Suspect in 1983 Linn County cold case to appear in court this week

Michael Schappert, 65, charged with first-degree murder in the 1983 killing of Ronald Lee Novak, is scheduled for a case management conference Friday in Linn County District Court — his first physical appearance in an Iowa courtroom since being extradited from Oregon, according to reports.

Novak, 24, was found dead on Christmas Eve 1983 at his home on Rolling Acres Road in rural Linn County, about three miles north of Center Point. He had been beaten with hammers and a golf club, shot once in the chest, and left in an unheated storeroom. The cause of death was a combination of the beating, gunshot, hypothermia, and shock, the criminal complaint stated. Investigators found $32,000 in cash and about $7,000 worth of marijuana inside the home, leading them to believe burglary or robbery was a motive.

DNA evidence linked Schappert to the crime scene. According to the criminal complaint, blood DNA on Novak's socks was 650 trillion times more probable to have come from Schappert and Novak than from Novak and an unknown person. Touch DNA on a claw hammer handle at the scene also matched Schappert. Genetic genealogy by Parabon Nanolabs in 2019-2020 narrowed the suspect to three brothers, and a covert DNA sample from Schappert was obtained in August 2022 through the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in Oregon.

“You start to give up hope that there will be an answer. I wanted it so bad. We look forward to the trial,” Patti Wilson, Novak’s sister, told ABC News. She added: “He got to live his life, my brother didn’t.”

Schappert was arrested on May 28, 2025 in Fairview, Oregon by the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. He waived extradition and was returned to Iowa, making his initial appearance in Linn County District Court on May 31, 2025, where he was ordered held on $1 million cash-only bail. He entered a written plea of not guilty in July 2025.

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said at a press conference after the arrest, as cited by ABC News: “By naming a suspect, it may cause other people to now come forward that maybe weren’t willing to do so previously, or maybe this has jogged their memory some 41 years later.” The sheriff’s office said the case remains open and investigators believe at least one other person was involved.

Schappert’s trial was originally scheduled for February 2026, then rescheduled to April 2026, and then to January 19, 2027, after he waived his right to a speedy trial in March 2026. Sixth Judicial District Judge Christopher Bruns is presiding, and defense attorney Todd Weimer is among Schappert’s counsel. If convicted, Schappert faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole.