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Trial recounts high profile murder case in Cedar Rapids
In May 1949 Linn County opened the murder trial of Dr. Robert Rutledge Jr. of St. Louis for the death of Byron Hartman at the Roosevelt Hotel in Cedar Rapids. Witnesses described a volatile sequence from an office party to a room confrontation, a struggle over a knife, and claims of sexual assault, deception, and a fatal stabbing. The case drew national attention as testimony detailed a contentious relationship and alleged attempts to pay for an abortion, with jurors sequestered for deliberations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Robert Rutledge Jr
St. Louis
Linn County
J.E. Heiserman
Rutledge
Byron Hartman
Roosevelt Hotel
Cedar Rapids
Iowa
William Crissman
W.J. Barngrover
Sydney Rutledge
Hartman
Emerson Electric Co
Hattman
Robert Rutledge
Sydney