A western Iowa man and his brother-in-law have been found guilty by a federal jury in connection with the 2019 disappearance of a Nebraska woman. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, 65-year-old Dennis Lawson of Whiting was convicted of using a threat of physical force against another with the intent to hinder, delay, or prevent communication to a law enforcement officer following an 11-day trial. Evidence presented at trial showed Lawson and 44-year-old Floyd Clifford Coates, Jr. of St. Francis, Kan., conspired to cover up the death of 18-year-old Sunny Sramek as part of a drug trafficking organization. Coates had arranged a drug run from Sioux City, Iowa, to Kansas City, Mo., on Easter weekend in 2019. Coates and Sramek had stopped in Blair, Neb., on the trip to pick up a driver, when the unnamed woman witnessed Sramek’s motionless body in the vehicle. Coates claimed the woman had overdosed and then traveled to Lawson’s residence in Whiting on the banks of the Missouri River. Coates and Lawson left the area briefly and returned without Sramek’s body. Authorities say Coates told multiple versions of how Sramek died, but all versions involved throwing her body into the river. A six-year investigation involving nearly a dozen agencies secured the two men’s convictions at trial. U.S. Attorney Leif Olson says, “Sunny Sramek went missing more than six years ago, but the investigators’ dedication kept her case from going cold. Thanks to them, these two criminals now face judgment for Sunny’s disappearance. Those who believe they can escape justice through threats, cover-ups, or the passage of time will discover they are mistaken.” Lawson faces up to 20 years in prison, while Coates could be sentenced to life imprisonment. The pair remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service, pending sentencing.
