Photo: Osborn Eugene Gavel A former Mountain Home resident’s name was called during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday, but he was not present.
Instead, 22-year-old Osborn Eugene Gavel was sitting in jail in Hardin County, Iowa, facing murder charges.
He is accused of beating 74-year-old Steve Reece to death with a crowbar, according to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office.
Gavel’s name was on the Baxter County Circuit Court docket because he has an open criminal case. He was arrested May 28 on drug-related charges stemming from a traffic stop.
His Baxter County charges include possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
He was free on a $5,000 bond on the Baxter County charges at the time of his arrest for murder in Iowa.
Gavel pled not guilty at a preliminary hearing in Hardin County last month. His trial is tentatively set for mid-February next year.
The victim in the Iowa case, who lived along Commercial Street in Union, was known to allow people going through hard times to stay at his residence.
The victim was also said to buy groceries for people in the community and to give rides if asked.
It is reported that Gavel and several others stayed in the residence the night before the body was found.
In an interview with an Iowa television station, a clerk at a convenience store that Reece frequented said it was concerning to everyone who knew him that the elderly man let people who were down-and-out into his home.
She said family, friends and neighbors were worried about him, fearing that he might be hurt or worse by one of the people he sheltered.
The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about 5:30 a.m. Oct. 12 reporting an unresponsive male at Reece’s address.
The body was found in a bedroom of the residence.
Investigators allege Gavel used a crowbar he found in the garage of the victim’s home to strike Reece four times in the head.
The crowbar was found in a hallway and taken into evidence.
According to electronic court records, Gavel is being held in the Hardin County jail with bond set at $1 million dollars cash.
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