A man has been charged in the death of an 18-year-old mother in Sioux City more than four decades ago.
Police arrested Thomas Duane Popp in Cowlitz County, Washington, on Saturday for first-degree murder in the killing of Terri McCauley, who was shot in 1983, KTIV reported.
McCauley, a young mother of two and member of the Omaha Tribe, was last seen alive getting into a white Chevy Nova in a Sioux City parking lot in the early morning hours of Sept. 26, 1983. Before climbing into the car, McCauley told the two friends she was with that she was going on a date, the Register previously reported.
The white male driving the Nova headed north on Omaha Street and then west on West Eighth Street.
She would not be seen again until her body was found on Oct. 6.
A resident walking his dog stumbled across McCauley’s partially decomposed body in the wooded vicinity of 33rd and Pavonia streets. She lay along an unkempt dirt road, mostly naked. She had been killed point-blank by a 20-gauge shotgun blast to the face.
Her shirt and shoes were found near her body. Investigators collected evidence for DNA analysis, but due to very hot temperatures and decomposition to the body, they were not able to find much usable evidence.
McCauley’s friends were interviewed and cleared and the case seemed to hit a dead end until three months later. While investigating a case where a man had fired a shotgun into a former girlfriend’s house, police were able to connect a white Chevy Nova, a 20-gauge shotgun and other evidence to establish a suspect in McCauley’s case.
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Though circumstantial evidence seemed to point to the Nova’s driver, an exhaustive search of the vehicle produced no proof McCauley had ever been in it. Waiting to obtain more solid evidence that would ensure a conviction, prosecutors held out on charging a suspect.
A grand jury indicted Popp on one count of first-degree murder, KTIV reported. Popp is currently in the custody of the Cowlitz County Jail, located in the state of Washington, on a $750,000 bond.
Joshua Taylor, a family spokesperson and nephew of McCauley, said the family was thankful for the work that authorities made in the cold case.
Taylor said advocacy groups, such as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman and Relatives, have been key in keeping the case alive, he told the Register.
Taylor said although the arrest was a breakthrough, it’s still the first step in a long process.
“For quite some time we felt somewhat hopeless and it felt like that nothing would ever come out of our efforts,” Taylor said. “Even now, with the time I’ve had to process it, it’s still hard to put together a whole sentence because you’re full of emotion. We’re extremely grateful to those who helped us with the case.”
José Mendiola is a breaking news reporter for the Register. Reach him at jmendiola@dmreg.com or follow him on X @mendiola_news.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Man arrested for 1983 killing of Sioux City woman Terri McCauley