In the small town of Mapleton, Iowa, the life of 16-year-old Joseph Hopkins, a Caucasian male, was tragically cut short on the night of January 31, 2020. On that evening, the Mapleton Police Department and emergency medical services were dispatched to a residence at 306 South 5th Street following a 911 call reporting a shooting. Inside the detached garage of the home, they discovered Joseph Hopkins, who had sustained a fatal injury.
An autopsy later conducted by the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner would confirm that the teenager died from a single gunshot wound to the head. The manner of his death was officially ruled a homicide. At the time of the incident, three other juvenile males were present at the residence. The investigation into the circumstances of the shooting was a collaborative effort involving the Mapleton Police Department, the Monona County Sheriff's Office, the Monona County Attorney's Office, the Iowa Attorney General's Office, and the Division of Criminal Investigation.
Following a thorough investigation, on March 27, 2020, authorities arrested 17-year-old Jay Lee Neubaum of Whiting, Iowa. He was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder in connection with Joseph Hopkins' death. Neubaum was transported to the juvenile detention center in Woodbury County, with his bond set at $1 million. The case proceeded to trial, and in May 2021, a jury found Neubaum guilty of second-degree murder.
The legal proceedings revealed that the shooting occurred while a group of teenagers were in the garage. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Neubaum shot Hopkins after an argument, while the defense maintained that the shooting was accidental. Ultimately, the jury convicted Neubaum, and he was subsequently sentenced to 50 years in prison for the death of Joseph Hopkins.
