In the summer of 1960, Feguer arrived in Dubuque, Iowa, renting a room at a decrepit boarding house.

Soon after arriving, Feguer began phoning physicians alphabetically from the local Yellow Pages and found Dr. Edward Bartels.

A few days later, Feguer was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, after trying to sell Dr. Bartels' car to James B. Alford, who tipped off the FBI.

Alford later told a local newspaper he suspected Feguer was a crook because he had an out-of-state car but no title papers.

Because Feguer crossed state lines during the commission of the crimes, he was tried and convicted in federal court.

The witnesses included an Associated Press journalist and John Ely, then a member of the Iowa House of Representatives, whose witnessing of the execution reinforced his opposition to the death penalty, leading him to work to abolish the state death penalty in Iowa, which occurred in 1965,[2] but which had no effect on the federal law under which Feguer had been executed.

[5] Feguer was buried in an unmarked grave in Fort Madison City Cemetery in Iowa wearing a second new suit that was provided for his burial.

After Feguer's death, it would be nearly 40 years until the next federal execution – that of Timothy McVeigh, carried out on June 11, 2001, in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Previous Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack made it clear that he would veto legislation that would restore capital punishment, even if it was only on a limited basis.