Riverside man, convicted of murder, dies

CORALVILLE — Prison inmate Thomas Lee Hansen died early in the morning Jan. 22, at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center, according to a press release from the Iowa Department of Corrections.

Hansen was 84, serving a 50-year sentence after a jury convicted him of second-degree murder in 2012, finding he shot and killed his girlfriend Sharon Gerot, outside their home south of Riverside in May of 2011.

Hansen had pleaded not guilty in the case, and his attorney said the death was accidental, with a gunshot only intended to scare Gerot, not injure her. The lawyer said Gerot repeatedly physically abused the defendant, but argued the decision to fire at her while she drove a moving lawn mower almost 70 feet away was not consistent with a premeditated murder.

“Sixty-nine feet might be as close as you’ll get to the president or the pope, but not to Sharon,” the attorney said.

A unanimous jury found the argument unpersuasive. Prosecutors pointed out that Hansen made no attempt to perform CPR on the victim, despite being trained to do so, and said to one witness as he arrived on the scene, “I shot ‘em.” The Iowa Court of Appeals would later decline to overturn the verdict, saying there was sufficient evidence for jurors to reach their conclusion.

The case rattled Washington County’s small-town communities as it played out over a decade ago, the first murder trial prosecuted by then-County Attorney Larry Brock. Hansen was a former firefighter in Iowa City, and longtime employee of the Johnson County Emergency Management Agency.

Neighbors at the time said they seldom spoke with the couple but described them as “outdoorsy people” with well-kept lawns, one of them adding that Hansen was “a really good guy.” Court records showed the two had applied for a marriage license just days before the shooting, and had planned to start working at Yellowstone National Park later in May.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com