Emmetsburg, Iowa — The second defendant charged with the murder of a Washington, Iowa man east of Spencer two years ago has changed his plea as part of a plea bargain.
On July 22, 2020, Palo Alto County authorities received a report of a possible body in Virgin Lake, south of Ruthven (about 12 miles east of Spencer). Upon arrival, deputies discovered a body about 25 feet from shore. According to the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation was called and the body, later identified as 27-year-old Rollin J. (RJ) Bontrager of Washington, Iowa, was removed from the lake and transported to the Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny. An autopsy determined the 27-year-old had been beaten to death.
Thirty-one-year-old Allan Michael Schwidder, formerly of Emmetsburg, is serving a 50-year sentence for Bontrager’s death after pleading guilty to second-degree murder a year ago. In court documents, Schwidder said he and Bontrager had been fishing and got into a fight.
According to court records, 23-year-old Brice Patrick Colling of Emmetsburg was also charged with Murder in the First Degree in connection with the death. The records say the plea deal will involve a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter, which carries a 10-year prison term instead of life without parole.
