Jury selection starts today (Tuesday) for a man accused of killing a Native American woman in Sioux City more than 40 years ago. Police arrested 63-year-old Thomas Popp in Washington state in January of 2025 and charged him with first-degree murder in the 1983 death of 18-year-old Terri McCauley. McCauley’s nephew Josh Taylor says he wants people to remember his aunt as more than a crime victim.
Eighteen-year-old Terri McCauley disappeared in 1983 after a night out with friends and her body was found in a wooded area ten days later. Taylor says the family has waited a long time for this day.
A social media campaign helped give attention to McCauley’s case. Her family also started Red Sky Nation to highlight the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) crisis.
The organization has helped others locally and in other states across the region. The trial is expected to take around two weeks.
