Man used scissors, hammer in Northwood attack
Published 6:59 pm Friday, September 27, 2013
NORTHWOOD — A Charles City, Iowa, man used scissors and a hammer when he attacked a woman in her Northwood home last Sunday, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
Michael Zubrod
The man, identified as Michael Lee Zubrod, 39, died after Worth County Sheriff’s Office deputies took him into custody. How he died has not yet been released.
The woman, Rhonda Schukei, 48, remains in fair condition at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, according to a hospital spokeswoman. She sustained stab wounds and blunt force injuries.
An Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation news release sent out Friday gives more details into the reported assault.
According to the release, Worth County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to 208 Fourth St. N. in Northwood at about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 22 after receiving a report from a neighbor who had heard a woman screaming at the residence.
Deputy Isaac Short responded first to the house where he heard a woman yelling and screaming. After entering, he discovered Zubrod severely beating Schukei with the hammer and scissors and verbally threatening to kill her, the release stated.
Two other deputies, Shayne Hoch and John Smith, arrived and, along with Short, attempted to subdue Zubrod using a Taser, which had “little to no effect” on him as he continued to try to attack Schukei, it continued.
All three deputies wrestled Zubrod to the floor and handcuffed him in front of his body while he kicked at them. They were eventually able to handcuff him behind his back and apply leg shackles.
“While he was handcuffed and lying on the floor, he became unresponsive,” the release stated.
An autopsy has been conducted on Zubrod at the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office, but the full autopsy report will not be available until the completion of toxicology tests.
In the meantime, the Iowa Division of Criminal Apprehension continues to investigate. When the investigation is concluded, the results of that report will be forwarded to the Worth County Attorney’s Office for review.
Authorities indicated Zubrod and Schukei were in a personal relationship.
