonstrate malice towards [Lenz] by [Davis],” the criminal complaint states. “The violent actions by Davis, some of them admitted to by Davis, demonstrate his animus toward [Lenz] and indicate a specific intent to harm her and a motive to kill her.”
Later that evening on May 6, 1989, the same individual who allegedly witnessed the injury to Lenz’s face saw Davis at a local bar in Woodbine. During the encounter, Davis allegedly claimed to be looking for Lenz and could not find her.
According to the criminal complaint, this behavior was seen as inconsistent with other statements made by Davis in the past when he said that Lenz would disappear for a few days at a time with no warning and that he was not concerned. The witness also found this behavior strange, as they had just seen Davis and Lenz together a short time earlier.
A witness also later reported to investigators that Davis and his brother had allegedly buried something in a rural area near Davis’ home, the criminal complaint states. This incident allegedly occurred shortly after Lenz’s disappearance. Davis’ brother also allegedly visited the property with the witness and showed them where he had dug a hole for his brother and helped him bury something wrapped in plastic.
To this date, efforts to locate Lenz’s body since she disappeared have been unsuccessful. On two separate occasions, there have been excavations of properties in rural Harrison County associated with Davis, as these were believed to be potential locations of Lenz’s remains.
The criminal complaint also alleges that, whenever Lenz was not with Davis, he would call and visit her family and friends’ homes trying to locate her. Witnesses and Lenz had allegedly observed Davis sneaking around her apartment waiting and watching for her in the past.
“After Lenz disappeared on May 6, 1989, Davis did not make any calls or visits to the mentioned individuals, as he had done many times in the past, looking for Lenz,” the criminal complaint states. “One of these individuals was a person Lenz had a child with who lived in Omaha. This person has provided information regarding numerous occasions where he received calls or contacts from Davis looking for Lenz in the past and prior to her disappearance. After May 6, 1989, this person received no communications or visits from Davis.”
Law enforcement also alleges that, after the investigation began, Davis became uncooperative and has not inquired about the status of the investigation or Lenz’s whereabouts since June of 1989.
In addition to this, at least two witnesses have allegedly reported to investigators that Davis made comments to them during or following arguments with him that “they will end up like Barbara.”
These statements were allegedly made long after Lenz’s disappearance.
“For these reasons and more, investigators have probable cause to believe Robert Allen Davis did, with malice aforethought, willfully, deliberately and with premeditation, kill Barbara Lealyn Lenz in an unknown manner, on or about May 6, 1989, in or near Woodbine in Harrison County, Iowa,” the criminal complaint concludes. “He then disposed of her body in an unknown location and manner for this reason. Lenz has not been seen or heard from since that time.”
“This arrest is a milestone in securing justice for (Lenz),” Bird said. “We are hoping to soon bring peace and answers to Barbara’s loved ones, who have waited 35 long years in the dark. I am deeply grateful to my team in the Iowa Cold Case unit, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa State Patrol, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, the Harrison County Attorney’s Office, and the Woodbine Police Department who have, and continue to, work diligently to crack (Lenz’s) case. No one should get away with murder.”
Davis has had other brushes with the law, as well. In 1996, he was charged with third-degree kidnapping, assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and two charges of third-degree sexual abuse. Due to a plea agreement, the two latter charges were dismissed and he was found guilty of the first two.
For the kidnapping, Davis was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of probation, both with psychological counseling. For the assault, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail.
In 2008, Davis was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after a federal jury convicted him of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Davis recently moved to Council Bluffs, KCCI reported. After being released from prison, he lived in the Omaha area, not far from where Baumgart lives with her family.
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office and Harrison County Attorney’s Office will prosecute the Lenz case in Harrison County. The investigation into the case is still active.
A virtual preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 20 at 10 a.m.
