On the morning of Wednesday, September 29, 1982, Robert M. Clary, 48, was found shot once in the chest inside his mobile home at 419 4th Avenue South in Clinton, Iowa. His landlady discovered him shortly after 7:00 a.m.; Clinton Police and an ambulance arrived about 7:30 a.m., and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation assisted. The county medical examiner estimated death around 5:00 a.m., which matched neighbors who remembered hearing a gunshot then. Investigators noted no signs of a struggle; a broken window was present but assessed as old damage. Robbery was ruled out because Clary was unemployed and carried little cash.

Friends described Clary as moving through his usual haunts on the day of his death, cashing an unemployment check and visiting bars. He appeared downcast that evening and left company about 7:30 p.m., saying he planned to sleep a few hours before going out again; he was not seen alive after that. Police learned of a possible romantic entanglement: friends believed he was involved with a married woman and said the woman’s husband had damaged a gift from Clary days before.

Despite state-level involvement and those leads, no arrests have been announced and the shooting remains unsolved. Did anyone in Clinton in late September 1982 have information about Clary’s movements or the people linked to that reported love triangle?