In the late summer of 2006, the life of 36-year-old Brenda Renae Curnes, a female resident of Clinton, Iowa, was tragically cut short in a violent act that stunned the community. On the evening of Saturday, September 9, 2006, officers from the Clinton Police Department were dispatched to an apartment on North Second Street following a report of a possible death. There, they discovered the bodies of Ms. Curnes and a male acquaintance, 39-year-old Gregory S. Stage.
The initial investigation pointed towards a violent confrontation with evidence of a firearm present at the scene.
Subsequent autopsies confirmed the grim reality of the situation. The Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office determined that Ms. Curnes died as a result of a homicide, having sustained a gunshot wound. Mr. Stage's death was ruled a suicide, also from a gunshot wound. Investigators concluded that Mr. Stage had fatally shot Ms. Curnes before taking his own life. This conclusion was based on the evidence collected at the apartment and the findings of the autopsies. The Clinton Police Department, with assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, treated the case as a murder-suicide and stated that they were not seeking any other suspects in connection with the deaths. No further details regarding a motive for the tragic event were publicly released.
Brenda Curnes was remembered as an intelligent and artistic individual with a deep love for animals. Originally from Osceola, Iowa, she was a graduate of the University of Iowa and had pursued further education at Iowa State University. Her passion for animals was evident through her work at an animal shelter and an animal lab during her university years. She was also a gifted writer of poetry. In 2002, she relocated to Clinton, where she worked as an office manager for a psychiatric clinic. Her sudden and violent death left her family and friends to grapple with the senseless loss of a cherished daughter, granddaughter, and friend.
