US THE PERSON IS EXPECTED TO RECOVER. AN IOWA COLD CASE SUSPECT PLEADED NOT GUILTY TODAY. ROBERT DAVIS IS CHARGED WITH FIRST DEGREE MURDER IN THE 1989 DEATH OF BARBARA LENZ. vlog’S LAURA TERRELL HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS CASE FOR MONTHS. LAURA JOINS US NOW WITH WHAT LED TO THIS PLEA. STACY AND BEN ROBERT DAVIS DID NOT HAVE TO APPEAR IN COURT TODAY. HE ENTERED A PLEA OF NOT GUILTY AND WAIVED HIS RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL. DAVIS WAS ARRESTED LAST MONTH. PROSECUTORS ACCUSE HIM OF MURDERING BARBARA LINTS. LINTZ DISAPPEARED NEARLY 36 YEARS AGO FROM THE SMALL WESTERN IOWA TOWN OF WOODBINE. HER BODY STILL HAS NOT BEEN LOCATED, A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT SAYS. THE DAVIS AND LINTZ WERE IN A RELATIONSHIP AT THE TIME. IOWA’S COLD CASE UNIT REOPENED THIS CASE. IT IS THE UNIT’S FIRST ARREST SINCE IT WAS FORMED LAST SUMMER. LENZ’S FAMILY SAYS THEY PLAN TO ATTEND THE MURDER TRIAL. THEY HOPE FOR A CONVICTION, AND THEY HOPE THAT CONVICTION LEADS TO FINDING HER BODY. LINDSEY’S DAUGHTER WAS ONLY THREE WHEN SHE WENT MISSING. SHE TOLD ME SHE THINKS ABOUT HER MOM EVERY SINGLE DAY, GOING THROUGH CERTAIN TIMES OF MY LIFE TO WHERE I HAVE JUST EXPERIENCED THINGS. THAT’S MADE ME THINK ABOUT HER. OR, YOU KNOW, I WONDER IF SHE LIKED THIS OR THAT AND JUST IT’S ALL THOSE LITTLE THINGS THAT KIND OF JUST KEEP ME HELD CLOSE TO HER. DAVIS IS CURRENTLY BEING HELD IN THE HARRISON COUNTY JAIL. THERE’S NO DATE SET YET FOR WHEN HE WILL APPEAR, WHEN HE WILL NEED TO APPEAR IN PERSON IN COURT.
Iowa man accused of murder in 1989 cold case pleads not guilty
Updated: 4:27 PM CDT Apr 7, 2025
A western Iowa man recently accused of murder in a 1989 cold case is pleading not guilty. Robert Allen Davis was arrested in March and charged with first-degree murder, 36 years after the disappearance of Barbara Lenz, his then-girlfriend. Davis, then 25, is believed to be the last person to see Lenz, 31, before her disappearance.Lenz, who lived in Woodbine, has not been seen since. Her body has not been found.Davis, now 61, filed a written plea of not guilty in court documents filed Monday morning in Harrison County.Court records say Lenz told others she was scared of Davis just days before her disappearance, 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.» Subscribe to vlog's YouTube page» Download the free vlog app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
DES MOINES, Iowa — A western Iowa man recently accused of murder in a 1989 cold case is pleading not guilty.
Robert Allen Davis was arrested in March and charged with first-degree murder, 36 years after the disappearance of Barbara Lenz, his then-girlfriend. Davis, then 25, is believed to be the last person to see Lenz, 31, before her disappearance.
Lenz, who lived in Woodbine, has not been seen since. Her body has not been found.
Davis, now 61, filed a written plea of not guilty in court documents filed Monday morning in Harrison County.
Court records say Lenz told others she was scared of Davis just days before her disappearance, 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.
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