Cedar Rapids native arrested in 1983 Linn County cold case murder

A 64-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a 1983 murder in rural Linn County, authorities announced May 28.

Michael S. Schappert, of Fairview, Oregon, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Ronald Lee Novak, 24, whose body was discovered on Christmas Eve 1983 at his home at 5044 Rolling Acres Road in rural Walker, about three miles north of Center Point, the Linn County Sheriff's Office said.

Novak was found with his hands bound behind his back. He had been beaten with hammers and a golf club and shot once in the chest, according to the criminal complaint. The medical examiner ruled that Novak died from a combination of injuries, shock and hypothermia, the complaint states.

Investigators found $32,000 in cash and about $7,000 worth of marijuana in Novak's home and believe Novak was a marijuana dealer, the sheriff's office said. The case remains open; authorities believe at least one other person was involved, according to ABC News.

Schappert was linked to the crime through DNA evidence. Blood and touch/trace DNA found on Novak's clothing and on a claw hammer believed to be the murder weapon matched Schappert, the criminal complaint said. DNA testing from Novak's sock showed it was 650 trillion times more probable the sample originated from Schappert and Novak than from Novak and an unknown person, according to the Des Moines Register. The hammer grip contained DNA of three people and provided very strong support that Schappert was a contributor, the Register reported.

The breakthrough came through genetic genealogy. Parabon Nanolabs provided services that narrowed the suspect to three brothers, the Schappert family, according to KCRG. Two brothers were eliminated through covert DNA samples. A covert sample from Michael Schappert was collected in August 2022, The Gazette reported.

"We are reverse engineering someone's identity based on who they're sharing DNA with," CeCe Moore, chief genetic genealogist at Parabon Nanolabs, told KCRG.

Schappert is a Cedar Rapids native who attended Kennedy High School, according to CBS2 Iowa. He is first cousins with Brian Schappert, who was murdered in Cedar Rapids in 1989 in a case closed in 2019, CBS2 reported.

Schappert was arrested May 28 in Fairview, Oregon, by Multnomah County deputies assisted by an FBI agent from the Cedar Rapids field office, the sheriff's office said. He signed a waiver of extradition on May 30 and was returned to Linn County, KCRG reported. He was ordered held on $1 million cash-only bail, according to The Gazette.

"On behalf of the Linn County Sheriff's Office and our law enforcement partners, our thoughts are with the family and friends of Ronald Novak," Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said in a statement published by Season of Justice. "We recognize the pain and trauma that Mr. Novak's loved ones have endured for more than 40 years while his murder went unsolved."

Gardner added that naming a suspect "may cause other people to now come forward that maybe weren't willing to do so previously," ABC News reported.

Schappert entered a written plea of not guilty on July 8 or 9, 2025, and waived his right to a speedy trial, CBS2 reported. A trial date has been set for February 24, 2026, according to CBS2.

The investigation used DNA testing from as early as 2011, with ongoing work by the Linn County Sheriff's Office, DNA Labs International, and Parabon Nanolabs, Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks said. "Through the course of the last approximately 10 to 12 years, there has been ongoing testing and following up to get to this point," Maybanks told Radio Iowa.