Inset: Jade Colvin (Iowa Department of Public Safety). Background: James Bachmurski at his trial where he was found guilty of murdering the 15-year-old (KTTC/YouTube).
A man faces up to half a century behind bars for the murder of a 15-year-old girl last seen on his Iowa farm in 2017.
A jury on Tuesday convicted 66-year-old James Bachmurski of second-degree murder in the death of Jade Colvin, whose remains have never been recovered after she went missing around eight years ago.
Jade”s last known contact was on March 23, 2017. She was reportedly removed from her mother’s home in 2015 and known to frequently run away from foster homes before moving to Arizona. There, she once again ran away after speaking with Bachmurski through social media. Bachmurski and Jade’s mother had a previous relationship.
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The girl ended up on Bachmurski’s farm in Winneshiek County in March 2017, where she had no cellphone service. She spoke to a family member shortly after her arrival via the defendant’s phone, which is the last time anyone heard from her.
Cops received a tip leading them to Bachmurski, who had since moved to Georgia. The Iowa Department of Public Safety interviewed the defendant in August 2023 and April 2024. Special Agent John Turbett testified at trial about those interviews, according to a courtroom report by local NBC affiliate KTTC.
Turbett told jurors that Bachmurski didn’t seem all that surprised cops were at his door.
“I’ve just been waiting for law enforcement to come and talk to me,” Bachmurski reportedly said, per Turbett.
Bachmurski admitted Jade had been on his farm. He claimed he last saw her doing laundry before she left to go to a farm store. When pressed about why he didn’t call law enforcement, he reportedly told Turbett that he knew it was “illegal or wrong,” Turbett testified.
“He says, ‘I know I’m getting myself in super trouble,'” Turbett told the jury.
In the second interview, Bachmurski was not very forthcoming about Jade’s whereabouts.
“You know what? I already, a long time ago, figured I’d go to the grave before I tell the truth,” the defendant reportedly told Turbett.
During closing arguments, Bachmurski’s attorneys said Jade could still be alive today.
“No body, no evidence and no crime,” Defense Attorney Leigha Lattner said, per KTTC.
But prosecutors said all signs point to Bachmurski as the killer.
“She was physically okay until she met James Bachmurski,” said Prosecuting Attorney Scott Brown.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 21.
