Dubuque Police Seek Information on 1987 Murder

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Dubuque Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance regarding a subject who lived in East Dubuque in October of 1987, around the time that Kenny Joe Johnson was found murdered in Maus Park.
 
On October 10, 1987, a fisherman discovered the body of Kenny Joe Johnson, age 14, lying on the sandy beach area of Maus Park in Dubuque, IA. Johnson’s cause of death was later determined to be homicide by manual strangulation.  To date, hundreds of leads have been identified and followed up on.  Despite this, the offender(s) responsible for Kenny Joe’s death have remained unidentified.
 
Law enforcement is seeking anyone who has information regarding Eugene Franklin Lewis (DOB: 10/19/1948).  Lewis is described as a white male with brown hair and hazel eyes.  In 1986 he was approximately 5’-9” tall and 145 pounds.
 
Law enforcement has information that Lewis was living in an apartment at 34 Sinsinawa Avenue in East Dubuque with Vern “Slim” Janickie in October 1987.
 
Eugene Lewis is believed to have been a transient in the late-1980’s, moving from town to town for work.  It has been confirmed that Lewis was in the Dubuque area in 1986 and 1987, including the time around the death of Kenny Joe.  Attached is a known photo of Eugene Lewis from an October 1986 arrest for public intoxication in Dubuque. 
 
In 2002, Lewis was in the Minneapolis, MN area where he died as the victim of a homicide.
 
The Dubuque Police Department is requesting anyone with information about Eugene “Gene” Lewis to contact authorities.  Any information regarding Lewis can be directed to Cpl. Chris Gorrell at 563-587-3806 or cgorrell@cityofdubuque.org.
 

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