Kasemeier makes first appearance in Colorado court of law, expresses intention of waiving extradition to return to Iowa

The Waukon man charged in the January 21 death of his estranged wife who was arrested soon after in Colorado on a warrant issued by Allamakee County and the State of Iowa on charges of Murder in the First Degree has expressed his intentions in a Larimer County, CO court of law to waive extradition and be returned to the state of Iowa to face those charges. Brandon Kasemeier, age 39, made his initial court appearance Friday morning, February 2 in front of 8th Judicial District Judge Stephen Jouard at the Larimer County Justice Center by video network from the Larimer County Jail, both located in Fort Collins, CO.

Judge Jouard explained to Kasemeier that the purpose of Friday’s hearing was to answer any questions in regard to the charges he faces and to determine plans for his legal representation. It was explained that Deputy Defender of the State of Colorado Public Defender’s Office Matthew Mulch had already been advising Kasemeier in the matter, and Mulch was officially appointed by Judge Jouard as Kasemeier’s legal counsel while he remains in Colorado.

The hearing then turned to discussion of Kasemeier’s intention to waive extradition to the state of Iowa, meaning he would relinquish his right to an extradition hearing and return to the state of Iowa as soon as the legal process can be completed. Judge Jouard said he would see to it that the appropriate paperwork would be made available to Kasemeier to document his waiver of extradition. A hearing was scheduled for Friday, February 9 at 9 a.m. MST to further facilitate the extradition waiver request.

Allamakee County Attorney Anthony Gericke had previously said that the extradition process, if not waived, between states can typically take up to several months due to the legal process involved. “There really isn’t anything for us to do on the Iowa end,” Gericke said in regard to local involvement in the current proceedings. “Once his paperwork is submitted and the Colorado judge issues an order, then we can have him transported to Iowa and begin the process here.”

Until that time, Kasemeier remains incarcerated in the Larimer County Jail. He has been in custody at that facility since his arrest in the very early morning hours of Tuesday, January 23 in Loveland, CO at a Best Western Plus hotel. Kasemeier had been found to be driving a vehicle registered to him and his estranged wife, 39-year-old Jami Kasemeier, whose body was discovered with “extensive injuries to her face” in Brandon Kasemeier’s residence in Waukon after an initial request for a welfare check from a member of Jami’s family Sunday, January 21 and a report that neither Jami nor Brandon arrived at their places of employment Monday, January 22.

According to Mitch Mortvedt, Assistant Director of the Division of Criminal Investigation Field Operations Bureau of the Iowa Department of Public Safety, there are many details about the case that can not be made public at this point because they “are part of the investigative file and therefore protected from disclosure under Iowa Code 22.7(5),” which deals with confidential records. Mortvedt did say the arrest of Kasemeier by officers from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office  was “without incident,” and that “numerous items of the investigation were factored into (the) decision” to bring a charge of Murder in the First Degree against Brandon Kasemeier, including results of the autopsy completed soon after the discovery of Jami Kasemeier’s body.

“The cooperation and networking between law enforcement agencies was incredible and it was/is greatly appreciated by everyone involved with the investigation in Iowa,” Mortvedt shared in regard to the case.

Additional details in regard to the case will be printed in future editions of The Standard as they are made available.