In the summer of 1995, the life of a young, white female named Connie Jo Bodensteiner was tragically cut short at the age of 24. On Tuesday, August 8, 1995, a maintenance worker at a south-side Des Moines apartment complex made a grim discovery in a locked basement storage bin. Inside was the body of Connie Jo Bodensteiner. An autopsy would later confirm that the young mother had been strangled, with a strap or belt found around her neck.
Connie Jo's life, as described by her mother, Sandy Choate, had been a difficult one. She had dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and had accumulated a history of arrests, including four for prostitution and one related to drugs. Her marriage to Michael Bodensteiner was described as stormy, and the couple had separated in 1992. Despite pleas from her parents to return to her hometown of New Providence, Connie Jo always found her way back to Des Moines. She had a five-year-old daughter, Brittany, who was living with her grandparents at the time of her mother's death. The last time her mother saw her alive was on July 23, when Connie Jo visited her daughter.
The investigation into her murder initially explored a possible connection to the death of another woman, 37-year-old Angela Buck of Waterloo, whose body was found the day after Connie Jo's. Both women had a history of prostitution and had reportedly worked for the same individual. However, authorities ultimately determined that the two cases were not connected.
To this day, the murder of Connie Jo Bodensteiner remains unsolved. No arrests have been made, and no suspects have been publicly identified in connection with her death. The case is a cold case, and authorities continue to ask for anyone with information to come forward. Private graveside services were held for Connie Jo on August 11, 1995, at the Paton Township Cemetery in Greene County.
