An Iowa man who had been dating 31-year-old Barbara Lenz when she vanished nearly 37 years ago has been found guilty of her murder, authorities announced.
Robert Davis’ conviction comes about a year after he was arrested in Lenz’s cold case killing, according to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. Lenz’s body has never been located.
Davis, 62, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a first-degree murder charge on March 10, 2025, in connection with Lenz’s death, the attorney general’s office’s Cold Case Unit announced in a news release last year.
The last known sighting of Lenz was on May 6, 1989, according to authorities. That day, officials said Davis had told law enforcement that he dropped Lenz off at her home in Woodbine.
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At the time, Lenz planned to visit Omaha, Nebraska, to meet with her ex-boyfriend, who she shared a daughter with, authorities said. Her child was 3 years old when Lenz disappeared.
About 10 days after Lenz was last seen, she was reported missing, according to authorities.
“Investigations at Lenz’s home suggested she had been taken against her will,” the attorney general’s office said in the earlier news release.
On Tuesday, March 31, a jury returned a guilty verdict against Davis, who has been convicted of second-degree murder in Lenz’s death, the attorney general’s office said in a news release issued the same day.
“No one should get away with murder,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said in a statement. “Barbara Lenz’s family has been waiting nearly 37 years for justice.”
Davis’ defense attorney, Joseph Hrvol, has maintained Davis was innocent in connection with Lenz’s disappearance, KETV reported.
“Robert Davis did not have anything to do with the disappearance of Barbara Lenz and certainly not the death of Barbara Lenz,” Hrvol said during opening statements at Davis’ trial, according to the TV station.
Davis was the first person apprehended by the Iowa Cold Case unit after the division was established in July 2024, according to the attorney general’s office.
According to his criminal complaint, before Lenz vanished, Lenz told multiple people that she was scared of Davis “and that she was trying to get away from him.”
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“She told at least two witnesses Davis had threatened to kill her if she ever left him,” the criminal complaint states.
The filing details how Davis allegedly assaulted Lenz multiple times throughout their relationship, which lasted for about two years.
Davis was accused of strangling her until she passed out on one occasion, according to the complaint, which says he also caused her visible, physical injuries.
Lenz’s daughter, Lindsy Baumgart, was in the courtroom with her father, John Crews, when Davis was convicted on March 31, KCCI reported.
“I just held out that one day, someone might speak up or maybe I might be able to figure it out myself, but I was never successful,” Baumgart told news outlets, referring to her mother’s death. “It took an incredible team behind us to get us here today.”
While reacting to Davis’ conviction, Crews said, according to the TV station, that “I’m just really relieved after 37 years of praying for this to happen.”
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“I’m just so thankful that Barbara made the sacrifice of giving Lindsy to me a week and a half before she was murdered,” Crews added.
He described Crews as a “wonderful, wonderful woman” and a “tough country girl,” KCCI reported.
Davis is set to be sentenced on May 22, according to the attorney general’s office.
