(Undated) A federal jury convicted a western-Central Iowa man and his brother-in-law in connection with the 2019 disappearance of a Nebraska woman. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, 65-year-old Dennis Lawson of Whiting was found guilty of using the threat of physical force to obstruct communication with law enforcement. The conviction followed an 11-day trial.
During the trial, evidence revealed that Lawson and 44-year-old Floyd Clifford Coates Jr. of St. Francis, Kansas, conspired to conceal the death of 18-year-old Sunny Sramek as part of a drug trafficking operation. Coates had organized a drug run from Sioux City, Iowa, to Kansas City, Missouri, over Easter weekend in 2019. Along the way, Coates and Sramek stopped in Blair, Nebraska, to pick up a driver, during which an unnamed woman saw Sramek’s lifeless body in the vehicle. Coates falsely claimed that Sramek had overdosed, and they traveled to Lawson’s home in Whiting. After briefly leaving the area, Coates and Lawson returned without Sramek’s body. Authorities say Coates offered multiple accounts of how Sramek died, but all versions involved dumping her body into the Missouri River.
A six-year investigation, supported by nearly a dozen agencies, ultimately led to the two men’s convictions. U.S. Attorney Leif Olson remarked, “Sunny Sramek went missing more than six years ago, but the investigators’ perseverance kept her case alive. Thanks to their efforts, these two criminals will now face justice for her disappearance. Those who believe they can evade justice through threats, cover-ups, or the passage of time are mistaken.”
Lawson faces up to 20 years in prison, while Coates could be sentenced to life. Both men are currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, awaiting sentencing.
