A driver for Copeland Trucking in Fridley was found shot to death inside his semi at a rest stop early Wednesday in Iowa.
Authorities say 60-year-old Ernest D. Kummer of Monroe, Iowa, was shot and killed by a woman at the westbound Interstate 80 rest area near Victor.
Kummer had been an employee of Copeland Trucking since 2010. A company official said it wouldn’t comment on the “horrific event” at the request of Kummer’s family.
Iowa County Sheriff Rob Rotter said Thursday his office and the Division of Criminal Investigation are continuing to search for answers in the case, including a possible motive.
Mariana T. Lesnic, 43, was found at the scene and taken into custody. She was charged with first-degree murder and was being held at the Iowa County jail in Marengo on a $1 million cash-only bond.
In a criminal complaint, investigators allege that Lesnic killed Kummer “willfully, deliberately and with premeditation by shooting him with a firearm” but provided no additional details.
The sheriff’s office said Lesnic’s address was unknown. The criminal complaint indicates that she has a Colorado driver’s license.
A first-degree murder conviction in Iowa carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole.