By: Channel 9 Eyewitness News
news@kcautv.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) _ Records show that an Iowa man charged with murdering his mother and kidnapping another woman hours after getting out of prison last week told police in 2008 that he planned to use duct tape found in his backpack to rape a girl.
The Wisconsin prosecutor in a 2009 car theft case involving Kirk Levin told the court Levin was once caught hiding in the basement of a girl he was targeting.
Prison officials say they had no choice but to release the 21-year-old on Jan. 1 when his 5-year sentence for burglary ended three years early, under a state law that routinely cuts inmates' sentences in half.
Levin was arrested Thursday, hours after prosecutors say he killed his mother at her Early home and abducted a 21-year-old woman, who escaped.
By: Channel 9 Eyewitness News
news@kcautv.com
Sac City, IOWA: Bond has been set at $1 million dollars for the 21 year-old man accused of killing his mother at her Sac County home.
Kirk Levin appeared in court Tuesday morning for what was originally supposed to be a bond reduction hearing for kidnapping and assault charges from a separate incident. Given that Levin was charged with murder on Monday, the judge decided to address the Class A Felony instead.
Sac County Prosecutor Ben Smith asked that Levin's bond be set at $1 million dollars, citing that he has been in and out of prison since age 17. Levin had only been released from an Iowa prison 36 hours before his arrest.
If convicted of murder, Levin faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Bond remains at $200,000 for the kidnapping and assault charges.
By: Channel 9 Eyewitness News
news@kcautv.com
Sac City, IOWA: The preliminary autopsy findings from the State Medical Examiner's Office show that 45 year old Marilyn Schmitt died of sharp force injuries. Her death has been ruled a homicide.
Schmitt was found dead by law enforcement officials in an upstairs bedroom at her home located at 2242 Ira, Ave., Early, Iowa on Thursday afternoon, January 3, 2013. Preliminary investigative findings indicate Schmitt died earlier that morning.
Schmitt's 21-year old son Kirk Riley Levin has been charged with Murder in the 1st degree. Kirk Levin was arrested on January 3, 2013 on charges unrelated to Schmitt's death. Levin is currently being held in the Sac County Jail.
By: Channel 9 Eyewitness News
news@kcautv.com
We have confirmed with the Sac County Attorney Ben Smith that it was Kirk Levin's mother, Marilyn Schmitt, who was found deceased at her home.
By: Channel 9 Eyewitness News
news@kcautv.com
The suspect in a bizarre kidnapping case that led police to a dead body had just been released from prison on January 1st. 21-year-old Kirk Riley Levin was arrested Thursday in Early, IA. Officers were called out to investigate a possible kidnapping, which led them to not only arrest Levin, but find a dead body inside Levin's home at 2242 Ira Ave. in Early.
Friday morning, officers released new details in the bizarre case. They say Levin had just served a sentence for a burglary charge. He was transferred to Sac City, IA after serving time in Wisconsin on an unknown charge.
We also now know that the female found in Levin's home had been deceased for approximately 48 hours.
According to Sac County deputies, Levin kidnapped the still unidentified woman from her home in Storm Lake, IA. They say that he tied her up and put her in trunk with the intention of taking her to his home. The same home where the dead body was found.
While driving to his Early, IA home, they say Levin lost control of his car and drove into a ditch. That is where a local farmer found Levin and the victim. Officers say at this point the victim was tied up in the backseat and Levin had fled on foot. They later found him hiding in a nearby barn.
While investigating the kidnapping, they found a deceased female's body at Levin's home. The home, 2242 Ira Ave., is about a half-mile away from where Levin's car went off the road. While officers did say the woman had been dead for about 48 hours, they did not release the victim's identity. They expect to have more by Friday afternoon.
Investigators say the home is Levin's childhood home. Before being jailed in Wisconsin, Levin had been living in Ridgeway, WI.
Levin is currently charged with assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, third degree kidnapping, and more.
By: Channel 9 Eyewitness News
news@kcautv.com
Early, IOWA --- Law enforcement in western Iowa continue to investigate the suspicious death of a western Iowa woman whose remains were discovered while officers were investigating the alleged kidnapping and attempted sexual assault of another victim.
At approximately 8:00 AM on the morning of Thursday, January 3, 2013, the Sac County Sheriff's Office responded to Hwy 20 and Ira Avenue, two miles west of Early, Iowa to investigate an alleged kidnapping. Law enforcement had received a 911 call from a local citizen who had encountered a 21 year old woman attempting to flee a vehicle and claiming she had been kidnapped. Once at the intersection of Ira Avenue and Hwy 20, law enforcement officials made contact with the victim and determined the suspect had fled on foot. A search of the area was conducted and sheriff's deputies located 21 year old Kirk Riley Levin hiding in a nearby barn. Levin was taken into custody without incident.
The victim reported that Levin showed up at her Storm Lake residence at approximately 6:30 AM and initially asked her for a ride. Levin took her out of Storm Lake, to a residence at 2242 Ira Avenue, in Early, Iowa. This residence is approximately one-half mile away from the roadside where the victim was discovered by the citizen and law enforcement. The victim reported Levin held her against her will and informed her she was being kidnapped.
Levin is currently being held at the Sac County jail where he is facing charges of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse (class D felony), assault while participating in a felony (class D felony), and 3rd degree kidnapping (class C felony). Levin is being held on $20,000.00 bond.
While conducting the investigation in to the alleged kidnapping, authorities discovered the deceased body of another female at 2242 Ira Avenue. Currently this death is being treated as suspicious in nature and an autopsy will be conducted by the Iowa State Medical Examiner in Ankeny, Iowa. Law enforcement officials are withholding the name of the deceased until family can be formerly notified.
The investigation into the kidnapping and death is being investigated by the Sac County Sheriff's Office, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and Storm Lake Police Department. The Buena Vista County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa State Patrol assisted in the initial search for Levin.
