Diane Marie (Dalton) Schofield was born Nov. 1, 1953. Diane’s survivors include a daughter, Shawna Marie of Des Moines; her mother, Mrs. Marie Dalton of Des Moines; her father, Kenneth Dalton of Des Moines; two brothers, Robert and Martin, both of Des Moines; a half brother, Kenneth Valadez of Des Moines; and a sister, Twyla Dalton Johnson of Des Moines. Diane grew up on Des Moines’ north side, and attended Woodside Junior High and Lincoln High School. She attended the Southtown Pentecostal Church. She married Kenneth Lee Schofield August 7, 1969, and the couple resided on Des Moines’ south side. They later divorced and Diane was awarded custody of their young daughter, Shawna. Kenneth Lee Schofield passed away 4 years after Diane 's death. Diane 's badly decomposed body was found July 10, 1975, in the trunk of her car at Warrens Steak House. A parking lot sweeper for Warrens Steak House had noticed an odor coming from her car in the parking lot and alerted authorities. This parking area had been used to store airport rental cars. Upon opening the trunk, The authorities found Diane with both legs and hands tied together with …show more content…
William Smith, 22, a drug counselor for ADAPT, 512 Ninth St., said he thought he last saw Mrs. Schofield alive about 9:30 p.m. on July 4 when she took him and his 18-year-old nephew, Dan Casin, to Smith’s home and dropped them off. “She told us she was going to take a shower and go to work at Foozin N ' Boozin,” Smith is quoted as saying in a Des Moines Register article dated July 12, 1975. Diane went to work at Foozin ' and Boozin ', a tavern at 1803 Keosauqua Way, but left early, with the permission of her employer, Dave Salem. Salem, who said he’d known Schofield for about six weeks, said she had asked for time off about 10:30 p.m. on July 4 and that he hadn’t seen her after that. Diane was last seen leaving So 's Your Mother bar with an unknown male later that night. This male is unknown to witnesses, but known to her, as she left