Gazette Daily News Podcast, April 4

This is John McGlothlen with The Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Monday, April 4th.

Today in the Cedar Rapids area we can expect mostly cloudy skies, with a high near 51, according to the National Weather Service. Winds from the northwest, 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Then tonight, still mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.

A Cedar Rapids man who called 911 Saturday to report a woman's heroin overdose has been charged with murder after police found the woman with what appeared to be blunt force head trauma, according to a criminal complaint. Officers were called at 6:06 p.m. Saturday by 62-year-old Arthur Flowers, who reported that the woman overdosed at his home in the southeast quadrant. Flowers initially attempted to leave when officers arrived but then took them to a bathroom where 22-year-old Emily Elizabeth Leonard, of Cedar Rapids, was found with “obvious head injuries and blood spatter all over the bathroom,” according to a criminal complaint. The woman’s clothing was in disarray, and a bloodied 1x6 board, which investigators believe is the murder weapon based on the woman’s head injuries, was found in the bathroom. Investigators said they found blood evidence from another area where she was likely killed and then moved. Flowers has convictions for assaulting women by punching them and threatening to kill one woman while wielding a knife, according court documents. He also has convictions for harassment. During Flowers’ initial appearance Sunday, Judge Russell Keast set bail at $1.5 million cash or surety.

Support for this podcast provided by New Pioneer Food Co-op. Celebrating 50 years as Eastern Iowa’s source for locally and responsibly sourced groceries with stores in Iowa City, Coralville and Cedar Rapids; and online through Co-op Cart at newpi.coop.

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🎹 Podcast music: “Momentum” by Emily McGlothlen