(Emmetsburg)– A second man has been sentenced in a murder case out of Palo Alto county. 23-year-old Brice Colling of Emmetsburg was sentenced recently to 10 years in prison in the death of 27-year-old Rollin Bontrager of Washington, Iowa. Colling was originally charged with first degree murder in the case. He pled guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea deal.
Bontrager’s body was found in July, 2020 in Virgin Lake near Ruthven. An autopsy revealed he had been struck in the head with a bolt cutter.
Another person charged in the case, Allen Schwidder of Emmetsburg, was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty in March, 2021 to a reduced charge of second degree murder.
