NORTHWOOD, Iowa — Autopsy results show a northern Iowa man who died while being arrested for severely beating and stabbing a woman overdosed on methamphetamine.
Michael Lee Zubrod, 39, died of heart failure in the wake of acute meth intoxication as well as the physical stress of attacking a woman and fighting with law enforcement, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said in a news release issued Saturday.
Deputies responding to a report of domestic assault on Sept. 22 say they found Zubrod beating 48-year-old Rhonda Schukei with a hammer and that he had stabbed her with a pair of scissors.
The deputies said a stun gun had virtually no effect on Zubrod as he continued to attack Schukei. Authorities say that during the attack, Zubrod threatened to kill both Schukei and the responding deputies.
Deputy Isaac Short was repeatedly hit in the leg by Zubrod with a pair of needle-nose pliers, officials said, and it took all three deputies to wrestled Zubrod to the floor, handcuff him and shackle his legs.
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Once Zubrod was handcuffed and lying on the floor, he became unresponsive, and the deputies were unable to revive him, officials said.
Schukei was transported to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., where she underwent a series of surgeries to treat stab wounds and blunt force injuries. She has since been released and is recovering.
Worth County Attorney Jeffrey Greve said Short and the two other deputies, Shayne Hoch and John Smith, have been cleared of any wrongdoing in Zubrod's death.
