A Waterloo police officer has been charged in connection with the death of his girlfriend in a motorbike accident in 2024.
The Iowa State Patrol charged 34-year-old Keaton Scott Northup with murder by vehicle while operating a vehicle while impaired and homicide by vehicle while operating a vehicle while drunk.
He turned himself in at the Black Hawk County Jail on Wednesday, and his bond was set at $100,000 at first.
His bond was reduced to $25,000, and he was later freed after paying it.
At 10 p.m. on June 1, 2024, Northup was not working, and Jenna Marie Mills, 29, was riding with him on his Harley Davidson when it crashed into a metal fence on I-380 near mile marker 73. She died in the accident.
Traffic cameras in the area owned by the Iowa Department of Transportation helped investigators follow Northup’s motorbike trip. The cameras also caught the crash itself.
He was seen moving in and out of traffic, driving with his hazard light on, and passing cars in the inside lanes without signalling. According to court records, the probe found that Northup was riding the motorbike faster than 100 mph on Interstate 380 before the crash. This is much faster than the posted speed limits of 45 to 65 mph.
Northup lost control of his motorcycle on a curve in the road. At the time of the accident, the state records show that the motorbike was going more than 100 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Both Northup and Mills were thrown off the bike. Mills died, and Northup was hurt very badly.
Records show that police at the scene of the crime said they could smell alcohol on Northup. The investigation found that he had been drinking in several bars and had taken at least 10 alcoholic drinks, records show.
Records show that Northup almost walked into a pole and stumbled in a pub film.
The blood sample showed an amount of.292, which is more than three times the legal limit for alcohol in the blood.
Records show that Northup bought a new Harley-Davidson motorbike after the accident and was seen riding it after going to a nearby bar.
The Waterloo Police Department refused to say anything about it. Northup is still an officer with the police force, but since the crash, he has been on paid administrative leave.
Frank Severino from the Iowa Attorney General’s Office is in charge of the case because the Black Hawk County Attorney’s Office said they couldn’t handle it because of a conflict of interest.
The case will be handled by Judge Thomas Bitter of Dubuque.
In April, the lawyer for Mills’ estate was given leave by the court to settle a wrongful death claim with Northup’s insurance company.
He was from Waterloo and went to West High School. Mills worked as a manager at Flowerama.
Northup joined the Waterloo Police Department in February 2016 and was put in charge of the Violent Crime Apprehension Team. During a fight on Hartman Avenue in March 2024, he was involved in the shooting death of John Carl Piazza by a police officer. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office later cleared him.
