Who Killed Justin Michael? A Jealous Ex and an Insanity Defense

Justin Michael was killed by David Moffitt, the ex-boyfriend of Michael’s fiancée, Angie Ver Huel. In the early morning hours of May 8, 2014, Moffitt broke into Michael’s home in Grimes, Iowa, and fired four shots into Michael’s head from about 12 inches away while Michael slept in bed next to Ver Huel. Moffitt was convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary in July 2015 and is serving life without parole.¹

A Jealous Ex-Boyfriend

Moffitt dated Ver Huel, a Waukee schoolteacher, for about three months starting in March 2013. She ended the relationship in June 2013 after meeting Justin Michael.² Moffitt refused to accept it. He sent her vulgar text messages, including one saying he “was not ready to let her go.”³

In August 2013, Moffitt and Michael ended up on the same team at Wells Fargo. When Michael announced his engagement to Ver Huel at work, Moffitt grew so upset that he was sent home for the day. His employment at Wells Fargo ended soon after. A psychiatric expert later testified that Moffitt had become fixated on the idea that “if he can kill the fiancé of his ex-girlfriend, he’ll be ok.”²

Months of Planning

Moffitt prepared for months. His internet searches included “the perfect murder,” “chances of getting away with murder,” “things police look for,” “average response time for police in grimes iowa,” “traffic cameras in grimes,” and “do homicide detectives look into mental health.” He walked Michael’s neighborhood and took handwritten notes recording, among other things, that a nearby creek was “too wide to jump easily” and that a neighboring house “always has blinds shut.”²

He bought the weapon under a stolen identity. Using a fake ID in the name of Andrew Wegener, another former boyfriend of Ver Huel’s, Moffitt purchased an assault-style Hi-Point rifle from a seller in Sigourney, Iowa, along with a red-dot scope and ammunition.⁴ Prosecutors later argued that using Wegener’s name was also an attempt to frame him for the killing.⁵

The Shooting and Arrest

Just before 3:30 a.m. on May 8, 2014, Moffitt entered Michael’s home on Southeast Jacob Street in Grimes. He placed the rifle roughly 12 inches from Michael’s head and fired four times. Ver Huel, lying beside Michael, later told investigators she heard the bedroom door open and then “pop, pop, pop.”⁶ Moffitt left before police arrived.

About half an hour later, he crashed his car roughly five and a half miles from the house. A Polk County deputy responded, identified him, gave him a preliminary breath test that showed no alcohol, and sent him home in a cab.¹ Investigators who returned to the crash site found two ammunition magazines matching the shell casings from Michael’s bedroom, along with earmuffs, a receipt, and a Kindle loaded with a map of Grimes.⁴

Moffitt, 26 and living in Pleasant Hill, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on May 9, 2014. A first-degree burglary charge followed.⁷ Search warrants at his home turned up the fake ID, the internet search history, and the handwritten surveillance notes.²

The Insanity Defense and Conviction

Trial began June 23, 2015, in Polk County District Court before Judge Michael D. Huppert.⁸ Both sides agreed Moffitt pulled the trigger. The fight was over his mental state.

Assistant Polk County Attorney Steve Foritano argued that Moffitt knew exactly what he was doing. Prosecutors pointed to the months of research, the surveillance notes, the weapon purchase under a stolen name, and the attempt to pin the crime on Wegener as proof of clear-headed premeditation.⁵

Defense attorney J. Keith Rigg argued insanity. He called New York psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin, who testified that Moffitt’s antidepressant medication caused “unrelenting and unexplainable thoughts of violence” and that the killing was a side effect of those drugs. Rigg told jurors that a delusional person can still organize their actions but will “plan bizarre things that don’t make much sense.”⁹

On July 1, 2015, after an eight-day trial, the jury found Moffitt guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary.¹⁰ He was sentenced on July 28, 2015, to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in Iowa.¹

Where the Case Stands Now

Moffitt’s direct appeal was denied in January 2017.² In May 2018, he filed for postconviction relief, arguing his trial attorney should have pursued a diminished-responsibility defense and an intoxication defense. The postconviction court denied the application, finding a diminished-responsibility defense would have been futile given the evidence of premeditation and noting that his unchallenged burglary conviction independently supported first-degree murder under the felony-murder rule.¹¹

On May 7, 2025, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed. The panel held that trial counsel’s choice to pursue a full insanity defense rather than diminished responsibility was a reasonable strategic decision, and that the intoxication argument had not been preserved for review.¹² Moffitt remains incarcerated, with no further proceedings pending.

Who Justin Michael Was

Justin Clay Michael was 30 years old. He held a degree in public service and administration in agriculture from Iowa State University and had attended Des Moines Area Community College, where he took part in a missions trip to Egypt. He worked at Wells Fargo and was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed camping, gardening, volleyball, and basketball, and he volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.¹³ He was survived by his parents, Weldon and Marie Michael, his brother Nathan, and his sister Sydney. He and Ver Huel had been planning a beach wedding in North Carolina for July 2014.¹⁴

1
Des Moines Register. Grimes Murder Featured on Dateline NBC
2
FindLaw. David Joseph Moffitt v. State of Iowa
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Des Moines Register. Moffitt Considering Insanity Defense
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Des Moines Register. David Moffitt Murder Iowa
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Drake University News. Weiser Mallory
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Radio Iowa. Iowa Murder Mystery to Be Featured on Dateline NBC
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Radio Iowa. Pleasant Hill Man Charged in Grimes Murder
8
Iowa Judicial Branch. Case 21-1490
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Des Moines Register. Moffitt Murder Case Goes to Jury
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Des Moines Register. David Moffitt Jury Verdict
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Justia. David Joseph Moffitt v. State of Iowa, No. 21-1490
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Radio Iowa. Appeals Court Upholds Urbandale Man’s Murder Conviction
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Des Moines Register. Grimes Shooting Victim Justin Michael Led a Full Life
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KCCI. Family, Friends Mourn the Loss of Justin Michael