Iowa Man Beat 4 People to Death with Metal Pipe. Now He's Heading to Prison By Liam Quinn

An Iowa man who beat four people to death with a metal pipe was convicted on multiple counts of murder.

Luke Truesdell was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder on Monday, Nov. 17, according to reports from KCRG, the Des Moines Register and KGAN.

In June 2024, Truesdell used a metal pipe to fatally beat Romondus Lamar Cooper, 44, Keonna Victoria Ryan, 26, Amanda Sue Parker, 33, and Brett Anthony Brown, 34, according to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

KCRG reported that the beatings occurred in a detached garage in Marion, Iowa.

The sheriff’s office said at the time that Truesdell’s possible motive was “the possibility of the crime being made into a movie.”

The movie comments were suppressed from the jury, the Register reported.

All four victims sustained blunt force trauma, according to police. Brown was initially taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he later died. The other three were pronounced dead at the scene.

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The Register reported that Truesdell told police he believed the people he attacked were involved in sex trafficking, though there was no evidence to support that belief. The paper further reported that Truesdell said he was high on methamphetamine and had not slept in two days.

Truesdell was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of Ryan, Parker and Brown and second-degree murder in Cooper’s death, KCRG reported. He faces life in prison at his sentencing, which is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2026, per the outlet.