On a cold January day in 2019, the community of Ankeny, Iowa, was shaken by the death of Clifford Scott Gottula, a 45-year-old Caucasian male. On January 3rd, police were called to a home on Southwest Cascade Lane for a welfare check, which soon turned into a death investigation. Inside, they found Gottula, who had sustained a fatal gunshot wound. The initial hours of the investigation were tense, with police establishing a perimeter and asking nearby residents to shelter in place as they
worked to understand the circumstances of the shooting.
As the Ankeny Police Department delved deeper into the case, the initial belief that it might have been a suicide was quickly replaced by the certainty of a homicide. The investigation soon centered on Kema V. Kaspers, who was present at the scene when authorities arrived. Evidence gathered at the home led investigators to believe that Gottula's death was not self-inflicted. Kaspers was subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting. The investigators' findings suggested a violent encounter had preceded the fatal shot.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, Kema V. Kaspers initially faced the severe charge of first-degree murder. However, the case saw a development when she agreed to a plea deal. Kaspers pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. This plea brought a form of resolution to the case, though the full story of the moments leading up to Clifford Gottula's death may never be publicly known. The tragic event left a family to mourn the sudden and violent loss of a loved one, and a community to grapple with the unsettling nature of the crime.
