(Carter Lake) A 63-year-old Omaha man found dead in a Carter Lake hotel room has been identified.
At approximately 9:47 PM on Tuesday, police officers in Lincoln, Nebraska responded to a disturbance at a local fast-food restaurant. Upon arrival, officers encountered a male subject, later identified as Joseph Edward Bertolino, 37, of Jacksonville, Florida. Bertolino was arrested for Attempted First Degree Assault on a Police Officer and is being held without bond in Lancaster County, Nebraska.
While in custody, Bertolino made concerning statements to law enforcement reference an event that occurred at the Country Inn and Suites Hotel in Carter Lake earlier that evening.
Carter Lake Police conducted a welfare check and located a deceased male inside a hotel room. Carter Lake Police subsequently contacted the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation for assistance. On Thursday, the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner’s Office positively identified the deceased male as 63-year-old Kenneth Bruce Gauff of Omaha, Nebraska. The manner of death has been ruled a homicide.
Joseph Edward Bertolino was charged with Murder in the First Degree. Bertolino is currently in custody in Lancaster County, Nebraska for Attempted First Degree Assault on a Police Officer, stemming from the assault in Lincoln.
On Friday, Bertolino appeared in court and waived extradition. He will be transported to Iowa to face his murder charge.
