Black Man’s Body Discovered Burning In Iowa Ditch

The body of a beloved black grandfather was found burning in a local ditch in Iowa.

Police responded to a call at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16, to a fire in a roadside ditch near Kellogg. The body was later identified as 44-year-old Michael Williams, of Grinnell, Iowa. Police reported that they are investigating the death as a murder and possible hate crime.

Janalee Boldt, Williams’ ex-wife and the mother of his kids, told CNN affiliate KCCI that, “He was a family person. His kids were always important.”

As of now, police have not released any information on the potential suspects or motive for the crime.

Grinnell College also cancelled classes On Monday in light of the horrific death. The president and the school’s chief diversity officer released a statement,

“This stark and brutal murder in the national context of racial injustice has struck intense fear for safety of our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) colleagues, friends, and families,” President Anne Harris wrote in the statement. “We live in a predominantly white community and work in a predominantly white college. The murder of Mr. Williams is an incident that is rare in the experience of most Iowans. But for many people of color, this incident is the most recent in an accumulated history of prejudice, mistreatment, and murder.”

#Socialites if you have any information, please contact the Grinnell Police Department at 651-623-5679, or Jasper County Sheriff’s Office at 641-792-5912.