Victim Identified, Bail Set at $750,000 for Mason City Man Charged with Murder

The victim has been identified after bail has been set at three-quarters of a million dollars for a north Iowa man charged with murder over the weekend.

The Mason City Police Department (MCPD) were dispatched to 628 3rd Street Northeast for a welfare check on a female just after 10:30 AM Saturday (06.06) morning. On arrival, 58-year-old Julie Ann Helfrich was found unresponsive and medics determined she was deceased. Further investigation revealed she did not die from natural causes.

About a half-hour later, officers conducted a traffic stop in the 400 block of 7th Street Southwest in Mason City, with the driver, 75-year-old Steven Stotts, who lives at 628 3rd Northeast, detained as a person of interest. Stotts was later charged with first-degree murder, a Class A felony.

He is being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail on $750,000 cash-only bond. Stotts is scheduled for preliminary hearing June 17th in Cerro Gordo County District Court..

A criminal complaint filed Monday (06.08) indicates the murder happened either on Friday (06.05) or Saturday, with Stotts being accused of willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation killing Helfrich.

As the investigation continues, anyone with information is asked to contact the Mason City Police Department at 641-421-3636.