FILE 514 / 27 July 2024 / 72 MIN / express

Onion Of Lies

Agency, IowaListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

"It's agency Iowa... It's in southeastern Iowa", about an hour and 40 minutes from Des Moines about 0:03:48

History, in brief

1838

The town is called Agency because an Indian agency was established there in 1838 to keep an eye on the local tribes, who were later moved to Kansas.

about 0:05:55

1843

The town was founded in 1843 on the site of the agency.

about 0:06:28

Town note

Agency is the resting place of Chief Wapello, second in command of the Sac and Fox tribe, who is buried beside his friend General Joseph M. Street and his family.

about 0:06:36

2001

An F2 tornado tore through Agency in 2001, knocking buildings down and killing two people.

about 0:06:55
All 4 history facts

1838

The town is called Agency because an Indian agency was established there in 1838 to keep an eye on the local tribes, who were later moved to Kansas.

about 0:05:55

1843

The town was founded in 1843 on the site of the agency.

about 0:06:28

Town note

Agency is the resting place of Chief Wapello, second in command of the Sac and Fox tribe, who is buried beside his friend General Joseph M. Street and his family.

about 0:06:36

2001

An F2 tornado tore through Agency in 2001, knocking buildings down and killing two people.

about 0:06:55

The figures, as told

Money

Median home value$141,100
Median household income$52,604
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2024

Median household income

"$52,604"

Comparison: "national average, usually almost $70,000". No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:04:41

Median home price

"$141,100"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:04:46

The reviews

3.8 / 5 · average of 4

5 stars

“Grew up there; there is not much to do but the friendly community makes up for it, with great coffee shops, concerts and theatre productions for all ages.”
about 0:07:30

5 stars

“Likes the cheeseburger selection in the Walmart frozen food section and enjoys walking around his house.”
about 0:08:12

4 stars

“The whole review is: I've worked at Applebee's for three years now.”
about 0:08:37

1 star

“Very shady town: the reviewer saw an officer pull up under the Market Street bridge, drop a large black trash bag into the ditch, then stare at him for almost 20 minutes while he fished.”
about 0:08:49

In Iowa

Closest episodes

  1. Power Saws, Little Red Wagons & Corpse Finding CatsLibertyville, Iowa · 27 August 202022 km / 14 miShow on map
  2. Beer, Sex & JealousyAlbia, Iowa · 15 October 202242 km / 26 miShow on map
  3. It's Always The Quiet OnesBonaparte, Iowa · 24 January 201954 km / 34 miShow on map
  4. Be My BabyKeokuk, Iowa · 2 January 2025100 km / 62 miShow on map
  5. The Brutally Batted BartenderWest Liberty, Iowa · 11 September 2026108 km / 67 miShow on map

The story

They met as teenagers at the bowling alley where they both worked part-time and were together all through high school. Lisa became pregnant in January 2012 and found out in February.

The trailer had one neighbour, 57-year-old Brian Tate, a Vietnam veteran with PTSD who had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and kept guns. From March 2012 the two households quarrelled. Tate complained that rubbish and a deer hide were thrown onto his land, and that rocks and animal faeces were thrown at his house; the deer hide was volleyed back and forth between the properties. Todd Caldwell responded to one call himself and noticed Tate had a shotgun on the ground nearby. Tate called the vandalism acts of terrorism, a word Caldwell found extreme.

About five minutes into the shower he heard a bang. He found Lisa on the bed with a wound to her torso, ran to the living room with his gun, found the front door open and nobody outside, then called 911 at 5.23 a.m., sobbing that his wife had been shot. Paramedics found Lisa torn apart by a single close-range shotgun blast; she and her unborn daughter, whom the family called Zoe, were dead. There was no forced entry and no sign of a struggle.

Deputies found Tate cooperative, polite and adamant that he had been in bed; his mother and brother, who lived with him, backed him up, though he slept in the garage. He showed them two shotguns and some old slugs of the same brand and colour as those later recovered, and said the guns were for defence only.

He had told Rachel he was leaving Lisa; she had split from her boyfriend in anticipation. On May 24th she texted him that he was telling Lisa that night, and he replied 'wish me luck'. His last message to her, at 1.54 p.m. on May 25th, was 'I love you'.

The next day investigators returned to the property and found a Mossberg 500 shotgun in tall grass north of the trailer, on the far side from Tate's house. It had no fingerprints and was dry despite the dew. The autopsy showed Lisa was killed by a shotgun whose fragments were consistent with a Mossberg, and none of Tate's guns matched.

The case was circumstantial and the defence blamed Tate, but the judge excluded most evidence of Tate's mental illness.

They had used no contraception and had wondered whether he was the father.

The case

Murder of Lisa Techel

Victims

Lisa Techel. state champion bowler from Ottumwa; jailer, reserve deputy and pregnant mother
Zoe Techel (unborn). Lisa's unborn daughter, killed in the shooting

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 27 July 2024.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Rachel McFarland. co-worker and mistress, who believed he was leaving Lisa
Todd Caldwell. Lisa's father, a Wapello County sheriff's deputy
Amy Caldwell. Lisa's stepmother, an emergency room nurse who rushed to the scene
Colton Millard. friend who told investigators about the affair
Tyler Batterson. friend who threw dog faeces and rocks at Brian Tate's property
Doug Techel. father
Daniel Wilson. judge at all three trials
Drusella Chickering. neighbour who testified that Tate was odd but never a problem
Jack Chickering. neighbour who reported Tate's phone call after the murder
Drew Ballard. Rachel McFarland's boyfriend at the time

The timeline

  1. 1989 Lisa Caldwell is bornabout 0:13:20
  2. 1990 is bornabout 0:12:56
  3. aged 14 or 15 Lisa and meet at the bowling alley where they both have part-time jobs (Bowling alley)about 0:14:33
  4. October 11th, 2011 Lisa and marryabout 0:18:04
  5. January 2012 Lisa becomes pregnantabout 0:19:22
  6. February 2012 Lisa finds out she is pregnantabout 0:19:28
  7. March 2012 Disputes begin with neighbour Brian Tate over rubbish and a deer hide thrown back and forth (Tate property)about 0:20:32
  8. early April 2012 Tate complains to police that rocks and animal faeces have been thrown at his home (Tate property)about 0:21:28
  9. May 24th, 2012 Rachel McFarland texts that he is telling Lisa tonight; he replies 'wish me luck'about 0:49:01
  10. May 25th, 2012 tells Lisa he is unhappy; she asks him to be there while she packs her belongingsabout 0:50:52
  11. 1.54 p.m., May 25th, 2012 sends Rachel his last text from the burner phone: 'I love you'about 0:51:07
  12. May 26th, 2012 gets up around 4.15 or 4.30 and takes the dog outside (Techel trailer)about 0:29:01
  13. May 26th, 2012 gets in the shower around 5 a.m. while Lisa stays in bed (Techel trailer)about 0:30:36
  14. May 26th, 2012 Lisa is killed by a single close-range shotgun blast to the torso as she sleeps (Techel trailer)about 0:26:45

Places and phrases

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Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode