Kriti Mehrotra
When Ilene Gowan was found dead in a ditch under Old Mormon Bridge in 2023, around 20 miles away from the Omaha metro area near Crescent, Iowa, it left the entire nation utterly perplexed. That’s because, as explored in ID’s ‘See No Evil: One Hour in Omaha,’ the 60-year-old had been missing for 13 days when she was finally located, and a few of her key belongings had disappeared. Thankfully, though, it didn’t take long for law enforcement officers to identify the perpetrator thanks to the mountain of physical as well as circumstantial evidence gradually coming to light.
Ilene Gowan’s Remains Were Found Frozen Days After She Went Missing
Although born in Geneseo, Illinois, on January 25, 1963, to Kathleen Redell and David Hayden as one of their seven loving kids, Ilene Gowan eventually settled down in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She had her fair share of ups and downs in life by the time she turned 60 in 2023, yet she never regretted anything since it either gave her beautiful memories or the resilience to look forward. The Sugars Lounge & Diner employee was a kind soul who was a bright light for all her loved ones, especially for her four adult children – Jack Kilgore, Katherine Gomez, Clint Schipper, and Nicole Schipper – 13 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. She was even close with her six siblings, Mike Hayden, Mitch Hayden, Monte Hayden, Mark Hayden, Debbie Hatcher, and Marty Hayden.
Thus, of course, when Ilene went radio silent on February 13, 2023, and failed to show up at work two days later, it was so uncharacteristic that one of her daughters reported her missing. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of family members, officials, and volunteers alike, it was only 13 days later when she was found partially frozen in a ditch near Crescent – she was fully clothed, except for a shoe. Her daughter had informed the police during the 911 call that her mother had her purse as well as a personal safe containing over $1,200 in her possession. Yet, both these items were notably absent when she was ultimately discovered.
According to records, the temperature in the area was above freezing the day Ilene disappeared, yet it had gradually dropped soon after, so it is likely that she had been there all 13 days. As per her official autopsy, she had cuts and scrapes across her body, but the level of decomposition made it hard for the coroner to determine a clear cause or manner of her unfortunate demise, so it was listed as “unknown.” However, later on, a hired third-party ascertained that the zipper imprints on the victim’s neck were consistent with her cause of death being traumatic asphyxia due to neck compression, making her manner of death a homicide.
Every Piece of Evidence Led Detectives to One Possible Killer
Almost from the moment Ilene was reported missing, suspicion fell on her on-again, off-again boyfriend Ivan “Sam” Brammer owing to their relationship being rather tumultuous and volatile. In fact, according to the former’s loved ones, there was “much verbal fighting and alcohol involved” between the two, with her recently even having been kicked out of the apartment they shared while he kept her personal safe hostage. As per two separate witnesses, this safe had $1,500 at the time, and the boyfriend only let her, as well as her personal belongings, go after she paid him $300. From there, the victim reportedly went to live with a friend for a while.
However, on February 15, 2023, Sam deposited a total of $1,500 into his bank account, and when investigators retraced his steps, they discovered he was indeed the last person to see Ilena alive. When questioned, he initially claimed he had picked her up from her workplace after a shift at 8:30 am on February 13 to discuss their relationship, before soon dropping her off at her friend’s place. Yet, he quickly changed his story about dropping her and then continued doing so in each interrogation after being presented with facts – he tried to spin a narrative that would align with the actual evidence, yet this only kept incriminating him.
After all, apart from the money, officers discovered that Sam sold his truck to a salvage yard after days of interviews on February 25, 2023, just to have it crushed and disposed of the same day. As if that’s not enough, surveillance videos from across the city helped them map a timeline, showcasing that while Ilene was acting normally in his truck from 8:30 am to 9:28 am on the fateful morning, she was suddenly slouched and unmoving when she was next caught on camera at 10:28 am. She was in the exact same slumped position at 10:56 am, too, and then, at 11:06 am, she was no longer in the vehicle, so Sam was soon arrested.
Ivan “Sam” Brammer is Currently Serving His Time for Murder
In May 2023, Ivan “Sam” Brammer was arrested on one count each of abuse of a corpse and second-degree theft in relation to Ilene’s disappearance, to which he pleaded not guilty. Therefore, he was held in a county jail awaiting trial, unaware that he would also be charged with second-degree murder on August 9 – this was based on the report by the third-party consultant. Following this, Sam remained detained on a $500,000 bond, with his trial commencing in November. During Sam’s trial, it was reiterated that when Ilene was found partially frozen on February 26, she had multiple injuries across her body, including scrapes along her arms and legs, a non-life-threatening laceration to her head, and a broken tooth.
However, the zipper imprint on Ilene’s neck was faint yet evident, making the experts reiterate her cause of death to be traumatic asphyxiation. With this, alongside all the other pieces of evidence, the jury found Sam guilty of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and theft in November itself, for which he was later sentenced to a maximum of 50 years, 10 years, and 5 years, respectively. Therefore, today, at the age of 64, he remains incarcerated at the medium-security Clarinda Correctional Facility in Clarinda, Iowa, where he is expected to remain at least until he becomes eligible for parole in December 2072.
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