Breaking: Northeast Iowa Man Convicted of Killing Wife Sentenced to Life in Prison
After his request for a new trial and arrest of judgment was denied, a northeast Iowa man will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his wife.
41-year-old Brandon Kasemeier was convicted in May of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Jami Kasemeier, who was found dead inside their Waukon home on January 22, 2024. Waukon Police also recovered an empty handgun case and several fired .22 caliber cartridge casings inside the house.
It’s believed Jami Kasemeier was killed on January 21, 2024, the last day family members say they heard from her. Two days later, Brandon Kasemeier was arrested some 900 miles away in Loveland, Colorado, where Larimer County Sheriff’s deputies allegedly found a .22 (caliber) revolver in his car.
While the defense conceded Kasemeier had killed his wife, they also argued he was too intoxicated to form the intent to murder Jamie Kasemeier. However, an Allamakee County jury returned a guilty verdict.
Last Wednesday (07.02), the defense filed motion for a new trial and an arrest of judgment, arguing the verdict is contrary to the weight of the evidence which, they claim, did not show that Kasemeier acted with forethought and intent. They say, at best, the State provided evidence to show that Brandson Kasemier shot Jami Kasemeier and that she died as a result of being shot by him.
The State filed a resistance motion on Thursday (07.03) arguing the evidence of the “defendant’s guilt is overwhelming, and the jury returned the correct verdict,” with evidence at trial establishing Brandon Kasemeier shot Jami Kasemeier in the head two different times, without provocation or justification. The prosecution also says, “what happened to Jami was not a tragedy of impulse, or a moment of lost control. It was a deliberate, cold, and calculated act of murder.”
On Monday (07.07), District Court Judge Alan Heavens denied the defense’s motion, noting “there is substantial evidence in the record for every element of murder in the first degree. The verdict stands.” Heavens then sentenced Kasemeier to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
