Black Hawk County man arrested for murder of grandfather, Sheriff’s office says

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – A man has been arrested and charged for killing his grandfather in rural Black Hawk County.

The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office was called to a home on Elk Run Road for an unknown reason Saturday evening.

When officers arrived, they found 75-year-old Gale Anthony Mervin dead and 21-year-old Eric Paul O’Connell II hiding in another room. There was also a sign of a struggle in the home.

O’Connell was taken to the hospital for examination — that’s when the office says he confessed to killing his grandfather. The two lived together.

O’Connell is now at the Black Hawk County Jail and has been charged with 1st Degree Murder.