COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – On February 17, 2024, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call reporting an unidentified deceased female body located in rural Fremont County, Iowa. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office requested the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to assist with the investigation.

The body was transported to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner and later identified as Brianne McIntosh, 28, of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Autopsy results indicate that McIntosh sustained severe facial injury related to her death. McIntosh had been reported as a missing person to the Omaha Police Department on December 12, 2023, by a relative.

On October 14, 2024, DCI agents, the Council Bluffs Police Department, and the 4th Judicial Fugitive Investigation Unit arrested Justin Sickler, 45, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the following criminal charges related to McIntosh’s death:

Count 1: Murder in the First Degree (Class A Felony)

Count 2: Abuse of a Corpse (Class C Felony)

Count 3: Theft in the 3rd Degree (Aggravated Misdemeanor)

Sickler was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Justin Sickler booking photo