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Iowa cold case: Council Bluffs man charged with murder 36 years after woman's disappearance

Iowa cold case: Council Bluffs man charged with murder 36 years after woman's disappearance
vlog EIGHT NEWS AT FIVE. A MAJOR BREAK IN AN IOWA COLD CASE. BARBARA LENZ WENT MISSING 36 YEARS AGO. NOW, ROBERT ALLEN DAVIS IS CHARGED WITH FIRST DEGREE MURDER. AND THIS IS THE FIRST ARREST SINCE THE IOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL FORMED A COLD CASE UNIT LAST SUMMER. LENZ’S FAMILY TELLS vlog THEY ARE SHOCKED. GRATEFUL AND EMOTIONAL. TODAY. THIS WOULD BE MY FIRST BIRTHDAY. LINDSAY BAUMGART LOOKS THROUGH THE ONLY PHOTOS SHE HAS WITH HER MOTHER. I’M GUESSING I WAS UNDER A YEAR. MAYBE LIKE 6 TO 8 MONTHS HERE. ONLY A HANDFUL OF PICTURES CAPTURE THE TWO TOGETHER. I FEEL THAT LOOK THAT SHE’S GIVING ME. YEAH, PURE JOY. THAT’S WHAT THAT IS. THE LOVE IS CLEAR, BUT THE MEMORIES HAVE STARTED TO FADE. I DON’T REMEMBER THE SOUND OF HER VOICE OR HONESTLY, EVEN AS A CHILD, HOW SHE APPEARED TO ME. BAUMGART WAS ONLY THREE YEARS OLD WHEN HER MOTHER, BARBARA LENZ, DISAPPEARED FROM HER APARTMENT IN WOODBINE, THE SMALL WESTERN IOWA TOWN HAS LIVED WITH THE MYSTERY FOR DECADES. LENZ IS MISSING PERSON FILE KEPT IN THIS DUSTY CABINET WITH FEW ANSWERS. UNTIL NOW. ROBERT ALLEN DAVIS IS CHARGED WITH FIRST DEGREE MURDER NEARLY 36 YEARS AFTER LENZ DISAPPEARED, HIS ARREST HAPPENED MONDAY DURING A TRAFFIC STOP IN COUNCIL BLUFFS. IT’S THE FIRST ARREST BY THE STATE’S COLD CASE UNIT. IT’S SOMETHING THAT I HAVE HONESTLY WAITED FOR MY WHOLE LIFE. EVEN THOUGH LENZ’S BODY HAS NEVER BEEN DISCOVERED, A NEW, DETAILED CRIMINAL COMPLAINT LAYS OUT WHY COLD CASE INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE DAVIS MURDERED HER. THE COMPLAINT SAYS DAVIS WAS LENZ’S BOYFRIEND AND WAS KNOWN TO BE VIOLENT AND EVEN STRANGLED HER DURING THEIR TWO YEAR RELATIONSHIP. WITNESSES TOLD INVESTIGATORS THAT LENZ WAS AFRAID OF DAVIS AND TRIED TO GET AWAY. IT REALLY KIND OF PUT HER SAFETY AND MY SAFETY IN JEOPARDY, WHICH IS WHY MY DAD TOOK PROTECTION OVER ME. BAUMGART WENT TO LIVE WITH HER FATHER IN OMAHA AT AGE THREE. BEFORE THAT, SHE SAYS, DAVIS HURT HER. THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT REFERENCES THIS ASSAULT IN A WOODBINE RESTAURANT. IN 1988, WHERE WITNESSES SAW DAVIS HIT LENZ’S DAUGHTER, THE VIOLENCE ALLEGEDLY CONTINUED FOR MONTHS AFTER THAT TOWARD LENZ. IN AUGUST OF 1988, DAVIS ADMITTED TO CHOKING HER DOWN UNTIL SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS. THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT SAYS THERE ARE WITNESSES FOR SEVERAL OF THESE VIOLENT INCIDENTS, AND LENZ SOUGHT MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR HER INJURIES. DID BARBARA EVER SHARE THOSE CONCERNS WITH YOU? DID SHE EVER TALK ABOUT BEING AFRAID? YOU KNOW, IT WAS IT WAS A HUGE SURPRISE TO US THAT SHE WOULD EVER DO THAT. BARBARA’S YOUNGER BROTHER, JAMES LENZ, SAYS HE DIDN’T KNOW AT THE TIME WHY HIS SISTER SIGNED OVER CUSTODY OF HER DAUGHTER. HE SAYS AFTER HER DEATH, HE LEARNED ABOUT DAVIS’S VIOLENCE, FINALLY PUT A MARKER UP ON MY MOM AND DAD’S GRAVE TO MARK IT. SO THAT WAS PROBABLY THE TIME. EXCUSE ME. STOP A SECOND. TEARS FLOW WHEN HE THINKS ABOUT HOW BOTH OF HIS PARENTS WENT TO THEIR GRAVE WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT HAPPENED TO BARBARA. JUST NEEDED SOME CLOSURE THERE. A LITTLE BIT. THAT CLOSURE IS FINALLY HERE. THREE DECADES LATER, THE FAMILY SAYS COLD CASE INVESTIGATORS CALLED THEM MONDAY AND SAID THREE WORDS. WE GOT HIM. VERY EMOTIONAL, VERY EMOTIONAL. BAUMGART HOPES THIS ARREST WILL LEAD TO HER MOM’S REMAINS. JUSTICE FOR ME WOULD BE BRINGING MY MOM HOME. SHE WAS KIND OF A FREE SPIRIT OF THE FAMILY, BUT HARD OF GOLD. I MEAN, REALLY LOVED HER DAUGHTER. YOU KNOW, SHE THAT WAS THE CENTER OF HER LIFE. A MOTHER’S LOVE KNOWS NO BOUNDS. AND NEITHER DOES A DAUGHTER’S GRIEF. IT’S IMMEASURABLE. I THINK, YOU KNOW, I WAS IN HER WOMB, SO I’M A PART OF HER. AND TO HAVE THAT TAKEN AWAY IS. IT’S LIKE HAVING A PART OF YOURSELF TAKEN AWAY. SO MANY EMOTIONS. 36 YEARS LATER, THEY TELL ME THEY’RE FEELING ALL OF THOSE EMOTIONS TODAY. AND JODI THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT ALSO SAYS THAT A WITNESS TOLD INVESTIGATORS THAT DAVIS AND HIS BROTHER BURIED SOMETHING IN A RURAL AREA NEAR DAVIS’S HOME. THAT’S IN THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT. IT’S UNCLEAR IF DAVIS IS COOPERATING OR IF AUTHORITIES WILL GET TO CHECK THAT PROPERTY. WELL, DAVIS IS CURRENTLY BEING HELD IN THE HARRISON COUNTY JAIL ON A $3 MILLION BOND. LAURA, YOU HAVE BEEN KEEPING YOUR PULSE ON THIS STORY FOR MANY, MANY WEEKS.
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Iowa cold case: Council Bluffs man charged with murder 36 years after woman's disappearance
The family of an Iowa woman who disappeared 36 years ago might finally get justice.Robert Allen Davis, 61, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder more than three decades after his then-girlfriend Barbara Lenz disappeared in Harrison County.His arrest is the result of an investigation by the state's cold case unit, launched last summer by Attorney General Brenna Bird's office to investigate Iowa's more than 400 unsolved murders. It's the unit's first arrest.Cold case investigators believe Davis is responsible for the death of Lenz, who was 31 when she disappeared in May 1989. She was last believed to be in her apartment in Woodbine. Lenz's body still has not been located. Court records say Davis, who was 25 at the time of Lenz's disappearance, was the last person to see her alive. Days before, Lenz told others she was scared of him, and feared he would "kill her if she ever left." A criminal complaint alleges Davis had assaulted Lenz several times during their two-year relationship, including multiple incidents where he strangled her. The documents show Davis admitted in 1989 to assaulting Lenz and having a violent temper.Lenz's daughter, Lindsy Baumgart, was 3 years old at the time of her mother's disappearance. Baumgart told vlog she learned of Davis' arrest late on Monday. He's being held without bond in the Harrison County Jail. She says she never thought this day would come. Baumgart says she is in a state of grief but is also grateful to the DCI and Cold Case Investigators."It's very surreal," she said. "I am grateful for the DCI and the Cold Case Investigation unit. I never thought this day would come."It's honestly something that I have waited for my whole life."Lenz's family says the day she went missing her coffee pot was still on and laundry was half folded on the table. Her keys, purse and car were also still at her apartment."Something bad happened," said Barbara's brother, James Lenz.Baumgart was living with her father in Omaha at the time of her mother's disappearance. She tells vlog that her mom signed over custody because she feared Davis and his violence toward both of them. "I was told that my mom was in a not good situation, and it really kind of put her safety and my safety in jeopardy, which is why my dad took protection over me," Baumgart said. Davis convicted in separate caseIn a separate case involving a different woman, Davis was charged with third-degree kidnapping and third-degree sexual abuse in the mid-1990s.A criminal complaint from 1996 says Davis assaulted a woman and forced her to have sexual intercourse at a rural residence in Woodbine. The complaint says the woman waited for Davis to fall asleep and then ran from the residence and climbed a fence to escape. One month later, court records show Davis removed the same woman from a home, choked her and then carried her to her car in an attempt to drive her away against her will. The victim jumped from the moving car and ran to the neighbors. A Division of Criminal Investigation agent wrote in the affidavit that the woman sustained injuries to her neck and throat, including significant bruising.In 2008, a federal jury convicted Davis of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in that case. Upon release from prison, Davis lived in the Omaha area, not far from where Lenz's daughter lives with her family. Davis only recently moved to Council Bluffs.Witnesses tell Iowa authorities Davis threatened that they'd 'end up like Barbara'Prosecutors have not yet publicly shared what evidence led them to arrest Davis this week — more than three decades after Lenz disappeared. Those details are expected to come out during the trial, which James Lenz — ecstatic about the arrest — said he'll attend every second.The new criminal complaint does say a witness reported to investigators that Davis and his brother, who was not named in the complaint, buried something in a rural area near Davis' home shortly after Lenz's disappearance.The criminal complaint also says two witnesses told investigators that Davis made comments to them during fights that they would "end up like Barbara." These comments were made after Lenz's disappearance.While she hopes for a conviction, Baumgart says her ultimate goal is for her mother's remains to be located. A proper burial, she says, will bring her much-needed peace."Justice for me would be bringing my mama home," said Baumgart.

The family of an Iowa woman who disappeared 36 years ago might finally get justice.

Robert Allen Davis, 61, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder more than three decades after his then-girlfriend Barbara Lenz disappeared in Harrison County.

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His arrest is the result of an investigation by the state's cold case unit, launched last summer by Attorney General Brenna Bird's office to investigate Iowa's more than 400 unsolved murders. It's the unit's first arrest.

Cold case investigators believe Davis is responsible for the death of Lenz, who was 31 when she disappeared in May 1989. She was last believed to be in her apartment in Woodbine. Lenz's body still has not been located.

Court records say Davis, who was 25 at the time of Lenz's disappearance, was the last person to see her alive. Days before, Lenz told others she was scared of him, and feared he would "kill her if she ever left."

, including multiple incidents where he strangled her. The documents show Davis admitted in 1989 to assaulting Lenz and having a violent temper.

Lenz's daughter, Lindsy Baumgart, was 3 years old at the time of her mother's disappearance.

Robert Allen Davis
Hearst Owned
Robert Allen Davis, 61, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Monday, March 10, 2025, and charged with first-degree murder more than three decades after Barbara Lenz disappeared in Harrison County.

Baumgart told vlog she learned of Davis' arrest late on Monday. He's being held without bond in the Harrison County Jail.

She says she never thought this day would come. Baumgart says she is in a state of grief but is also grateful to the DCI and Cold Case Investigators.

"It's very surreal," she said. "I am grateful for the DCI and the Cold Case Investigation unit. I never thought this day would come.

"It's honestly something that I have waited for my whole life."

Lenz's family says the day she went missing her coffee pot was still on and laundry was half folded on the table. Her keys, purse and car were also still at her apartment.

"Something bad happened," said Barbara's brother, James Lenz.

Baumgart was living with her father in Omaha at the time of her mother's disappearance. She tells vlog that her mom signed over custody because she feared Davis and his violence toward both of them.

"I was told that my mom was in a not good situation, and it really kind of put her safety and my safety in jeopardy, which is why my dad took protection over me," Baumgart said.

Davis convicted in separate case

In a separate case involving a different woman, Davis was charged with third-degree kidnapping and third-degree sexual abuse in the mid-1990s.

A criminal complaint from 1996 says Davis assaulted a woman and forced her to have sexual intercourse at a rural residence in Woodbine. The complaint says the woman waited for Davis to fall asleep and then ran from the residence and climbed a fence to escape. One month later, court records show Davis removed the same woman from a home, choked her and then carried her to her car in an attempt to drive her away against her will. The victim jumped from the moving car and ran to the neighbors. A Division of Criminal Investigation agent wrote in the affidavit that the woman sustained injuries to her neck and throat, including significant bruising.

In 2008, a federal jury convicted Davis of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in that case. Upon release from prison, Davis lived in the Omaha area, not far from where Lenz's daughter lives with her family. Davis only recently moved to Council Bluffs.

Witnesses tell Iowa authorities Davis threatened that they'd 'end up like Barbara'

Prosecutors have not yet publicly shared what evidence led them to arrest Davis this week — more than three decades after Lenz disappeared.

Those details are expected to come out during the trial, which James Lenz — ecstatic about the arrest — said he'll attend every second.

The new criminal complaint does say a witness reported to investigators that Davis and his brother, who was not named in the complaint, buried something in a rural area near Davis' home shortly after Lenz's disappearance.

The criminal complaint also says two witnesses told investigators that Davis made comments to them during fights that they would "end up like Barbara." These comments were made after Lenz's disappearance.

While she hopes for a conviction, Baumgart says her ultimate goal is for her mother's remains to be located. A proper burial, she says, will bring her much-needed peace.

"Justice for me would be bringing my mama home," said Baumgart.