Killer 'Found Christ,' Confessed to Double Murder 30 Years Later
A double murder case in Iowa that went cold more than 30 years ago suddenly became open when an elderly man confessed to the murders after "he found Christ."
Jack Wendell Pursel, 66, was in police custody after he walked into the Waterloo police department and confessed to the killings.
A judge put Pursel's bail at $2 million for killing Richard Huntbach, 85, and wife Goldie, 77.
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Waterloo police stated the Pursel provided details of the crime that only someone who had been involved could have known about, according to police Captain Tim Pillack.
"He just wanted to get it off his mind … He knew of the family. He said his intention was to go in and rob them and kill them," Pillack told local media.
The Huntbachs' bodies were discovered when a neighbor grew concerned after not hearing form them for several days and went into their house on Jan. 12, 1981, according to police reports.
The victims described as a "nice elderly couple" were found tied up, gagged, their bodies riddled with bullets and their house robbed.
During the ensuing investigation, Pillack explained, police interviewed "a lot of people," including Pursel, but were not able to link him to the crime. It was rumored that he had dated a relative during the time of the murder, according to AP.
Pursel then left the state and moved to California where after only a few months, he was arrested for oral copulation with a minor and served a 21-year prison sentence, according to the California state sex offender registry. He was paroled in 1992.
"It's my understanding he found Christ and felt this was the right thing to do," Dan Trelka, director of Waterloo's safety services, told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.
Pursel is being charged with two counts of first degree murder. A hearing is scheduled for May 18.
