THE FIRST DEGREE MURDER TRIAL OF THOMAS POPP BEGAN IN WOODBURY COUNTY DISTRICT COURT WEDNESDAY,
THE 63-YEAR-OLD POPP IS CHARGED IN THE 1983 SHOOTING DEATH OF 18-YEAR-OLD TERRI MCCAULEY .
AFTER JUDGE TOD DECK GAVE PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTIONS TO THE JURY, WOODBURY COUNTY ATTORNEY JAMES LOOMIS MADE HIS OPENING STATEMENTS:
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MCCAULEY HAD DISAPPEARED ON SEPTEMBER 27, 1983 AFTER A NIGHT OUT WITH FRIENDS.
THE YOUNG NATIVE AMERICAN WOMAN’S BODY WAS FOUND ABOUT A WEEK LATER IN A WOODED AREA NEAR 33RD STREET, OFF OF FLOYD BOULEVARD.
LOOMIS EXPLAINED CONNECTIONS LINKING POPP TO HER AT THAT TIME, BUT HE WAS NOT CHARGED THEN IN HER DEATH:
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IN 2025, A GRAND JURY INDICTED POPP ON A FIRST-DEGREE MURDER CHARGE FOR MCCAULEY’S DEATH AND HE WAS EXTRADITED TO SIOUX CITY.
POPP’S DEFENSE ATTORNEY, JOHN LOOS, SAYS THERE IS NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, INCLUDING D-N-A, LINKING HIS CLIENT TO MCCAULEY’S DEATH.
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TERRI MCCAULEY’S FAMILY AND MEMBERS OF THE RED SKY NATION ADVOCACY GROUP GATHERED FOR A PRAYER CEREMONY BEFORE THE TRIAL.
THEY PRAYED AT A MAKESHIFT MEMORIAL FOR TERRI ALONG 33RD STREET IN SIOUX CITY NEAR WHERE HER BODY WAS FOUND IN 1983.
Sheila Brummer IPR contributed to this story
