(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Council Bluffs Police Department today (Wednesday), reports a suspect charged following the death of a Council Bluffs woman, now faces additional charges. Officials say 61-year-old Ivan Samuel Brammer, of Council Bluffs, was served at the Pottawattamie County Jail, with a warrant for Murder in the Second Degree. Brammer was being held in the jail on previous charges of Abuse of a Corpse and Theft in the 2nd Degree. The charges follow an investigation into the discovery of a woman’s body earlier this year. The case has been forwarded to the County Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

On February 15, 2023, 60-year-old Ilene Gowan was reported as being missing to the Council Bluffs Police Department. According to Gowan’s daughter, her mother had not been seen or heard from since February 13, 2023. Gowan’s deceased body was located on February 26, 2023, in a roadside ditch in the area of 152nd Street and Old Mormon Bridge Road, near Crescent, Iowa.

Ivan Samuel Brammer (CB PD photo)

On May 23, 2023, an arrest warrant application was submitted and approved charging Ivan Brammer with the aforementioned charges  (Abuse of a Corpse and Theft 2nd Degree), which are alleged to be related to Gowan’s disappearance. The investigation into the circumstances of Gowan’s death remains active. The State of Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office, after Gowan’s autopsy, indicated an unknown cause and manner of death.