Donald Lee Wyldes, Jr. v. State of Iowa

── Donald Lee Wyldes, Jr. v. State of Iowa ── Court: Supreme Court of Iowa Date: May 29, 2026 Category: General In the Iowa Supreme Court No. 24–1123 Submitted September 9, 2025—Filed May 29, 2026 Donald Lee Wyldes Jr., Appellant, vs. State of Iowa, Appellee. Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wayne County, Dustria A. Relph (motion to quash) and Elisabeth Reynoldson (summary judgment and trial), judges. A defendant appeals the denial of his postconviction-relief action challenging, among other things, firearm toolmark expert testimony introduced at his trial. Affirmed. McDermott, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which all justices joined. Erica A. Nichols Cook (argued) and Elaina Steenson, of the Wrongful Conviction Unit, State Public Defender’s Office; M. Chris Fabricant and Tania Brief of The Innocence Project, New York, New York; and Megan Richardson of The Exoneration Project, Chicago, Illinois, for appellant. Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Louis S. Sloven (argued), Assistant Attorney General, for appellee. Jesse Linebaugh and Joseph R. Quinn of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Des Moines, for amicus curiae The Innocence Network.  2 Matthew Sease, Des Moines; Donald P. Salzman, Washington, D.C.; Marley Ann Brumme, Boston, Massachusetts; and Hannah Henderson, Boston, Massachusetts, for amici curiae Criminal Law Scholars, Scientists and Statisticians.  3 McDermott, Justice. Donnie Lee Wyldes Jr. was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder in 1987. He appeals the denial of his third application for postconviction relief, in which he argues that new scientific evidence invalidates the State’s forensic testimony used to convict him. In particular, Wyldes challenges the reliability of firearm toolmark and shoe print evidence introduced at his trial, citing modern studies that he claims label these methods fundamentally flawed. The district court denied his application. Wyldes asks us to reverse that decision and grant him a new trial. I. A. The Crime. On October 15, 1986, night settled on Ronald and Ruby Starnes’s farmhouse outside Corydon like most any other Wednesday. The couple had lived there since 1952. As Ruby read quietly in bed, sounds from the 10 p.m. news played in the next room; Ronald rarely missed a broadcast. The quiet evening was interrupted by an unfamiliar clatter that caught Ronald’s ear. Puzzled, he walked to the bedroom to ask Ruby if she had heard it. She had; it sounded to her like something on the roof. Ronald, a sixty-six-year- old retired farmer, grabbed a flashlight, put on a shirt and cap, and stepped out into the night to investigate. Soon after, Ruby heard a series of loud pops that sounded like firecrackers, followed by a heavy thud against the side of the house. Thinking Ronald was trying to scare a raccoon off the roof, she shouted out the window for him to stop hitting the house so hard. No one answered. Uneasy, Ruby went to the kitchen and opened the porch door. A short man, about 5'2", dressed in dark clothing, was walking up the steps, his dark  4 brown eyes visible behind a brown mask pulled low over the rest of his face and neck. This wasn’t Ronald. Ruby slammed the door, but before she could lock it, the man forced it partially open. As Ruby pushed back, bracing herself against the door with all her strength, more pops rang out—and this time, there was no mistaking the gunshots for firecrackers. Ruby screamed that the sheriff was already on the way, and the intruder finally fled. The farmhouse fell into a heavy silence as Ruby waited to make sure he had