(Union, Iowa) –  Authorities in east central Iowa, Tuesday, announced an arrest had been made in connection with the suspicious death of a man in Hardin County. A man from Baxter, Arkansas, 22-year-old Osborn Eugene Gavel, was taken into custody for Murder in the 1st Degree, for the death of 74-year-old Steve Reece, of Union.

Early Tuesday morning, the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a resident at 302 Commercial Street in Union, about an unresponsive male.  Upon arrival, deputies located a deceased male (Reece) inside the bedroom of the residence and deemed the death suspicious.  The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office requested the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

An investigation found Reece died as a result of being struck by Gavel, who, along with others, had stayed with Reece Monday evening. Gavel was being held at the Hardin County jail. Upon completion of the investigation, all results will be forwarded to the Hardin County Attorney’s Office for review.