CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Court TV) — The mother of a woman killed in an alleged machete plot testified that an alert from the Life360 tracking app led her to her daughter’s shattered phone on a highway ramp, hours after the 20-year-old was allegedly lured to her death.
Megan Hoffman took the stand in the trial of Dakota Van Patten, who is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of her daughter, Melody Hoffman. Melody’s body was discovered on Feb. 18, 2024, at Lily Lake in Amana, Iowa. Prosecutors allege Van Patten and Melody’s ex-boyfriend, McKinley “Ken” Louisma, conspired to kidnap and kill her.
Melody Hoffman’s broken phone found on the entrance ramp of a Highway. (Court TV)
Through emotional testimony, Hoffman described the desperate hours she spent tracking her daughter’s phone, sending unanswered messages, and ultimately finding the device shattered on the side of a highway entrance ramp.
She described Melody as a hopeful and caring young woman who loved helping others. Melody was on disability because of intellectual challenges that sometimes made it difficult for her to navigate social situations. Her trusting nature, Hoffman explained, often left her vulnerable.
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Those concerns grew after Melody began dating Louisma in Oct. 2023, following their introduction on a dating app. The relationship escalated quickly, with Louisma spending nights at the home and Melody buying him small gifts. By Dec., however, the romance soured. Hoffman said that Louisma often failed to follow through on plans, which she believed was because of renewed interest in an ex-girlfriend, Nakia Svoboba, who testified that she was pregnant with his child.
The couple broke up in early Jan. When Louisma came to exchange belongings, Hoffman noticed a man with him wearing a red hoodie, but did not see his face. That same night, Melody received a threatening message from an untraceable number, which left her frightened.
A Crash Detected emergency alert came through to Melody’s Life360 app at 3:13 a.m. waking her mother. (Court TV)
Despite the split, Melody resumed contact with Louisma. On the night of Feb. 17, 2024, after spending the evening at home watching a movie with her mother, she left around 11:30 p.m. Her mother began monitoring her movements on Life360, which showed Melody heading to Morgan Creek Park near where Louisma’s family lived. Hoffman sent repeated texts and Snapchat messages urging her to return home, but received unusual responses.
After several missed calls, Melody’s location stopped updating just after 1 a.m. A couple of hours later, Hoffman received a Life360 “crash detected” alert that directed her to a highway entrance ramp. When she arrived around 4 a.m., she found her daughter’s phone shattered, its case missing, and its message history showing only her own texts.
Hoffman filed a missing person report, and later that day, police informed her that Melody had been killed. Investigators later showed her her daughter’s phone case, glasses, and a broken necklace that had once contained a charm holding the ashes of Melody’s late sister. The charm remains missing.
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