Jury finds Andrew Karvel of Lansing guilty of Second Degree Murder in the May 2022 death of his roommate

by Julie Berg-Raymond

Andrew Karvel, of Lansing, was convicted Monday, August 21 in Allamakee County District Court of Second Degree Murder in the May 2022 death of Daniel Lundy, formerly also of Lansing. The jury in the case of the State of Iowa vs. Andrew Raymond Karvel opted not to convict on the most serious of the charges Karvel originally faced - First Degree Murder.

Karvel, age 66, was arrested August 17, 2022 on the charge of First Degree Murder in the May 9, 2022 death of his roommate, Daniel William Lundy, age 83, at the home they shared at 650 South 2nd Street in Lansing. According to court documents, Karvel pleaded not guilty to that charge in September of that year and was originally scheduled for a jury trial November 2, 2022. At the request, and agreement, of all legal counsel involved in the case, Karvel’s trial was rescheduled for August 16, 2023. In the meantime, Karvel was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Prosecuting the case were Allamakee County Attorney Anthony Gericke, Assistant Allamakee County Attorney Jill Kistler and Assistant Attorney General for the State of Iowa Keisha Cretsinger. Karvel was defended by Les Blair and Leigha Lattner of the Iowa State Defender’s Office in Dubuque. Presiding over the trial at the Allamakee County Courthouse in Waukon was Judge Alan Heavens with the First Judicial District of Iowa.

PRE-TRIAL MOTIONS
According to court documents, Karvel’s attorneys asked that the State be precluded from presenting “photographs and other evidence” regarding the condition of the home shared by the decedent and the defendant because the condition of the home at the time of the decedent’s death “is not relevant” and “is potentially highly prejudicial against the defendant,” the documents stated. Further, the Defense motion continued, State’s witnesses Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Rick Welsh and Medical Examiner (ME) Michele Catellier testified that the condition of the home was not a factor in deciding not to attempt resuscitation and did not contribute to the death of the decedent. Though Judge Heavens did not make a ruling on this motion, the State ultimately withdrew two pieces of law enforcement body camera evidence after unsuccessfully attempting to edit out any references to conditions of the home or maintenance of the lawn.

In another pre-trial motion, this one submitted by Assistant Allamakee County Attorney Jill Kistler, the State asked Judge Heavens to allow admission of evidence of a prior Alford plea by Karvel where he was ruled guilty “for assaulting Daniel Lundy on or about March 26, 2019.” According to the submitted motion, “Lundy … called the police and made a report.” The motion argued that the evidence should be admitted as proof of the defendant’s motive and intent. Judge Heavens ruled the evidence admissible.

JURY SELECTION
Following the screening of a 45-minute educational film about the roles and functions of the people involved in a criminal trial and the responsibilities of jurors, the bulk of the trial’s first day, Wednesday, August 16, was spent questioning potential jurors and, finally, the choosing of 12, plus two alternates. During the selection process, all potential jurors were advised on the rule of law pertaining to the presumption of innocence and told that no person can be convicted of a crime unless each element of that crime is proven beyond reasonable doubt.

OPENING STATEMENTS
In his opening statement, Gericke informed the jury that the State would be calling seven witnesses to the stand: Michele Catellier, MD, associate medical examiner with the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner; Lansing EMTs Rick Welsh and Devin Brennan; Allamakee County Sheriff Deputy Ross Kolsrud; Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Special Agent Ryan Herman; Dr. David Schwartz; and Lansing Chief of Police (and certified death investigator) Conrad Rosendahl. Gericke said the witnesses’ testimony would help the State build a “ladder” of evidence that would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Andrew Karvel, willfully, deliberately and with premeditation strangled Daniel Lundy, causing his death.

In her opening statement, Attorney for the Defense Lattner told the jury that the State would not be able to show, beyond a reasonable doubt, all the elements required of a murder charge. She wanted them to ask themselves, “Are you getting all the evidence that you need, to show that it was murder?”

MEDICAL EXAMINER TESTIFIES
The State’s first witness was Dr. Michele Catellier, a medical examiner with the State of Iowa. Dr. Catellier told the jury that she determined Daniel Lundy’s cause of death to be strangulation, and the manner of death to be homicide. Explaining the difference between these two terms, Dr. Catellier said cause of death refers to “an event that begins a sequence of bodily changes leading to death.” Manner of death, she said, is a “categorization developed for statistical purposes in public health analysis” describing the way in which a death occurs, and is identified according to five categories: Homicide, Suicide, Accidental, Natural or Undetermined. “Homicide,” she said, means “death at the hands of another.”

Dr. Catellier also noted several contributing factors in Lundy’s death - among them: sepsis, an infection of the blood; multiple bedsores; decreased kidney function; hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure. Additionally, she noted, he suffered from cardiac disease and had a pacemaker; and his spleen displayed evidence of the same infection present in the bedsores. These conditions, she said, “would render him more vulnerable to death; he could have succumbed more rapidly than someone else. He was not a man who I would describe as ‘well.’”

Taking the jury through a series of photographs - some taken at the scene, and some taken during autopsy - Dr. Catellier described bruises on the lower left side of the decedent’s mouth; a faint bruise on his left arm; multiple bedsores, where the skin had broken down; debris including fecal matter under his fingernails; bruises and abrasions on his hand; and petechiae - tiny spots of bleeding - under his eyelids.

Referring to the petechiae, Dr. Catellier said, “In a case of strangulation death, that is one of the most characteristic things that we see.” She noted that, in this case, the petechiae were “not very prominent and few and far between”; and that “the areas where we can see petechiae are very subtle.”

She also noted bruising on both sides of the neck and said that her autopsy showed evidence of internal bleeding and tissue injury she has only seen in relation to strangulation or high-velocity automobile accidents. “I believe that Mr. Lundy was strangled,” she said.

Describing how death by strangulation works, Dr. Catellier said strangulation does not necessarily refer to a blocking of the airway. “Most often, a strangulation is a vascular death - with compression of the carotid artery,” she said. She said it takes four pounds of pressure to block an airway and 10-11 pounds of pressure to occlude the carotid artery, blocking oxygen flow to the brain.

CROSS-EXAMINATION OF MEDICAL EXAMINER
Under cross-examination by Lattner, Dr. Catellier said that the decedent’s hand injuries were “absolutely non-specific.” Asked whether she could tell if there was pressure on the carotid artery, Dr. Catellier said, “yes.” She also said that the trachea was “broken in several places.”

Asked whether she could rule out that the decedent’s injuries were caused by an object (not someone’s hands), Dr. Catellier said, “a tool could be used to strangle someone.” Asked whether she could tell whether an object or a hand was used, Dr. Catellier said, “it’s possible that a tool was used.” Dr. Catellier testified she could not tell whether one or two hands or, if one, which one was used. She further testified that many of the decedent’s other conditions “could have been life-threatening.” Additionally, she noted that he had several kinds of cold medicine in his system.

Lattner asked Dr. Catellier about the decedent’s pacemaker, and about possible evidence it provided of ventricular tachycardia - a heart rhythm problem (arrhythmia) caused by irregular electrical signals in the lower chambers of the heart. “I thought that perhaps he had had a cardiac event,” she said.

RE-DIRECT OF MEDICAL EXAMINER
During re-direct of Dr. Catellier, Gericke asked whether the decedent’s neck area injuries could have been caused by an object hitting the neck; and Catellier said, “it would be unusual for a person to have been injured on both sides of the neck; I would need to know the object (in question). The only other situation I have seen that caused similar injuries was a high velocity accident like an automobile accident.”

EMTS TESTIFY
Under direct examination by Gericke, EMT Rick Welsh testified that he received a call at around 7:30 a.m. and arrived on the scene at 650 South 2nd Street in Lansing about five minutes later. He said Karvel met him at the door and led him to the second floor of the building, where the decedent’s body was located.

Asked about his observations at the scene, Welsh said he saw the decedent on his back, on the floor. He did multiple pulse checks and found no pulse. He also noted the person was not breathing, and that his outer extremities were cold to the touch. Welsh said that when he asked Karvel whether he had done CPR, Karvel replied, “I do not know CPR.”

Given his observations of the body, Welsh determined that CPR was “not a viable solution there” and decided not to initiate it. Welsh testified that the scene was left untouched until someone could pronounce the death. He asked “non-essential people” to leave the scene.  Welsh affirmed that after Lansing Chief of Police (and Deputy Coroner) Conrad Rosendahl had arrived on the scene and pronounced death, the victim was placed into a body bag and onto a stretcher, taken outside to the waiting ambulance, and transported to Waukon.

Under cross-examination by Blair, Welsh testified that he arrived at the scene around 7:35 a.m., and that EMT Devin Brennan arrived shortly thereafter. Brennan, who was not on duty the morning of the incident, went to the scene in his own vehicle to assist, after having heard sirens and checking the dispatch application on his phone and realizing he was close by. His testimony corroborated Welsh’s.

DEPUTY ROSS KOLSRUD TESTIFIES
Under direct examination by Gericke, Allamakee County Sheriff’s Deputy Ross Kolsrud testified that he responded to a call at approximately 7:40 a.m., while he was running traffic control near New Albin on Highway 26; he said he arrived on the scene at approximately 7:50 a.m. At that time, he said, an ambulance was present and two EMTs were upstairs. He said he was the first law enforcement officer on the scene.

Responding to Gericke’s questions about a conversation Kolsrud had with the defendant at the scene, Kolsrud said Karvel told him Lundy had been having a “hard time breathing”; Kolsrud said cough medicine was brought up but said he didn’t recall how it came up. He said Karvel told him that Lundy had been in a nursing home and “was not treated very fairly there.” Karvel told him that “he had gotten Lundy out of the nursing home three days previously.”

Kolsrud testified that he thought he was responding to a cardiac arrest call, and that he was not aware of the possibility of foul play. Asked by Gericke what he thought he might have done differently, Kolsrud said, “I should have had Mr. Karvel step out of the room, outside of where the body was.”

When Gericke asked Kolsrud whether he had asked the defendant how the victim had come to be on the floor, Kolsrud replied, “He told me that he’d been lying on that spot for two days.”

Kolsrud added that the defendant told him Lundy could sit up a little, to eat and drink. Kolsrud said he asked the defendant why he hadn’t called an ambulance and said that Karvel told him Lundy said he was fine and didn’t want an ambulance to come to the house. Gericke asked Kolsrud whether he had “some concerns at that point,” and Kolsrud said, “yes.”

Kolsrud said he assisted with removing the body from the residence. Outside, Kolsrud engaged in further conversation with Karvel, recorded on Kolsrud’s body camera video, which was entered into evidence. On the video, Karvel can be heard saying he’d called someone to help him with Lundy. “I called Spencer Byrd,” Karvel is heard saying on the video. “I said we’ve got to get Dan off the floor and onto the bed so we can get him to the hospital.” Karvel said that Byrd told him since it was Karvel’s decision to take him out of the nursing home, it was his responsibility to get him to a hospital.

Gericke asked Kolsrud what his impression was of Karvel. The Defense objected, and Judge Heavens sustained the objection. Gericke then asked Kolsrud how he was feeling at that time. “Uneasy,” Kolsrud replied. Gericke asked him what made him uneasy, and Kolsrud said, “The living conditions. Maybe the lack of emotion coming from Mr. Karvel.” Asked how he felt about Lundy having been lying on the floor for two days, Kolsrud replied, “that definitely was a red flag.”

KOLSRUD CROSS-EXAMINED
Blair asked Kolsrud whether this was the only occupied apartment in the building, and Kolsrud said “yes.” He also was asked whether he had gone into any of the other apartments and whether he knew if Karvel was in shock. To both questions, Kolsrud replied, “no.”

SPECIAL AGENT HERMAN TESTIFIES
Special Agent Ryan Herman with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) testified that May 11, 2022, he was contacted by his supervisor and told that the Lansing Police Department had requested their assistance in a suspicious death investigation. Herman said he was assisted by Special Agent Matthew Schalk and Special Agent Aaron Onder, both with the DCI. He said that he and Schalk attended a briefing with Chief Conrad Rosendahl at the Lansing Police Department May 12, with Deputy Kolsrud also in attendance.

During the briefing, Herman said, they listened to the 911 call that Karvel made the morning of May 9 and reviewed body camera footage. The autopsy was completed by then, and Herman said it noted “excessive damage to the throat and neck consistent with homicide.” Herman said he learned that a third man, Spencer Byrd, “had lived there at an earlier time,” and that Lundy had spent time at Great River Care Center in McGregor. Rosendahl informed him, he said, that he had retrieved traffic camera footage.

Herman said he conducted a non-custodial interview with the defendant May 13. He said he’d spoken briefly with Karvel outside the defendant’s home, and he’d agreed to meet them at the Lansing Fire Department. Herman said Karvel drove himself in his own van and arrived at the fire department about 20 minutes later.

Herman said that the interview was about two and a half hours long and was recorded, and that Karvel was not in custody at the time. “He was free to go at any time,” he said. Herman said that Karvel did not provide them with any information about the time of death, and that he left on his own, not under arrest.

Herman said a search warrant was executed at the residence May 18, at which time Karvel surrendered his cell phone and helped them to locate the cell phone associated with the decedent. Both phones, Herman said, were “forensically dumped”; no information of evidentiary value was found on either phone. Herman said he contacted the Iowa Insurance Bureau to see whether there were any active policies on the decedent, and learned there were none.

Gericke asked Herman whether he would have done anything differently in the handling of this investigation. Defense objected to the question and said it called for speculation; but the objection was overruled.  “I was called three days later,” Herman said. “I might have processed the scene a little differently.”

HERMAN CROSS-EXAMINED
Under cross-examination, Blair asked Herman questions about what Blair called the “whole range of topics” Herman talked about with Karvel during his two-and-a-half-hour interview. When asked if he knew how long Karvel and Lundy had been living together, Herman responded, “ten to 12 years or longer.” Asked whether he knew that the two men were “the only ones they had, to take care of each other,” Herman said, “I would say that’s true.” Asked if they had interviewed any other witnesses, Herman said they had not.

RE-DIRECT OF HERMAN
Under re-direct, Herman was asked if there were any other witnesses he feels they should have interviewed; he replied, “no.” He said he spoke on the phone with Lundy’s sister - who was, he said, “in ill health.” Finally, he was asked whether there were any leads they decided not to follow up on; and Herman replied, “no.”

COUNTY ASSISTANT ME SCHWARTZ TESTIFIES
The State began what would be the third and final day of the trial by calling Dr. David Schwartz, the assistant county medical examiner, to the witness stand. Dr. Schwartz said he’d received a call from Chief Rosendahl May 9, 2022, and told him to transport the body to the county morgue. It was, he said, subsequently transferred to Ankeny for the autopsy. He said that Rosendahl called him again May 11, and told him the results of the autopsy were in.

The Defense objected to this statement, calling it hearsay, but the objection was overruled. Schwartz said Rosendahl informed him the autopsy revealed “evidence that it was a murder.”

SCHWARTZ CROSS-EXAMINED
Under cross-examination, Schwartz was asked to clarify that he was never on the scene, and that his conversations with Rosendahl constituted his only involvement in this case.

CHIEF OF POLICE ROSENDAHL TESTIFIES
Lansing Chief of Police Conrad Rosendahl testified that he was not on duty May 9, 2022, but that he received the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) dispatch reporting someone was unconscious and not breathing. “Anything serious goes directly to my cell phone,” he said. He said he went to the scene at 650 South 2nd Street.

Gericke directed Rosendahl’s attention to a copy of what he identified as a “copy of affidavit disposition regarding assault.” The Defense objected, but the objection was overruled. Rosendahl described his recollection of the events described in the affidavit, saying that “At approximately 4:30 p.m. on March 26, 2019, (Karvel) put his hands on (Lundy’s) shoulders and pushed him back toward the bed.”

According to court documents filed by Judge Heavens in support of his ruling against the Defense’s motion to exclude the affidavit, the dispositional order in the prior assault case says that Karvel entered an Alford plea to the assault charge. Magistrate Barry Mueller accepted the plea, found Karvel guilty of assault, a simple misdemeanor, and fined him $75 plus cost and surcharge.

An Alford plea is a way for a defendant to accept the imposition of a sentence even if he is unwilling or unable to admit his participation in the acts constituting the crime. An Alford plea allows a defendant to take advantage of a favorable resolution to his criminal case while still maintaining his innocence. In order to accept an Alford plea, the court must find that the record contains strong evidence of actual guilt.

Rosendahl said that after he called the death at 7:45 a.m. May 9, he “went into death investigator mode.” He cleared the room and the scene and called Dr. Schwartz. Schwartz was busy on another case, Rosendahl said; so, he left a message. Rosendahl said that he and Kolsrud were alone in the room with Karvel at that point, and that Karvel told them Lundy had just been released from a nursing home in McGregor and that he had a “bad, mucousy-type cough.” Karvel told them he’d gone to the store that morning to purchase cough medicine for Lundy.

Rosendahl said Karvel also told them that he could not get Lundy onto the bed the previous night, and that Lundy had been on the floor overnight. Rosendahl said he then went into the hall and called the nursing home. He said he wanted to know Lundy’s most recent medical status - what he’d been suffering from, and what medicines he was taking. Rosendahl said, “She gave me a pretty extensive list of things he was suffering from” - a statement to which the Defense objected, claiming it was hearsay. Judge Heavens overruled the objection.

Having learned who had been Lundy’s primary physician, Rosendahl said he called that physician and confirmed the medical diagnoses the nursing home nurse had described. Rosendahl said that when he eventually spoke with Schwartz, he told him about the conditions at the scene.

“We discussed the autopsy, based on a prior history of abuse,” he said - a comment to which the Defense objected, based on it being improper character evidence. Judge Heavens sustained the objection and instructed the jury to disregard Rosendahl’s statement.

Rosendahl then testified about what he called “inconsistencies” between what Karvel had told Kolsrud, and what he had told Rosendahl, himself. Referring to the difference in the number of nights Karvel told he and Deputy Kolsrud that Lundy had been on the floor, Rosendahl said, “at this point, I am starting to have suspicions about Lundy’s death.”

Rosendahl testified about having observed the autopsy in Ankeny, and about having learned that Dr. Catellier said she’d found evidence of internal hemorrhaging in Lundy’s neck, and cracks in his larynx. She said these were injuries consistent with strangulation and she was leaning toward calling this case a homicide. Rosendahl said he did not have an alternate explanation, based on evidence at the scene, to offer her for the injuries to Lundy’s neck and larynx.

On his way home from Ankeny, he said, Rosendahl called Dr. Schwartz and gave him the results of the autopsy. He said he also contacted the major crimes unit of the DCI and requested help. “I contacted (Allamakee County) Sheriff (Clark) Mellick, too, because it falls in his county jurisdiction,”

Rosendahl said. Dr. Schwartz recommended that Rosendahl return to the residence and collect all medications - to do a physical count, and to find out exactly what Lundy had been taking.

The State then introduced into evidence the audio of Karvel’s 911 call made the morning of May 9. During the course of that audio, Karvel could be heard saying the following: “He doesn’t seem to be breathing. I don’t know CPR. He has a pacemaker. OK - Let me put you on speakerphone.”

Once speakerphone had been activated, the dispatcher’s voice can be heard: “Is he breathing?” (Karvel: “It doesn’t look like he is.”) Dispatcher: “Are his extremities cold?” (Karvel: Not too bad.”) Dispatcher: “Where is he?” (Karvel: “On the ground.”) The dispatcher is heard giving Karvel CPR instructions, and asks, “Who am I speaking with?” (Karvel: “Andrew Karvel” … then: “He was fine … he wanted me to go get him some Mucinex. I gave him that. He was breathing a raspy breath through the night.”).

Karvel then told the dispatcher that he had to go and unlock the front door, and said he was on the second floor. The dispatcher keeps asking if he is there, and at some point, he returns and responds.

Gericke asked Rosendahl, “What did you think, after hearing the call?” - a question to which the Defense objected, claiming it called for speculation. Judge Heavens overruled the objection. “Dispatch asks him to start CPR,” Rosendahl said. “I don’t believe he did CPR - because he’s not exerted. It doesn’t appear that he’s even doing it … That was a huge red flag for us.”

Rosendahl testified that he arrested Karvel August 17, 2022. The State entered into evidence Rosendahl’s body camera footage of the arrest. Karvel can be heard saying that he needs to get his medications, and that he has been trying to trap three feral cats that got into the building through the basement and says, “if you put a live trap out there, you can probably catch them – if you put some salmon in it.” Rosendahl replies, “ok.” Rosendahl said he “Mirandized” Karvel, took him to the Allamakee County Jail, and tried to interview him; but at that time, Karvel requested a lawyer.

CHIEF ROSENDAHL CROSS-EXAMINED
Under cross-examination, Blair asked Rosendahl, “Performing CPR is really strenuous if you’re doing it correctly, is that right?” Rosendahl replied, “That’s correct.” Blair said Karvel had told the 911 dispatcher and the EMT that he did not know how to perform CPR. “So, if he’s doing it incorrectly, it might not be very strenuous or effective,” Blair said.

Blair then asked Rosendahl if he was on duty and wearing a body camera on the day of the incident - to which Rosendahl replied that he was not. He asked Rosendahl if he knew how Lundy had gotten onto the floor, and Rosendahl said that he did not. “Did you know he fell?” Blair asked. “You didn’t ask, did you?” Rosendahl said, “I guess I didn’t ask.” Blair asked him, “There were things he could have hit when he fell, weren’t there?” Rosendahl said, “Absolutely. There was tons of stuff there.”

Blair then began questioning Rosendahl about city traffic camera footage, and about video camera footage from the Lansing IGA store. When asked where he first observed Karvel in his car via traffic camera footage, Rosendahl said “Fourth and Main.” Asked what time he first observed Karvel in his car, Rosendahl checked his notes and said, “7:11:51 (a.m.).” Asked what he saw on the Lansing IGA video camera, Rosendahl said, “I saw Karvel buying several boxes of cold medications at the counter, at 7:29 a.m.”

Entering into evidence a receipt from the Lansing IGA which lists transactions occurring between 7 and 7:30 a.m. May 9, 2022, Blair directed Rosendahl’s attention to a purchase of a number of over-the-counter cold medications. Asked if this was consistent with what he saw on the Lansing IGA video camera, Rosendahl said, “yes.”

RE-DIRECT OF CHIEF ROSENDAHL
On re-direct, Gericke asked Rosendahl whether he had any responsibility for monitoring or maintaining, or had any control over, either the city’s street cameras or the Lansing IGA video camera; Rosendahl said he did not. When Gericke asked Rosendahl whether he, at any time, had “any indication that anyone else lived there besides Dan (Lundy) and Andrew (Karvel),” Rosendahl replied, “absolutely not.” Asked whether he had any reason to suspect anyone else had been in the building, Rosendahl answered, “no.”

RE-CROSS OF CHIEF ROSENDAHL
Under re-cross, Blair asked Rosendahl if he entered any of the other apartments that morning or checked any of the windows or the other entrances; Rosendahl said that he did not. “To the best of your knowledge,” Blair asked, “did anyone else do those things?” Rosendahl replied, “I have no idea.”

After Rosendahl was dismissed from the witness stand, the State rested its case, and the jury was dismissed.

MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL
Out of the presence of the jury, Blair made a motion for a Judgment of Acquittal, on the premise that the State had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the crime. The State resisted the motion, and said it was a question for the jury to decide. Judge Heavens denied the motion, saying, “It’s a circumstantial evidence case … In my view, there is enough circumstantial evidence. Ultimately, it will be up to the jury to decide whose version of the circumstantial evidence is right.”

The jury returned to the courtroom - at which point the Defense rested its case. The jury was again dismissed, the judge and attorneys worked out some details on instructions to the jury, and the jury was called back. After instructions to the jury were read aloud, each side presented its closing arguments.

CLOSING ARGUMENTS
In his closing arguments, Gericke asked the jury to “use your common sense, use your life experience, and make a decision.” What is undisputed, he said, is that “Daniel Lundy is dead.” He referred the jury to the testimony of the medical examiner: “If you believe Dr. Catellier, Mr. Lundy was strangled. There is only one person who could have done it - that’s Andrew Karvel.”

In his closing arguments, Blair drew the jury’s attention to Number 15 of the jury instructions - in particular the definition of reasonable doubt: “A reasonable doubt is one that fairly and naturally arises from the evidence in the case, or from the lack or failure of evidence produced by the State.”

Blair then proceeded to lay out the ways in which, he argued, the State did not meet its burden to prove the defendant guilty beyond reasonable doubt - among them: Blair said Dr. Catellier agreed under cross-examination that “she could not rule out a fall. She’d need to know what he fell on. We learned from other witnesses that she couldn’t get that information because no one obtained it.” Blair added, “There’s no evidence in this case that (Karvel) even caused these injuries.”

Blair also referred to the fact that witness testimony suggested no one at the scene had ever entered any of the other apartments. “The State keeps saying, ‘There wasn’t anyone there that morning;’ but they didn’t check.” Blair also emphasized the fact that Lundy was being treated for sinus congestion, and that “these were two elderly gentlemen who didn’t have anybody else,” - and he reminded the jury that Karvel had called Spencer Byrd to help, but that he refused.

In the end, Blair told the jury, “This is not a murder mystery. This is a determination as to whether the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Andrew Karvel murdered Daniel Lundy.” Blair concluded, and asked the jury to conclude, that it did not.

In his rebuttal to the Defense attorney’s summation, Gericke argued that the timeline Blair had tried to establish based upon video camera footage of Karvel was inconclusive. “The idea that Andrew Karvel went to the store and the idea that Daniel Lundy was strangled are exclusive,” he said. “Both of these can absolutely be true.” Further, Gericke emphasized that “we’re talking about an 83-year-old man lying on his back, incapacitated. How hard could it have been?” he asked. “The idea that (Karvel) couldn’t have done this just doesn’t stand up.” And, he asked, “What kind of fall could have caused injuries to three places on the neck? The likely, most reasonable explanation for what happened here is the one we’ve been telling you all along: Andrew Karvel strangled Daniel Lundy.”

GUILTY VERDICT
The jury deliberated for an hour Friday, August 18, without reaching a verdict. They met again Monday, August 21, from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., and returned to the courtroom with a verdict of guilty of murder in the second degree. Andrew Raymond Karvel is scheduled to be sentenced October 23, 2023 in Allamakee County District Court.