Council Bluffs Man Charged with Murder in 36-Year-Old Cold Case

After nearly four decades without answers, one Iowa family has a strong chance of seeing justice brought to the man who killed one of their closest relatives all the way back in 1989.

This week, news broke that a man in connection with the disappearance and murder of Barbara Lenz, a 31-year-old woman from Woodbine, IA, was arrested in Council Bluffs. The man was charged with first-degree murder of Lenz, his then-girlfriend, who disappeared in Harrison County in May 1989.

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The arrest of 61-year-old Robert Allen Davis is the first by the state of Iowa's cold case unit, which was launched last summer by Attorney General Brenna Bird's office. Per KCCI at the hands of Laura Terrell, who has done some excellent reporting on this case, the unit was tasked with investigating more than 400 unsolved murders in the state.

Lenz' daughter, Lindsy Baumgart, who was interviewed by KCCI, was three-years-old at the time of her mother's disappearance. Barbara Lenz was last believed to be in her apartment in Woodbine and has not been seen since. Davis, on the other hand, was 25 at the time of his then-girlfriend's disappearance, and was the last person to see her alive. Lenz' body still hasn't been located.

A criminal complaint alleges that Davis assaulted Lenz several times during their multi-year relationship. Other documents show that Davis admitted to assaulting her in 1989 and "having a violent temper."

When Lenz disappeared in May 1989, three-year-old Baumgart was living with her father in Omaha. Baumgart revealed to KCCI that her mom signed over custody to her father because she feared Davis' violence against her would extend to him.

Davis has his own extensive, problematic history too. He was charged with third-degree kidnapping and third-degree sexual abuse of a different woman in the mid-1990s. Affidavits also detail a slew of other violent instances with other women, including removing the aforementioned woman from his home and choking her.

Fast-forward to 2008 and a federal jury convicted Davis of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He received a 10 year prison sentence, and lived in the Omaha area following his release. He recently moved to Council Bluffs, where he was arrested on Monday, March 10th, 2025.

Per KCCI, prosecutors have not publicly shared what evidence led them to arrest Davis this week.

While the Baumgart family grapples with immeasurable grief, Lenz' daughter ultimately wants her mother's remains to be returned home. The KCCI news report mentioned that there is a criminal complaint that a witness told investigators that "Davis and his brother buried something in a rural area near Davis' home." It's unclear if authorities will be able to search that residence.

Read more about the arrest of Robert Allen Davis, and the potential cracking of a 36-year-old Iowa cold case on KCCI's website.