Investigators uncover possible serial killer linked to women’s murders, missing TV anchor
Share this @internewscast.com

This week, officials disclosed that a man once considered a key figure in the disappearance of Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit was linked to the 2006 murder of a Wisconsin woman. This revelation has also raised suspicions that he might be connected to other homicides.

The Wood County Sheriff’s Office identified Christopher Revak as the individual responsible for the murder of Deidre Harm, bringing closure to a case that had remained unsolved for nearly 20 years.

On October 20, the Wood County Sheriff’s Office posted a statement on Facebook from District Attorney Jonathan Barnett. In the letter, Barnett expressed his intention to have pursued charges against Revak, had he been alive.

“I consider this case closed,” Barnett stated. “I believe I had sufficient evidence to prosecute and, if Mr. Revak were alive, secure a conviction at trial.”

Mugshot of Christopher Revak

Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase shared insights with Fox News Digital regarding his investigation into the case involving Christopher Revak.

Deidre Harm, a 21-year-old mother, vanished after an evening at a bar in downtown Wisconsin Rapids on June 10, 2006. Her body was discovered by hunters five months later in a wooded area near Seneca, roughly five miles from the town center, as reported by WSAW.

“This may provide some closure for many but won’t bring Deidre back,” the Wood County Sheriff’s Office and Wisconsin Rapids Police said in a joint statement. “Our thoughts and prayers will always be with Deidre’s family.”

Revak, a Wisconsin native and former EMT, died by suicide in a Missouri jail cell in July 2009, just one day after being charged with second-degree murder in the death of Rene Williams, 36, a mother of three from Mansfield, Missouri.

Williams was last seen on March 13, 2007, at the Eagle Lodge bar in Ava, Missouri, where she worked. Revak was also at the bar that night, according to FOX 9.

In 2024, KCCI Des Moines reported that Iowa and Wisconsin investigators were taking a fresh look at Revak, who had long been suspected of multiple violent crimes before his death.

A drawer case for Jodi Huisentruit.

Investigators have never found Jodi Huisentruit, who was declared legally dead in 2001, the Associated Press reported. (ABC News Studios)

According to a recent documentary, police have examined whether Revak might have been connected to as many as five different homicides over a 14-year span, including the disappearance of Huisentruit.

Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase, who investigated Williams’ case, previously told Fox News Digital that Revak’s confirmed link to Harm’s killing deepened his concerns about the former EMT’s violent history.

“When I started working on the Christopher Revak case, he was my suspect in the murder of Rene Williams,” Degase said. “I didn’t think it was his first go around at it.”

Degase told KY3 that forensic evidence connected Revak to Williams’ disappearance.

“We had his DNA at the scene. We had her DNA inside his truck,” he said. “I think the biggest thing was that they weren’t able to find a body. They had no witnesses to come forward to say that she was dead.”

Despite the lack of a body, investigators charged Revak with Williams’ murder based on DNA results. Degase said his curiosity about similar crimes led him to uncover chilling parallels.

“It wasn’t the first time Revak tried to abduct a woman in Ava,” he said. “Actually, shortly after his arrest I Google searched ‘women abducted from bars’ in all the towns that he had lived in. And when I Google searched from Wisconsin Rapids, Deidre Harm came up.”

That discovery prompted Degase to reach out to Wisconsin investigators, sharing his findings and helping connect the dots between cases.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” he said. “I called the authorities out there and gave them the information I had.”

Degase, who is featured in the documentary discussing the case, said both Williams and Huisentruit remain missing, a detail that still haunts him. He didn’t rule out the possibility that Revak could have traveled to Iowa.

“Obviously, [Jodi] wasn’t abducted from a bar, but I just thought it was odd,” Degase said. 

He added that Revak “had a dark side.”

“We’re dealing with what’s possibly a serial killer,” Degase told KY3. “During his day he’s doing his deed to society and helping people and saving people, but there was a dark side to Chris Revak.” 

Revak had also been a person of interest in the 1995 disappearance of Huisentruit, a 27-year-old morning anchor for KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa.

Huisentruit vanished around 4 a.m. on June 27, 1995, after calling a colleague to say she was on her way to work but never arriving. Police found signs of a struggle outside her apartment, including a pair of high heels and a bent car key near her car.

She was declared legally dead in 2001, though her body has never been found.

Jodi Huisentruit

Jodi Huisentruit was a TV anchor before she disappeared in 1995. (Findjodi.com)

At the time, Mason City Police said there was no evidence linking Revak to the case. However, in 2024, investigators from Wisconsin and Iowa reconnected to compare notes about him, according to FindJodi.com.

Authorities had also looked into whether Revak’s ex-wife once lived in the same house as one of the last people to see Huisentruit alive, but determined she moved out six months before the anchor’s disappearance.

Despite three decades of dead ends, then-Mason City Police Chief Jeff Brinkley said in June the department continues to receive and pursue leads year-round.

Flyers publicizing Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance are seen outside of KIMT-TV

Flyers publicizing Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance are seen outside of her place of work, KIMT-TV on July 3, 1995. (Steve Kagan/Getty Images)

“We haven’t put this down, we haven’t stopped working, we have not stopped pursuing leads and information,” Brinkley told FOX 9 at the time.

In 2024, officers searched a property in Winsted, Minnesota, following a tip, though no new evidence was found. Earlier this year, part of a 2017 search warrant was also unsealed.

“We’re still hopeful the case will be solved and justice served — no matter how long it takes,” Brinkley said.

Huisentruit’s family continues to hold out hope for closure.

“The pain and anguish felt by us and all who loved Jodi are immeasurable,” her family wrote in a statement on the Jodi’s Hope Facebook page. “True peace will only come when Jodi is found and justice is served. We still choose to hope that one day soon it will happen.”

A $50,000 reward remains in place for information leading to answers in Huisentruit’s disappearance. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Mason City Police Department or the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
Microplastics found in brains, bloodstreams: ABC7 I-Team investigates plastic contamination, efforts to measure risks in Chicago

Shocking Discovery: Microplastics Invade Brains and Bloodstreams – Chicago’s Battle Against Plastic Contamination Unveiled by ABC7 I-Team

CHICAGO (WLS) — A significant effort is underway to gain insights into…
3 teens arrested after Glynn County carjacking incident leaves man shot in leg

Urgent Alert: Lake City on High Alert as Armed Robbery Suspect Remains at Large

Authorities have issued a warning to avoid approaching Aljowan Jones, the suspect…
University of Delaware student allegedly mapped out attack on campus police; illegal weapons recovered

University of Delaware Student Accused of Plotting Attack; Illegal Weapons Found

A student from the University of Delaware is facing allegations of planning…
Palmdale Street shooting on Jacksonville's Northwest side leaves man dead

JSO Reports: Altercation Escalates to Shooting, Leaving Man Injured at Girlfriend’s Northside Residence in Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office reported that a man is in “serious, but…
Larry Summers hit with lifetime ban by high-profile economics club over Epstein ties

Economics Club Issues Lifetime Ban to Larry Summers Amid Epstein Controversy

A prominent academic organization in the United States has permanently expelled former…
Third Afghan national from Biden-era program arrested in a week by ICE agents in Virginia: DHS

Third Afghan National from Biden-Era Program Apprehended by ICE in Virginia This Week: DHS Reports

EXCLUSIVE TO FOX: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have apprehended…
Top Republican Accuses Mike Johnson of Blocking FBI NDAA

Prominent Republican Criticizes Mike Johnson for Obstructing FBI NDAA Legislation

A provision aimed at increasing congressional oversight of FBI counterintelligence investigations into…
911 call captures alleged attack by suspect prior to St. Johns County deputy-involved shooting

Alarming 911 Audio Reveals Incident Leading to Deputy Shooting in St. Johns County

Authorities in St. Johns County are investigating a chilling sequence of events…
Conservative professor slams 0 grade for Oklahoma student's biblical essay as punitive: 'very inappropriate'

Conservative Professor Criticizes 0 Grade for Oklahoma Student’s Biblical Essay, Deems it ‘Highly Inappropriate

A conservative professor from the University of Wisconsin system has voiced his…
Trump Hints at a Bold, New World of Tax Freedom for Americans: ‘Get Rid of It’

Trump’s Revolutionary Tax Vision: Could a Tax-Free America Become Reality?

In a bold move that has stirred up excitement among taxpayers across…
Suspect killed following St. Johns County pursuit, deputy-involved shooting on US-1

St. Johns County Pursuit Ends in Fatal Deputy-Involved Shooting on US-1

Deputies from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office were involved in a…
National Guard shooting suspect shouted 'Allahu Akbar,' was struck by return fire and subdued by witness: feds

Suspect in National Guard Shooting Uttered ‘Allahu Akbar,’ Neutralized by Return Fire and Witness Intervention: Federal Authorities Report

An Afghan national facing allegations of shooting two National Guard soldiers in…