As I have mentioned on this blog before, the most horrifying things can--and often do--happen to the most unlikely people.  The following mystery definitely belongs in that category.

In 2011, 79-year-old James William “Bill” Wood had been married to Kaidena “Kay” Lozelle, seven years his junior, for three years.  (The pair were both widowed at the time of their marriage.)  They lived in the rural town of Norwalk, just outside of Des Moines, Iowa.  Everyone who knew the pair described them as very much in love, and very happy with their quiet existence.  Kay, a former grocery store worker, enjoyed collecting china dolls.  Bill was a retired ironworker who was employed at J.W. Perry Inc., a Des Moines florist.  Bill’s favorite toy was a Model A Ford that he kept in prime condition and often drove in parades.  They both had a love for antiques, of which they had an impressive collection.

This pleasant life the couple shared came to a brutal end on the night of July 30, 2011, when a fire was reported at their home.  After the fire department put out the blaze, the Woods were nowhere to be found.

On the following day, the couple’s red Chevrolet Silverado pickup was discovered outside an expensive apartment complex in Kansas City, Missouri.  Several people saw the man who had abandoned the car.  They described him as being in his late 40s to early 60s, slender, short white hair, and well over six feet tall.  He had parked the car some time before the Wood house was set on fire.  That same day, the charred body of Bill Wood was found in the remains of his home.  The autopsy found that he had died of multiple gunshot wounds.  Kay--whether alive, or, as everyone feared, dead--remained missing.

"Des Moines Register," October 5, 2011, via Newspapers.com

To date, that is all we know for certain about this particularly baffling murder and disappearance.  Although the man seen driving the couple’s truck was obviously the main suspect, what motive could this person--who has never been identified--have to destroy this well-liked pair?

"Indianola Record-Herald," August 6, 2014

Relatives speculated that robbery was the answer.  Bill’s brother Henry noted that the Woods were last seen attending an antiques auction in Stuart, Iowa.  “I think there is a really big chance that something happened in Stuart.  Bill probably has some antiques that are very rare.  He liked nice stuff.  He probably had expensive stuff.  If he found something he wanted, he bought it.”  Perhaps at this auction, the Woods were seen buying something valuable, or they told the wrong person about their collection at home.  (The fire obviously made it impossible to know if anything had been stolen.)

Although relatives still hold out hope that Bill’s murder and Kay’s disappearance will one day be solved, as the years go by, that is looking tragically unlikely.