Ashley Flowers

On the buffet, or hutch as it's referred to in the evidence logs, they found a full box of .22 ammo, possibly what Don could have seen him reaching for, but clearly he hadn't taken any.

And Tom was killed with a knife, so they didn't really know quite what to make of that.

Actually, they weren't sure what to make of her story about the assailant having a gun at all since Tom was killed with a knife.

Or at least that's what they thought until they found a final piece of evidence hidden behind the couch in the living room.

Behind that was a .22 casing, and an autopsy the next day revealed what investigators hadn't realized at first.

Tom actually died from a gunshot wound to his head from a .22 caliber bullet, not the slice to his neck, which just raised more questions for investigators.

Tom's injuries were so extensive that it was hard not to wonder why someone would assault him so violently and then shoot him.

I mean, it wasn't even just the single slash to his neck that Tom suffered.

Cedar County's current sheriff, Warren Weathington, said there were others as well.

The large wound Sheriff Weathington mentioned was the deep gash just above Tom's Adam's apple.

According to the medical examiner's report, the cut was so deep it could have been fatal on its own.

But still, the assailant chose to shoot Tom.

Was he just angry that Don was getting away and his plan, whatever it was, was ruined?

Or was there some personal emotion fueling his rage on Tom?

The latter was a little hard to believe the more they learned about Tom Mather.

This was echoed by Tom's cousin, Catherine Siegel.

She grew up visiting her older cousin regularly and has fond memories of their time together.

By all accounts, Tom seemed like an all-around good guy who lived an unassuming life.

He worked a steady custodial job at the University of Iowa, where he used the campus gym to lift weights.

Everyone we spoke to told us that Tom had some kind of unspecified learning disability.