(Iowa City) A man imprisoned for beating to death his girlfriend nearly 23 years ago has died at an Iowa hospital.
The Iowa Corrections Department says Rick Bird was pronounced dead at 3:10 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City.
He was 72.
Bird was found guilty of first-degree murder in Union County for killing 47-year-old Linda Trenkle in Creston in February 1997.
Prosecutors say Bird used a hammer to hit Trenkle several times in the head after she slapped him. Bird’s began his life sentence on Oct. 24, 1997.
