Iowa Supreme Court Reverses Verdict for Bagley’s Murder

The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a Court of Appeals decision that overturned a murder verdict in eastern Iowa.  

The Iowa Court of Appeals overturned the second-degree murder verdict against Johnny Blahnik Church in the stabbing death of Walker resident Chris Bagley of Cedar Rapids in 2018. 

The Court of Appeals based its decision on a jury instruction that was given by the judge after the jury deliberated for several hours and was deadlocked at 11-1. The Supreme Court ruled the facts and circumstances do not support the conclusion the district court’s verdict-urging instruction coerced or potentially coerced the jury’s verdict. 

Church was sentenced in December 2021 to 57 years in prison.

story courtesy of Radio Iowa