334. Iowa's Six of Hearts: The Unsolved Murder of Wilma "Boots" Nissen

On a cold fall morning in October 1978, near Rock Rapids, Iowa, a crew burying telephone cables made the grim discovery of a young woman's body hidden in an overgrown ditch off Highway 182. With no identification found at the scene, the woman was immediately classified as a Jane Doe. For 27 years, Jane Doe lay beneath a gravestone reading "Unknown Female" before she finally reclaimed her name: Wilma June Nissen. Now, investigators and Wilma's daughter, Krissi, a daughter she never met, are trying to piece together Wilma's final years and finally solve her brutal murder. If you have any information about Wilma’s murder, "Sugar" or "Peaches," please reach out to one of the following links: Crime Stoppers: 800-222-TIPS Cold Case Coalition Tip Line (385) 258-3313 Lyon County Sheriff’s Office: 712-472-8300 And the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office email: sheriff@lyoncountyia.com The Iowa Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit 1-800-242-5100 and their email: coldcase@ag.iowa.gov Links to Krissi’s social media and GoFundMe: Email: Justice4Wilma@aol.com Instagram: @wilma_june_nissen_cold_case Reddit: Wilma June Nissen cold case discussion page: r/WilmaJuneNissen TikTok- Krissi_1977 X- @MyMomsMurder And Krissi’s Go Fund Me: https://gofund.me/663f6d31 If you have any information about Wilma’s murder, here are the following links: Lyon County Sheriff’s Office: 712-472-8300 And the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office email: sheriff@lyoncountyia.com Crime Stoppers: 800-222-TIPS Cold Case Coalition Tip Line (385) 258-3313 The Iowa Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit 1-800-242-5100 and their email: coldcase@ag.iowa.gov Current Sheriffs of Lyon County: Sheriff Brian Hilt: (712) 472-8310 Amy Stoner (712) 472-8326 A huge thank you goes to Charity Dodd for sharing her research with us. You rock!! As always, thank you to our team. Listener Discretion by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward October ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Research & Writing by Lauretta Allen Executive Producers Nico & Jesse of The Inky Pawprint ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theinkypawprint.com⁠⁠⁠ Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_zhYznrqiQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZKyyLs2Kx4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk-_5Hfsk20 https://seasonofjustice.org/featured/wilma-june-nissen/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/131684186/?match=1&terms=dead%20body%20found%20Rock%20Rapids https://www.newspapers.com/image/358217961/?match=1&terms=dead%20body%20found%20Rock%20Rapids https://www.newspapers.com/image/336088160/?match=1&terms=dead%20body%20found%20Rock%20Rapids https://www.newspapers.com/image/337648775/?match=1&terms=Wilma%20June%20Nissen https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193751059/june_eva-nissen (Wilma's mother's Findagrave entry) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19379833/wilma-june-nissen https://www.nwestiowa.com/news/new-lead-for-lyon-county-cold-case/article_31e9c062-1961-11e6-a014-53443c67e206.html https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74110707/charles_clarence-nissen https://www.the-sun.com/news/14825036/wilma-nissen-cold-case-mom-murdered-krissi-atkisson-iowa/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/1174347428/?terms=%22June%20Eva%20Nissen%22 https://www.newspapers.com/image/1174347457/?match=1&terms=%22June%20Eva%20Nissen%22 .https://www.jurrensfuneralhome.com/obituaries/4722694 Det Craig Vinson obituary https://projectcoldcase.org/2025/05/12/wilma-nissen/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/335769175/?match=1&terms=%22John%20Van%20Gammeren%22 https://www.dglobe.com/news/perjury-charges-dismissed-in-cold-case-murder Petition: https://c.org/wPThnwH2LC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices