Iowa man allegedly admits to shooting to death his 74-year-old father, officials says

An Iowa suspect allegedly admitted to fatally shooting his father the day before the elderly man was reported missing, authorities said.

On March 19, the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a missing person, 74-year-old Lawrence Paul Whittle.

According to the sheriff’s office, he was last seen around 8 a.m. the previous day.

Authorities located the elderly man’s truck at Moe Park in rural Winneshiek County and detectives, EMS, fire crews and other emergency management teams conducted an extensive search of the area but weren’t successful in finding him.

After opening an investigation, law enforcement took Aaron Gary Whittle, 43, into custody on March 21 and charged him with the first-degree murder of his father.

A criminal complaint obtained by KCRG states that while investigators were interviewing the suspect, he allegedly told them he shot his father on March 17.

Investigators wrote in the report that evidence at the scene appears to confirm the younger Whittle’s account of what happened, the station reports.

On March 21, Aaron Whittle was booked into the Winneshiek County Jail on a $1 million cash bond.

Officials have not released further details related to the ongoing murder investigation.