On October 17, 2008, Bryce Lee Mercer, 24, of West Des Moines, was shot and killed on the shoulder of Highway 14 in Marshall County, Iowa. He and 24-year-old Jessica Dawn Deemer of Waukee had been in a vehicle that was pursued and run off the road. Witnesses reported seeing a man exit a truck and shoot Mercer with a 20-gauge shotgun.

Jessica Deemer fled and sought cover behind a stopped van while calling relatives and 911. The pursuer followed her and shot her as she cowered; the van’s driver left because children were inside. The shooter fled on foot but was later found in southern Hamilton County and taken into custody. Authorities recovered the shotgun believed to be the murder weapon in a ditch along Highway 14.

Prosecutors charged the suspect with two counts of first-degree murder; at trial evidence included prior threats against Jessica connected to the couple’s separation and possible methamphetamine use by the defendant. Does anyone have information about Bryce Mercer’s last hours or the road between Marshall and Hamilton counties that could help explain what happened?