On August 4, 2023, the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an assault that took place in Russell, Iowa in the early part of July. The assault resulted in 33-year-old Nicholas Johnson of Florida being taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. Johnson remained in the hospital until his passing on August 7.
An investigation by the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) showed that the injuries Johnson sustained were caused by 30-year-old Trenton Orwig of Ottumwa, Iowa. DCI agents and officers with the Ottumwa Police Department arrested Orwig without incident on August 25. Orwig has been charged with one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a class B felony. He is being held without bond in the Lucas County Jail.