Theresa Kenkel, 32, was found dead inside her home at 204 2nd Avenue in Earling, Iowa, after Shelby County deputies checked on her welfare on July 31, 2025. Her body was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy as investigators worked to establish the official cause of death.

Sheriff’s investigators, assisted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, treated the case as an isolated incident and identified two people connected to what happened that day. A search warrant and investigative steps indicated a physical altercation between Winston Leal and Kenkel that ended with Kenkel being shot. Leal, 34, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder; Ashley McWilliams was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact. Reports say Leal and McWilliams drove to Council Bluffs after the shooting and reported the incident.

Leal later pleaded guilty to the charge he faced, and McWilliams entered a guilty plea to accessory after the fact; their respective sentencing dates were scheduled for October 29 and November 17. Does anyone have information about Kenkel’s last known movements or contacts that could help clarify the timeline of that day?