NEWS

March 19, 2008
Inmate who killed Anamosa couple dies behind bars

Inmate Ronald Brewer, 68, who escaped in 1975 and killed an Anamosa couple in their home, died Tuesday at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison after a long illness with advanced lung disease, prison officials said today.

Brewer was already serving a life sentence from Pottawattamie County when he was permitted on Jan. 29, 1975, to leave the Anamosa State Penitentiary to teach a first-aid class at Anamosa High School.

He fled the class and was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder for shooting Clarence Edwards with a high-powered rifle. He was never tried in the death of Patricia Edwards, Clarence’s wife.

The slayings of the Edwards’ couple attracted widespread public attention and prompted state prison officials to tighten security on inmates serving life sentences.
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A prison employee, officer Herbert H. Pennock,, admitted to allowing Brewer to escape and was convicted of using false identification to buy the weapon allegedly used to murder the couple.

Prison officials today also confirmed the death of inmate Steven Howard Burg, 59, who was serving a 50-year sentence from Kossuth County, for first-degree robbery and other charges.

Burg died Tuesday at the Oakdale state prison of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated by congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease, officials said.

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