Joseph Michael Lawrence

Case record: Joseph Michael Lawrence

Background

Joseph Michael Lawrence was convicted in connection with the murder of Jason Gage. Jason Gage was born in 1976 and was murdered on March 11, 2005.

Jason Gage was a 29-year-old man who was murdered in his Waterloo, Iowa apartment. Jason Gage was last seen alive on March 11, 2005, socializing with friends in Waterloo's downtown bars. Sometime that night, Jason Gage went home to his apartment in the Russell-Lamson building. Jason Gage was originally from Oelwein, Iowa. He had lived in Chicago and Milwaukee before moving to Waterloo years earlier. He settled downtown and worked waiting tables in the Italian restaurant of his apartment building. He enrolled at the College of Hair Design in Waterloo, Iowa, in January 2003, and his friends said he dreamed of working in a big city salon.

Joseph Lawrence moved to Iowa from Farmington, New Mexico, where he had been an oil worker. New Mexico court records showed that Lawrence pleaded guilty to possession of one ounce of marijuana in January 2003, and he spent 30 days in the San Juan County Jail.

Joseph Lawrence was born in Seaford, Delaware and was adopted at age 5. He moved with his adoptive parents to Maryland, New Jersey, and then to Ohio. He was removed from his birthparents for severe abuse and spent several years in foster care before he was 5. He had a history of mental illness, including time in mental health group homes and hospitalizations. He had a history of intermittent rage disorder for which he had been treated in the past. In Ohio, he decided he no longer wanted to be adopted and moved back into foster care at age 16. From there, he moved to Phoenix, Arizona and then on to New Mexico.

In early 2003, Lawrence moved from Farmington, New Mexico to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to be with his girlfriend, Elizabeth Hostetler, who was six months pregnant with their child. The couple had been together for a year and decided to move to Cedar Falls because Hostetler had many “lifelong friends” in the area who could help with the baby. Hostetler said she introduced Jason Gage and Joseph Lawrence about a week before Gage's murder. Hostetler had met Jason Gage through an acquaintance and had known him for about two years.

The offence

Jason Gage was found dead in his bed in his Waterloo, Iowa apartment in the Russell-Lamson building.

Jason Gage had been bludgeoned in the head with a bottle and stabbed in the neck with a shard of glass. An autopsy revealed that Jason Gage died from severe head injuries. Jason Gage's body lacked any defensive wounds that would suggest he had warded off an attack.

When police entered the apartment, two glasses were out, suggesting that Jason Gage and Joseph Lawrence had been drinking and watching television. There were only two people in Jason Gage's apartment when he was killed, and one of them was dead.

Investigation

Black Hawk County Attorney Thomas Ferguson said that, as there were only two people in Jason Gage's apartment when he was killed, Lawrence's silence left authorities with a “string of facts” to explain what happened that night.

Thomas Ferguson said Lawrence told his girlfriend that Jason Gage made sexual advances towards him. Ferguson also stated that Lawrence told police that he hit Jason Gage with a bottle and stabbed him in the neck with a piece of glass.

Ferguson said evidence showed Lawrence went voluntarily to Jason Gage's apartment. Ferguson said the stab wound from the glass was likely inflicted after Jason Gage was already mortally wounded. Ferguson said Jason Gage's apartment showed no evidence of a large scale fight or confrontation.

Ferguson said Lawrence showed no injuries that might have been sustained in a fight when police picked him up three days later. Ferguson said Lawrence did not call for help after assaulting Jason Gage.

A police affidavit described Lawrence acknowledging hitting Jason Gage twice with a bottle and stabbing him with a piece of glass.

A police officer took a videotaped statement from Lawrence at the Waterloo police station after a plain-clothes police officer went to the home he shared with Hostetler and asked him to come in for questioning.

Phone records showed Lawrence sent several text messages to friends in Iowa and New Mexico in the early hours of March 12. One text read: “I just killed a guy I think, ”. A second sent to Michael Bailey in New Mexico flashed “U need to call me soon.” During a phone conversation between Bailey and Lawrence, Lawrence said “some guy” tried to “hit on him real bad” and described “a fight that got way out of hand,” indicating that Lawrence may not have known Jason Gage was dead.

Arrest

At 11:00 p.m. on March 14, 2005, Jason Gage's body was found in his bed when police entered his apartment after friends expressed concern because Jason Gage did not show up at work on Monday and had not been seen for three days.

Hours later on March 14, 2005, 23-year-old Joseph Lawrence of Cedar Falls was arrested and charged with Jason Gage's murder.

Police said Lawrence admitted he had fought with Jason Gage, hit him with a bottle, and stabbed him in the neck with a piece of glass.

When police entered Jason Gage's apartment, two glasses were out, suggesting that Jason Gage and Lawrence had been drinking and watching television.

Trial

Lawrence gave a videotaped statement at the Waterloo police station after a plain-clothes police officer went to the home he shared with Hostetler and asked him to come in for questioning.

In his acknowledgement in a police affidavit, Lawrence acknowledged hitting Jason Gage twice with a bottle and stabbing him with a piece of glass.

Sentencing

On December 16, 2005, Joseph Lawrence entered an Alford plea in the case of Jason Gage's murder.

The Alford plea allowed Lawrence to avoid admitting guilt while acknowledging that he would likely have been found guilty of Jason Gage's murder had the case gone to trial.

Originally charged with first degree murder, which would have meant a life sentence without parole, Lawrence pleaded to the lesser charge of second degree murder.

As part of the plea agreement, Lawrence also waived his right to appeal the plea and the sentence, and agreed to pay a $150,000 civil penalty to Jason Gage's estate.

After entering his plea, Lawrence added: “I have nothing appropriate to say,” and sat silent during his sentencing.

Judge Bruce Zager sentenced Lawrence to 50 years, which was the mandatory punishment under Iowa law. Lawrence had to serve at least 70 percent—35 years—before he was eligible for parole.

At the sentencing hearing, more than 25 of Jason Gage's friends and family attended.

Jason Gage's older sister, Michelle Gage, spoke to Lawrence, telling him: “The reality of that situation is you chose the easy way out,” and “You are a murderer, and you robbed my family of a precious gift,” adding that she promised to attend his parole hearings to asked it be denied. Michelle Gage said the evil he sowed would return on him threefold and that she had become active in gay and lesbian causes since her brother's death. Michelle Gage also said that with the plea, Jason Gage's family could begin to start their lives over by living for Jason Gage's memory and not for Lawrence's next court date.

On December 17, 2005, Joseph Michael Lawrence remained silent before he was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the lesser charge in the slaying. He said: “I have nothing appropriate to say,” after entering an Alford plea.

Appeals

Lawrence waived his right to future appeals of the plea and the sentence as part of the plea agreement.

Other details

Joseph Lawrence and Jason Gage were together the night Jason Gage was killed, according to witnesses. They were seen at Kings & Queens, the local gay club, before heading to an after-hours party at The Times Bar. The two left at some point and headed back to Jason Gage's apartment.

Hostetler said that Jason Gage told Lawrence that he could wait for a ride at his apartment, which was two blocks away from The Times Bar.

A female friend and roommate of Hostetler's said Lawrence called late Friday or early Saturday asking for a ride home from downtown because he “didn't like the hospitality of the place,” and needed a ride or he was going to “end up in jail.”

An investigator said he received a call from a man who had been asked to give Lawrence a ride home from a downtown club. The man said he later heard that from Hostetler that Lawrence had beat up Jason Gage.

Thomas Ferguson said “We can't say for sure that Jason Gage was killed because he was gay. We may have our theories as to what happened, but we can't say he was killed because he was gay.”

Thomas Ferguson also said that on the night of March 11, the two arrived separately at the same Waterloo bar. After the bar closed, they went to Jason Gage's apartment.

When police picked up Lawrence about three days later after finding Jason Gage's body in the apartment, Lawrence did not show any injuries.

The murder occurred in the Russell-Lamson Building, in Waterloo, Iowa. Crime scene tape marked the apartment where Jason Gage was found dead.