In the quiet town of Keokuk, Iowa, the life of a young white/caucasian man, Colby Ryan Deck, 27, was cut tragically short on July 28, 2024. On that Sunday morning, just after 9:00 a.m., emergency services were dispatched to a residence at 510 Morgan Street following two 911 calls reporting a man with a gunshot wound. Upon their arrival, officers found Deck with a single gunshot wound to his chest, and despite life-saving measures being administered, he was pronounced deceased at the scene at approximately 9:39 a.m.
The Keokuk Police Department, with assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation immediately launched a thorough investigation into the shooting. The scene was meticulously processed for evidence, including photographs and videos, while investigators canvassed the neighborhood for witnesses and additional clues. Multiple search warrants were executed in connection with the incident, leading to the collection of valuable evidentiary items. Early in the investigation, authorities identified the individual who fired the fatal shot but did not publicly release the name as the inquiry was ongoing.
After a detailed and lengthy investigation that spanned several months, an arrest was made. On the morning of April 17, 2025, officers from the Keokuk Police Department took 27-year-old Matthew Thomas Miller into custody at a residence on Morgan Street. He was subsequently charged with Murder in the Second Degree, a Class B felony. The investigation uncovered inconsistencies in Miller's initial account of the events. He had claimed to have fired a single shot from ground level near a vehicle after Deck had allegedly struck it. However, the evidence told a different story.
Investigators found a shell casing in a rain gutter outside a second-story window of the residence, which was open when police first arrived. Forensic analysis confirmed that this casing was fired from Miller's handgun. Furthermore, witnesses who were with Deck at the time of the shooting reported that they did not see Miller in or around the vehicle he claimed to be in, nor did they observe him in the area when the shot rang out. The culmination of this evidence led investigators to believe that Miller had intentionally fired the single shot from the second-story window, which struck Deck in the chest and resulted in his death. Authorities have stated that there was no justification for this act.
