County

Jury convicts Klever for first-degree murder of missing Des Moines woman

Published 5/3/2023 12:46:40 PM

A Polk County jury convicted James Shiloh Klever of Osceola of first-degree murder on Wednesday for the June 2021 death of Rachel Anne Reuter, 30, of Des Moines. 

First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. 

Reuter was reported missing on June 16, 2021, and her body was never found. Surveillance video showed that Klever and Reuter had been at an Urbandale motel on June 11 and 12, 2021, and cellphone data indicated both ended up at an address in Bondurant the night of the 12th.  

Investigators found evidence that Klever had killed Reuter in a garage in Bondurant June 13 and put her body in the trunk of his vehicle. He told a witness that he disposed of the body near Cainsville, Mo., several days later. Klever, who admitted selling methamphetamine, also told the witness that he thought Reuter was an informant. 

During the trial, Klever, 48, testified that he and Reuter got in a fight at the garage and he hit her on head in the heat of passion.  

Reuter, who was originally from Wisconsin and had moved to Des Moines, had two children. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Polk County Attorneys Meggan Guns and Maurice Curry, with assistance from legal assistant Kelsey Hannam. The Polk County Attorney’s Office thanks Detective Zach Johns and the Urbandale Police Department; Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Sadler; and Special Agents Beth Miller and Holly Witt of the Division of Criminal Investigation. 

“The relentlessness of investigation by law enforcement and the quality of the evidence made the difference in this case,” said Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham.