Multi-State Investigation Leads to Murder Charges in Lee County Iowa

Lee County, IOWA --- Tyler C. Hobbs, age 25, of St. Francisville, Missouri, has been charged with First Degree Murder, a class “A” felony, in connection with the death of Shawn R. Wright. Hobbs is in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections where he is being held on a parole violation and is awaiting extradition back to Iowa.

On November 9, 2010, a body was discovered in an area known as Gregory Landing near the Mississippi river in rural Clark County, Missouri. The deceased was later identified through autopsy as Shawn R. Wright, age 40, from Kahoka, Missouri. The autopsy, conducted by the Missouri Medical Examiner, also revealed that Wright had died from blunt force trauma and his death was ruled a homicide.

Since the discovery of Wright’s death, the Missouri Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control, Clark County Missouri Sheriff’s Office, Northeast Missouri Major Case Squad, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation have been conducting a probe into the circumstances surrounding Wright’s death. In mid-December, the investigation revealed Shawn Wright had been murdered in rural Lee County, Iowa during the early morning hours of November 6, 2010, before the body was moved to Missouri. At that time, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office joined the investigation.

The investigative findings have been reviewed by the Lee County Attorney’s Office. On April 4, 2011, an arrest warrant charging Tyler Hobbs with First Degree Murder was obtained through the Lee County District Court.