McCunn gets life for Shen murder
Toby McCunn, 34, of Red Oak, will spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder in the death of a Shenandoah man. Chief Judge Jeffrey Larson sentenced McCunn Tuesday, Sept. 17, in Page County Court.
A Page County jury found McCunn guilty Aug. 8 for the April 22 shooting death of Joshua Jordan, 33, of Shenandoah. Before McCunn was sentenced, Josh’s mother, Dawn Neumann; sister-in-law, Amber; Stephanie, Josh’s girlfriend; Josh’s step-mother, Kathy; and daughter, Dezi, 14 addressed McCunn.
“I want you to know that you completely changed my life. I can’t even put it into words. I always think about the what ifs, getting one last hug or getting to say goodbye. The thing I think about most is not having my father to walk me down the aisle when I get married, him not seeing me at homecoming this weekend, or getting to see me graduate, or getting to see me go to prom or not even to be able to meet my husband,” Dezi said to McCunn. “I may never get the why or the real story of why you did it or how it really happened, but I want you to rot.”
Neumann said to McCunn no parent should ever have to bury a child and no child should lose their innocence like her son Josh’s children did.
“You tore my family apart,” Newmann said. “May you never have a moment’s peace or day of rest.”
In the early morning hours of April 22, authorities stated, McCunn waited for Jordan in a Shenandoah home and upon his arrival, shot him several times with a 9-millimeter handgun. McCunn then fled the scene and was later apprehended by Shenandoah Police. McCunn’s defense attorney claimed at trial McCunn was scared of Jordan and shot him in self-defense.
During the trial, prosecutors painted the picture of McCunn being obsessed with Jordan, stating he planned out the murder and had people “lure” Jordan to the home where he was shot.
In addition to the life imprisonment, McCunn was ordered to pay Jordan’s estate $150,000 in restitution. Following his sentence, McCunn was transported to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale to begin his sentence. Under Iowa law, an automatic appeal will be filed for the Class A Felony.