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Wilma Nissen
Status: HOMICIDE
City: Rock Rapids
State: Iowa
County: Lyon County
Date of birth: October 19, 1954
Date of death: October 4, 1978
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Race: Caucasian/White
Cause of death: Unknown
Anniversary month: October
LEA: Lyon County Sheriff's Department, Rock Rapids, Iowa
Case Spotlight: View case spotlight
Case Spotlight
May 12, 2025 | By: Zoe Smolios, Journalist & PCC Volunteer A daughter. A mother. These are just a couple of the things Wilma June Nissen was never given the chance to truly be after her 23-year-old life was cut short in 1978. Growing up in Anaheim, California, the trials of Wilma’s life started at a young age after she and her disabled sister were forced to live with their neglectful father after their mother walked out on them. “They were left in the, ‘care’ is a strong word, but they were left in the care of their father, who would go to work and lock the two girls in a closet,” said Nissen’s daughter, Krissi Atkinson. “He got fired, and so then they were all living in a car. I don’t know where he was during the day… and he would lock the disabled sister in the trunk, and Wilma would go have to wander the streets for food. This was a 9- or 10-year-old child. She... Read More
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