POWESHIEK COUNTY, Iowa — A Poweshiek County jury has found a Grinnell man guilty of murdering and abusing the corpse of Michael Williams, whose body was found burning in a ditch in September 2020.
The jury on Tuesday convicted Steven Vogel, now 32, of killing Williams last fall before disposing of his body in a rural Kellogg ditch near the 8100 block of N 67th Avenue East.
Vogel's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. He will be held in the Poweshiek County Jail until then.
He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole following the first-degree murder conviction.
The criminal complaint says an autopsy determined Williams had died from strangulation.
Last year, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) said no evidence in the case suggested that Vogel killed Williams because he was Black. DCI also said Williams and Vogel were "known acquaintances who often socialized within the same circle of friends."
Investigators determined Williams died on Sept. 12, 2020. The criminal complaint says several individuals had seen Williams' body wrapped up in Vogel's basement days before his body was found in the ditch.
RELATED: Iowa DCI: 4 suspects arrested, but no evidence of racial motive in killing of Michael Williams
Vogel told one of the witnesses that he strangled Williams, according to investigators. When the witness went back to Vogel's house a few days later, Vogel asked them for help with moving Williams' body out of the basement.
The three other individuals charged in Williams' death will be on trial soon.
Julia Cox, Roy Garner and Cody Johnson are all charged with abusing a corpse and accessory after the fact. Cox and Garner are also charged with two counts of obstructing prosecution.
Cox's pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec. 6 in Poweshiek County, according to online court records. Garner is also scheduled for a pretrial conference in December, but his jury trial is already set for Jan. 19, 2022.
Johnson's pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec. 20 in Poweshiek County.
WATCH | Iowa DCI: 4 suspects arrested, but no evidence of racial motive in killing of Michael Williams
