On the afternoon of March 17, 2023, a sense of unease settled over a residence on West Boone Street in Marshalltown, Iowa. A 911 call was placed at 4:03 p.m., reporting that a person inside was injured and not breathing. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they discovered the body of 27-year-old male, Isaiah Montell Forest. The circumstances surrounding his death were immediately deemed suspicious by the Marshalltown Police Department.
An autopsy conducted the following day by the
Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner confirmed the tragic reality: Isaiah had died from a gunshot wound. The investigation, a joint effort between the Marshalltown Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, quickly pointed to a suspect. Just two days after Isaiah's death, on March 19, 2023, authorities arrested 20-year-old Amarrion Demeir Isom. He was subsequently charged with Murder in the First Degree.
The investigation revealed the motive behind the senseless act stemmed from a dispute over a debt. On that fateful Friday, Isom had gone to Forest's residence armed with a pistol grip shotgun. One witness recounted seeing Isom raise the weapon and fire it at Isaiah. Another witness testified that Isom later disposed of a rolled-up rug that contained multiple firearms, including the murder weapon. It was also revealed that a third witness had been on the phone with Isaiah just moments before he was shot.
In February 2024, Amarrion Demeir Isom stood trial in Marshall County District Court. After nearly a week of testimony and evidence presentation, the jury began their deliberations. On February 19, 2024, the jury returned with a guilty verdict, convicting Isom of Murder in the First Degree. The prosecution had argued that Isom killed Forest not only over a drug debt but also for a perceived lack of respect. They detailed how Isom went to the residence, pulled the trigger at close range, and then took deliberate steps to conceal his crime by attempting to dispose of the evidence and creating a false alibi. The defense had argued for a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, suggesting the death was the result of something gone wrong, but the jury ultimately sided with the prosecution. Following the verdict, the Marshalltown Police Chief described the crime as a senseless act and expressed gratitude for the tireless work of all law enforcement and legal professionals involved in bringing the perpetrator to justice.
