Iowa family honors mother murdered 37 years ago, still searching for her body
By KCCI Staff
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WOODBINE, Iowa (KCCI) — Every year, Lindsy Baumgart and her three daughters gather to sing Happy Birthday in an unlikely place. Their voices carry softly throughout the Woodbine Cemetery to celebrate the life of Lindsy’s mother, Barbara Lenz.
“Just making sure she is always loved and remembered,” Baumgart said.
Lenz would have turned 69 years old on August 30th. However, the last birthday she got to celebrate was in 1988 at age 31.
A stone in the cemetery reads, “Barbara Lenz. Born on August 30, 1957. Missing since May 6, 1989. Mother of Lindsy.”
Baumgart was only 3 years old when her mother vanished from her apartment in Woodbine. This year’s birthday celebration has new meaning now that Lenz’s killer has been convicted.
“I feel like this year, we have a validation of what we have always known,” Baumgart said.
That validation came in May when Robert Davis, Lenz’s former boyfriend, was convicted of second-degree murder in her death. The conviction came 37 years after her disappearance and marked the first conviction for Iowa’s cold case unit, which was formed in 2024.
“I never got to grow up and know my grandma because he took that away from me,” said Ella Baumgart, one of Lenz’s granddaughters.
Despite a conviction, Lenz’s body has yet to be found. Baumgart continues to hold out hope her mother’s body will be located, which she says would bring her “ultimate closure.” In the meantime, she finds solace in newly discovered mementos, including handwritten notes from family members and a recording of Lenz playing the guitar at age 16.
“This is Barbara Lenz playing the guitar,” the recording begins, followed by music. It was the first time Baumgart had heard her mother’s voice since she was a child.
“I feel like more than anything I just want to be a huge advocate against domestic violence. It’s very important to me,” Baumgart said.
While the conviction has brought some closure, the family’s faith and memories of Lenz continue to bring them peace and ensure her legacy lives on for generations.
“She was always there to uplift people, and I just feel like I see myself in her,” added Zoe Baumgart, another granddaughter.
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