Waukon man charged with Murder in the First Degree in death of estranged wife; Awaiting extradition back to state of Iowa following arrest in Colorado

An initial request from a family member for a welfare check on a Waukon woman eventually led to the discovery of her body in a Waukon residence Monday, January 22 and to the arrest of her estranged husband in Colorado within the next day on charges of Murder in the First Degree, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed by the Waukon Police Department and made available through the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).

That filed complaint and accompanying affidavit indicate that the welfare check request was made Sunday, January 21 after that family member could not make contact with 39-year-old Jami Kasemeier of Waukon following a phone call with her that had allegedly been interrupted and disconnected by her husband, 39-year-old Brandon Kasemeier, earlier that day. The family member advised that the phone call provided cause to believe that there was a dispute going on between Jami and Brandon, and also said that Brandon did get back in touch with the family member using Jami’s phone but “sounded ‘off’” and would not allow the family member to speak to Jami, nor could Jami be heard in the background, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit further states that the Waukon Police Department was “unable to locate Jami” within its follow-up in regard to that January 21 welfare check, and the corresponding radio transmission heard on the police scanner indicated attempts to contact Jami at her apartment residence she had recently moved into above the laundromat in downtown Waukon, as suggested through the call for the welfare check. The affidavit further describes that the following day, Monday, January 22, neither Jami nor Brandon reported for work, as they were scheduled, and police then obtained a search warrant for Brandon’s residence at 103 1st Avenue SW in Waukon.

The filed affidavit further states that law enforcement had to “force entry into the residence,” and a search of that residence led to the discovery of Jami’s deceased body with what was described in the affidavit as “extensive injuries to her face.” The affidavit also reports that officers discovered an empty handgun case at the scene, along with several fired .22 cartridge casings and other unfired cartridge casings.

The obituary for Jami Kasemeier lists her date of death as Sunday, January 21. That full obituary can be found on Page 3 of the Wednesday, January 31, 2024 edition of The Standard.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) out of Des Moines was called upon to assist in the matter. The 100 block of First Avenue SW between 1st and 2nd Streets SW in Waukon was barricaded off through a portion of the overnight hours of January 22 into January 23 to better facilitate the ensuing investigation.

Based on the evidence found at the scene, an arrest warrant and nationwide pick-up and hold order was issued for Brandon Kasemeier. It is believed that Brandon fled the state of Iowa sometime Sunday into the early morning hours of Monday, January 22 as the filed affidavit states that he was located by law enforcement in Loveland, CO that Monday afternoon.

According to booking reports available through the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Collins, CO, Brandon Kasemeier was arrested at 12:54 a.m. Tuesday, January 23 in Loveland, CO, with the arresting address plotting at a Best Western Plus hotel. The affidavit filed in the state of Iowa notes that Brandon was driving one of the vehicles registered to both him and Jami, and arresting officers report that a .22 revolver was located underneath the driver’s side seat of that vehicle.

Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, requests for additional information regarding the investigation and arrest could not be confirmed by agencies involved by press time for this week’s edition of The Standard. Additional details will be printed in future editions of The Standard as they are made available.

CURRENT STATUS
Brandon Kasemeier remains in the custody of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado, awaiting extradition back to Iowa. He made an initial appearance in Larimer County District Court Tuesday afternoon, January 23 and is scheduled for another court appearance this Friday, February 2.

According to the video livestream of that January 23 initial appearance, the judge explained to Kasemeier that he was appearing at that time on a Fugitive of Justice charge, meaning there is an outstanding warrant from another state, which the judge described as an active warrant out of Allamakee County in the state of Iowa for homicide. The judge also explained to Kasemeier that he is being held in Colorado for the demanding jurisdiction (the State of Iowa, Allamakee County) and once he is returned to Iowa, the Fugitive of Justice charge in Colorado will be dismissed, according to the legal process.

The judge also confirmed with legal counsel in attendance at that January 23 appearance that the charge Kasemeier is facing in Iowa does not allow for the charged party to be bonded out of custody. Legal counsel noted that the warrant issued from Allamakee County and the State of Iowa specifically requested no bond, which Allamakee County Attorney Anthony Gericke also confirmed, noting that the warrant issued for Kasemeier included a “nationwide request for no bond.”

According to the Allamakee County Attorney’s Office, the hearing scheduled for Brandon Kasemeier this Friday, February 2 will be considered an initial hearing explaining the charges he faces and his options for legal representation. County Attorney Gericke anticipates an extradition hearing date will also be set for Kasemeier for the next available court date.

Gericke explained that Kasemeier will have the option to waive extradition - at which time he will then be sent immediately back to the state of Iowa to face his charges in this case - or not waive extradition. Should he choose to not waive extradition, Gericke said the State of Iowa would then have to issue a Governor’s Warrant through the Iowa Governor’s Office that would then be sent to the Colorado Governor’s Office to further follow through on and approve, a process that can take some time to play out within the legal system.

“Unfortunately, that process can take some time to play itself out - sometimes as long as several months,” Gericke shared. “As of right now, we know he is in custody and poses no further danger to the public. We’ll have to let the process play itself out, but we will have him back here in Iowa at some point.”

TROUBLED HISTORY
A search of Allamakee County District court documents reveals a somewhat troubled history between Brandon and Jami Kasemeier involving several charges of Domestic Abuse or Harassment being brought against Brandon, along with several No Contact Orders, dating back as far as 2015. Only a Third Degree Harassment charge in 2015 was brought to conviction, with all No Contact Orders being removed at the request of Jami for various reasons.

A violation of a No Contact Order on multiple occasions in May and June of 2015 ultimately resulted in that lone conviction as Brandon pleaded guilty to Third Degree Harassment. The criminal complaint filed in Allamakee County District Court regarding that case states that Brandon called Jami “approximately 90 times” over a 10-day period, all in violation of that No Contact Order. Some of those calls included repeated threats to kill Jami and the father of her youngest son, according to the filed complaint. His sentence was a $65 fine and surcharges, according to court documents.

In May of 2017, Jami filed a Petition for Relief from Domestic Abuse, with another No Contact Order put in place May 22 of that year but subsequently removed May 31 and no charges ever coming to fruition. Another Petition for Relief from Domestic Abuse with another No Contact Order was filed February 12, 2018 as Jami was moving out of their shared residence to a different residence, asking for officers to be present during the move. That petition included statements citing additional threats against Jami’s life, along with declaration that Brandon “has punched me in my head many times and broke my windshield”.

According to additional court documents filed in that February 2018 incident, that No Contact Order was lifted and the case closed at Jami’s request after she “learned of medical problems and wishes to have the Defendant present at the medical appointment so he is aware of what is going on.” That request for lifting the No Contact Order was granted just a month after the order had been issued.

About a month later, in late April of 2018, a criminal complaint was filed indicating that Brandon was arrested on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault Impeding Flow of Air/Blood after Jami called police to have him removed from her residence following a physical altercation between the two that involved Brandon holding her down and choking her. The court document says that Brandon threatened that “if law enforcement got involved that she would be leaving in a body bag.”

Prior to that case ever going to trial, the two parties found middle ground with a Deferred Prosecution Agreement, the stipulations of which required Brandon to “participate in informal marriage counseling with his wife through their mutual friend” and to “obtain a mental health evaluation and complete any recommended treatment (including anger management, if recommended) and file proof of compliance with the Clerk of Court,” according to court documents. Additional documents indicate that those stipulations were complied with and the charges were dismissed in June of 2019, with no further court documents having been filed in regard to interaction between Jami and Brandon since completion of that 2018 incident.

ASSISTANCE FOR THE FAMILY
Family members and friends have established some funding measures to assist the three young adult children of Jami Kasemeier with funeral expenses and other needs. A Jami Kasemeier Family Benefit account has been established for donated proceeds at all local FreedomBank locations. A GoFundMe account has also been established at https://www.gofundme.com/f/jami-kasemeier and a meal train to benefit her children has also been set up at https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/znd99d.