Angela Gabel, 40, was shot to death on October 2, 2010, in rural Allamakee County, Iowa. She was found in a parked car with two fatal gunshot wounds to the head from a .22 caliber rifle. The investigation focused on her live-in boyfriend, 33-year-old Christopher Thompson; the couple lived in a farmhouse with their infant son and Gabel’s teenage daughters from a prior relationship, and their relationship was described as turbulent and volatile.

Thompson reportedly retrieved a rifle, shot her in the head from the porch, then approached the vehicle and fired a second fatal shot. He placed a 911 call admitting he had shot his girlfriend; officers found Gabel deceased at the scene and Thompson was taken into custody after initially coming outside holding his child.

At trial the prosecution described heavy drinking and repeated fights; Thompson confessed and said he ‘‘had it,’’ later claiming the first shot was meant to scare and the second to put her out of her misery. The jury convicted him of second-degree murder on November 18, 2011, and he was sentenced in January 2012, with a court order to pay damages to Gabel’s estate.

Did anyone in the community know more about the couple’s home life or the events that night?