Attorney: IC Man accused of killing wife will plead not guilty

AP/Lang
11/13/19

The attorney for an Iowa City man accused of killing his wife says his client will plead not guilty.

Johnson County court records say 67-year-old Roy Browning Jr. is charged with first-degree murder in the April 5th stabbing death of JoEllen Browning.

Attorney Leon Spies told the Iowa City Press-Citizen on Tuesday that Roy Browning will file a written plea before his Nov. 22 arraignment.

Investigators allege that Roy Browning killed his wife at the couple’s Green Mountain Drive home as she was in the process of discovering that he had hidden major financial problems. He stood to gain from her estate worth more than $2 million in retirement accounts and life insurance upon her death.

JoEllen Browning had been the director of operating budgets at University of Iowa Health Care, where she had worked for decades.