Guilty of murder: Mitchell County jury finds Ronald Lee Rand guilty in 2015 death of Michelle Key

     A Mitchell County jury decided the fate of Ronald Lee Rand after a week-long trial in the 2015 death of Michelle Key.
     Rand, 61, of Hampton was charged with first degree murder following the death of Key, 51, Waterloo on December 13, 2015.
     After pleading not guilty to the charge, Rand who had been held in jail since December, stood trial beginning on Monday, August 22 at the Mitchell County Courthouse in Osage.
     Prosecuting the case was Assistant Iowa Attorney General Coleman McAllister and Franklin County Attorney Brent Symens. Defending Rand was State Public Defenders Susan Flander and Parker Thirnbeck.
     The trial, presided over by Judge DeDra Schroeder, spent its first day selecting its jurors. Opening remarks took place Tuesday morning, with McAllister explaining the state's case against Rand.
     Read the full article in the August 31 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.