A western Iowa man and his brother-in-law have been found guilty by a federal jury for their roles in the 2019 disappearance of a Nebraska woman.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, 65-year-old Dennis Lawson of Whiting was convicted of using a threat of physical force to hinder, delay, or prevent communication to law enforcement following an 11-day trial. Evidence showed that Lawson and 44-year-old Floyd Clifford Coates, Jr., of St. Francis, Kansas, conspired to cover up the death of 18-year-old Sunny Sramek as part of a drug trafficking operation.
Coates had arranged a drug run from Sioux City, Iowa, to Kansas City, Missouri, on Easter weekend 2019. During the trip, Coates and Sramek stopped in Blair, Nebraska, to pick up a driver, where an unnamed woman saw Sramek’s motionless body in the vehicle. Coates claimed Sramek had overdosed and then took her to Lawson’s residence in Whiting, on the Missouri River. Coates and Lawson briefly left the area and returned without Sramek’s body.
Authorities said Coates gave multiple accounts of Sramek’s death, all indicating her body had been thrown into the river.
A six-year investigation involving nearly a dozen agencies led to the convictions. U.S. Attorney Leif Olson said, “Sunny Sramek went missing more than six years ago, but the investigators’ dedication kept her case from going cold. Thanks to them, these two criminals now face judgment for Sunny’s disappearance. Those who believe they can escape justice through threats, cover-ups, or the passage of time will discover they are mistaken.”
Lawson faces up to 20 years in prison, while Coates could receive a life sentence. Both remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service pending sentencing.
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