An autopsy conducted Thursday on the body of a Colorado man found dead in Newton earlier this week determined the manner of his death to be homicide.
The Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office determined Grant Frazier’s cause of death to be blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds. Investigators, however, are still trying to piece together how he and the Iowa woman now charged with his murder became connected.
Frazier, 61, was last seen Sunday, Feb. 16, in Colorado Springs with 21-year-old Bionca Rogers. His body was discovered early Tuesday morning in the trunk of his car, which had been parked at the Courtyard Apartments since Thursday, Feb. 20, according to the complex’s manager.
Rogers turned herself into authorities in Cedar Rapids Wednesday. Prosecutors in Colorado have charged her with first-degree murder, which can be a capital offense in that state.
Online court records indicate she has not been charged with a crime in Iowa.
It still remains unclear how Frazier and Rogers knew each other. Although Frazier’s brother, Guy, has told Iowa media outlets they did not know each other, court records in Colorado indicate family members told police investigators Rogers “appeared to be running from something.”
According to Colorado court documents, two days after Frazier disappeared, Rogers was alleged to have been in Newton, with Frazier’s cell phone.
The night before his disappearance, Rogers was stopped by an El Paso County, Colorado, sheriff’s deputy while riding in a stolen car with loaded guns. Her 4-year-old daughter also was a passenger.
Two loaded guns were found in the car and Rogers’ daughter was not in a car seat, court documents say. She later told police she had wedged a third gun between the center console and her seat cushion.
At the time of Frazier’s disappearance, Rogers was wanted on warrants for child abuse and unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon.
Daily News Editor Bob Eschliman may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 423, or at beschliman@newtondailynews.com.