Man lured, killed in robbery scheme was ‘kind’ and a ‘momma’s boy,’ Iowa family says

An Iowa woman is accused of luring a man to her apartment, where accomplices laid in wait to rob him, but the scheme ended with the 25-year-old shot and killed, police say and news outlets report.

Three have been arrested in the killing of Parker Stoneburner, according to the Ames Police Department, with the most recent arrests coming more than a month after the attempted robbery.

Stoneburner’s family says he was a “kind” man and a “momma’s boy” with a lot to look forward to in a life cut too short, an obituary read. After graduating high school, where he was an “avid athlete,” he began a career in HVAC. He’d recently bought a house and was fixing it up with help from his mother and father.

On the evening of Jan. 18, Ames police officers responded to an apartment where they found Stoneburner with a gunshot wound, the department said in a news release. The Boone man was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Destiny Skurdal, 19, is accused of inviting Stoneburner to her apartment through Snapchat, where accomplices Zoe Anderson, 21, and 19-year-old Abraham Guhnics were waiting to ambush him, according to court records, the Ames Tribune reported.

Skurdal told police she’s not sure what exactly happened next — as she was in the bathroom when Anderson and Guhnics confronted Stoneburner — but shots rang out and Stoneburner was fatally hit, the outlet reported.

Despite being wounded, Stoneburner was able to open the door to let police inside, the outlet reported. Investigators said several shell casings were found inside the unit, along with drugs, cash and counterfeit bills.

Skurdal was taken into custody days later, on Jan. 24, on a charge of robbery, Ames police said.

She now is also charged with murder, KCCI reported.

Anderson fled with Guhnics to Independence, Missouri — Guhnics’ home and a roughly 230-mile drive south from Ames — but were caught Feb. 24 by the U.S. Marshals Service and arrested on outstanding murder warrants, according to police.

“The investigation into this case is active and ongoing,” police said.

Ames is about 40 miles north from Des Moines.

This story was originally published February 26, 2025 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Man lured, killed in robbery scheme was ‘kind’ and a ‘momma’s boy,’ Iowa family says."