A three-day search in southwestern Iowa that followed a woman’s claims that her late father was a serial killer has turned up no evidence, state officials said Thursday.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety said in a statement that the search involved “an array of experts … to excavate, collect and examine soil samples from a site identified by a reporting party.”
“After exhaustive efforts, no evidence or other items of concern were recovered,” the department said in a statement.
Lucy Studey has claimed that her late father, Donald Dean Studey, was a serial killer who buried bodies around his property in Thurman, according to Newsweek, which first reported the story. Authorities have confirmed they are investigating the claims.
Her sister, Susan, said Thursday that the claims are “absolutely not true.”
“I love my sister very much, but somewhere in her life she got misguided,” Susan said in a phone interview. She said her late father’s name has been cleared.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, which is under the public safety department, did not immediately respond to a request for comment — including whether authorities think the claim is credible or whether the dead man’s name has in fact been cleared.
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Lucy Studey on Thursday stood by her claims.
“My full siblings and I know what actually happened and I’m the only one speaking the truth,” she said, adding “I was told at the beginning, the investigation is a marathon not a sprint.”
The public safety department said last month it was working with federal and local authorities to try and corroborate the report of “multiple historic homicides” in rural Fremont County, which has a population of 6,600.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
