(KIWA Staff Photo)Sioux City, Iowa (RI) — Jury selection begins today for a man accused of killing a Native American woman in Sioux City more than 40 years ago.
Police arrested 63-year-old Thomas Popp in Washington state in January 2025 and charged him with first-degree murder in the 1983 death of 18-year-old Terri McCauley.
McCauley’s nephew, Josh Taylor, says he wants people to remember his aunt as more than a crime victim.
McCauley disappeared in 1983 after a night out with friends. Her body was found in a wooded area ten days later. Taylor says the family has waited decades for this moment.
A social-media campaign helped bring renewed attention to McCauley’s case. Her family also started Red Sky Nation to highlight the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) crisis.
Red Sky Nation has helped families locally and in other states across the region.
The trial is expected to last around two weeks.
