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Body of former Iowa developer found in burned out car

The body of a former Des Moines-area property developer was found in a burned out stolen car.
Bobby Joe Knapp in 2011 (Photo from WHO-TV)

The body of a former Des Moines-area property developer was found in a burned out stolen car.

Iowa State Police said the body of 64-year-old Bobby Joe Knapp was found Sunday, March 30, 2014 inside a Honda Accord that had been stolen in Waukee, Iowa.  The car had been burned and was found in Guthrie County.

Knapp had just been released from federal prison on Tuesday, March 25.  Prison records show he was supposed to check in with a re-entry office in Kansas City, Kansas, to complete two years of supervised release that were to follow his prison term.  When he failed to check in, an arrest warrant was issued for Knapp.

U.S. Marshals put out information March 27 that Knapp was wanted for violating his parole.  Police suspected then that Knapp was driving the stolen car.

An autopsy was performed on Knapp by the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s office Monday, March 31.  Results of the autopsy were not yet released.

Knapp was sentenced in June 2011 to 41 months in prison for violating the EPA’s Clean Air Act by improperly removing asbestos from the Equitable Building, as he renovated the building to house luxury condominiums, in downtown Des Moines.

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