A foreign suspect has been charged with murdering a man and then dragging his body down a gravel road in Iowa, authorities say.
On Wednesday, the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) released details about the horrifying incident, which unfolded on June 25 in Columbus Junction, IA.
The Columbus Junction Police Department was alerted about a vehicle crash just before 4:30 p.m. that afternoon.
Responding officers found an unoccupied van wrecked in a ditch and the body of a deceased male in the opposite ditch.
The victim, identified as Noe Ibarra Tijerina, had an electrical cord tied around his torso and his body showed signs of severe trauma consistent with having been dragged along the ground.
Officers located a cell phone and handgun on the floorboard of the abandon vehicle.
Witnesses told police they had seen the victim being dragged behind the van and identified the driver as Ilario “AKA Salvador” Castaneda.
“During an interview with Castaneda, he would admit to being with Tijerina during the day, possessing a small firearm, keeping it in the van, and was in possession of the solo van key in his pocket,” LCSO explained.
“During the execution of a search warrant a gray t-shirt, matching Castaneda’s clothing description from the witnesses, was found inside the mechanic’s shop with blood stains as well as on his shoes. A router was located at the scene had a severed power cord and was consistent with the cord on Tijerina’s torso and hanging from the van bumper.”
Witnesses told investigators the two men had been arguing over money prior to an altercation of some kind.
An autopsy revealed Tijerina’s cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the head.
Man on detainer accused of shooting victim after dragging him down a gravel road. https://t.co/T1SfmiZ7NJ pic.twitter.com/G9D7KiZQlB
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) August 21, 2025
Castaneda was arrested and initially charged with felony abuse of a corpse, but on Tuesday, he was charged with first-degree murder.
He is being held on $1,000,000 bond and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer again him, indicating he may in the U.S. illegally.
Border Hawk has reached out to ICE for clarification on Castaneda’s immigration history and country of origin.
An investigation is ongoing.
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