(KIWA Staff Photo)Sioux City, Iowa (RI) — Opening arguments began Wednesday in Woodbury County District Court in Sioux City in a 40-year-old murder case.
63-year-old Thomas Popp is charged in the 1983 shooting death of 18-year-old Terri McCauley. McCauley disappeared on September 27th, 1983, after a night out with friends, and her body was found less than 24 hours later. Popp was living and working in Sioux City at the time and was the primary suspect, but he was not arrested until last year after investigators re-examined the case.
Woodbury County Attorney James Loomis highlighted how investigative tools have changed since the early 1980s.
Loomis said that McCauley’s friends last saw her leave in a car matching the color of one owned by Popp, and that Popp owned a similar gun.
Defense attorney John Loos argued there is no physical evidence tying Popp to the crime. He said investigators found no hair, fingerprints, or fibers from McCauley’s clothing in Popp’s car — something he called unusual in a shotgun killing.
Loos said that even with modern forensic tools, nothing links Popp to McCauley’s death.
Prosecutors expect to call 15 witnesses, including McCauley’s best friend and a former investigator who says Popp should have been tried years ago. Popp is also expected to testify.
