If you would like to look further into thenumber of crimes in North Dakota, multiple law enforcement organizations have annual crimereports on their websites that detail the crimes in that area. Prichard was pursuing amaster's degree in botany at the University of Maryland, and visited Blackbird State Forest many times for her research, according to Delaware Online. Her murder remains an unsolved cold case. The doors were locked, no windows broken, and no other signs of a break in or a suspect. That short travel time proved invaluable in June 2007, when Anita did not respond to her parents calls all weekend while they were in Bismarck for their son, Daniels, baseball tournament. On November 5, 2002, the decomposed body of 20 year old Russell Turcotte ofWolf Point, Montana was discovered in a tree row located ten miles west of Devils Lake, ND and mile north of US Highway #2. A farmer, looking for a few stray cattle, found it in a tree row covered in leaves and frost. Visit the In Loving Memory of Anita Knutson Facebook page. Furthermore, the Federal Bureau of Investigation distributes a Uniform Crime Report every year which focuses on outlining the typesthe crimes committedalong with theircrime rates for most cities and counties within every state, along with a report on crime in North Dakota. Her ears were pierced. Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. On June 7, 2007, Minot State University student Anita Knutson was found stabbed to death in her off-campus apartment. 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A little while later, Anna said, she received an ominous call from her dad, telling her that her brother was going to pick her up and dont ask any questions, just go home., I remember I got in the car and he had clearly been crying, Anna said. According to the Lexington Herald Leader, her mysterious killer became "a mythological figure in Lexington, a kind of all-purpose boogeyman." Photo courtesy of In Loving Memory of Anita Knutson Group. Was it murder, or did he merely die of hypothermia? Alongside two maintenance workers who helped him enter his daughters off-campus apartment, former Butte Mayor Gordon Knutson was met with a grisly scene: his teenage daughter fatally stabbed to death, facedown on her own bed. He died in that asylum and that was that, or so everyone thought. Dig deeper While the case has slowed to a near halt in recent years, advancements in DNA collection and databases do provide some hope that a potential match within the system could provide long sought after answers. She was 36 years old, and was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt; a blue down-filled jacket; a pair of blue jeans; glasses; and a pair of brown lace-up boots. There are very few leads and the case remains unsolved to this day. This list of unsolved murders includes notable cases where victims have . There were no signs of forced entry, leading police to believe she knew her attacker. Check out five truly baffling unsolved murders in North Dakota and see if you know anything about any one of them you never, ever know. The victim and the killer still remain unidentified. Justin's fianc, Paige Dykstra, spoke to WDAY about Justin, calling him a "wonderful man" and "hard worker.". If a missing person or homicide case does not appear, please contact the originating local law enforcement agency. This German family, who had immigrated from Russia, had come to the New World to tame a rugged land. Phebus disappeared and was presumed to have been murdered on or about October 20, 1962. The next morning, as her mother frantically searched their home, Jessica's sister Becky said that"the man with the magic hat and the beard took her last night.". Wolf's body had been cut in half and placed in garbage bags. While she and her brother, Daniel, were just a year apart, Anita was three years olderan age difference that led Anna to admire everything her big sister did. Also known as "The Babysitter Killer" whose identity is still unknown, the killer is believed to haveabducted, in some cases sexually assaulted, and killed four children between 1976 and 1977. From 1986 to 1989, a series of murders along Virginia's historic Colonial Parkway claimed the lives of eight people in their teens and twenties. Jaclyn Dowaliby was taken from her bedroom as she slept in 1988 when someone broke through theMidlothian, Illinois, home's basement window, ABC7 reports. A squirrel hunter was taken into custody and questioned, but DNA evidence exonerated him in 1987. Every single thing my sister did, I wanted to do it.. Anitas death prompted Minot State University to ramp up their security, including the installation of video cameras in school parking lots and new lighting. The case remains active. On March 12, 1978, Chad Burgett returned home to Phoenix after a weekend away with his mother to find his sister, Pauline Robbin, murdered with multiple stab wounds. You know. A $10,000 reward is now being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in Monica's murder. All that was missing was her drivers license. I think if we developed a strong suspect, maybe it would mean something, but at this point theres nothing unusual about it, I guess, Klug said. Sandra and John arrived at her parents house, in the vicinity of the 1100 block of University Drive, at around 7:30pm. The man who owned the farm was named Eugene Butler. New Rockford, ND, 1987 - Kathy Bonderson left her house after an argument with her husband to go look for her teenage son who had snuck out that night. Cold cases looking for hot leads- right now there are 30 open unsolved deaths or disappearances with ties to South Dakota, leaving families of the missing . Inforum calls it "one of the state's biggest murder mysteries.". The Swanson murders drew national attention among the law enforcement community, mainly because the case had . Following her death, a tip also led to a sketch drawing of a man seen running away from the apartment around the suspected time of the killing. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. In 1988, Jane Boroski, who was seven months pregnant, was approached in a convenience store parking lot by a man who proceeded to stab her 27 times. These include the 1987 murder of Anna Korynta, the 1996 murder of James Blilie, and the 2002 murder of Russell Douglas Turcotte, among a few disappearances. Her family maintains a Facebook group to solicit tips from the public, and the cold case was featured on Dateline NBC. The Arkansas alert system is also named in honor of Nick. In 1987, there were 10 in the whole state, according to the FBI. This is where the name inspiration for the main character of the first season came from, in case you were wondering). Law enforcement deemed the time of death to have occurred at some point in the early hours of Sunday morning a claim Klug said was reached based on the information known at the time. They were dubbed "The Redhead Murders.". I still remember when I found out. If you have any information about the murder of Anita Knutson, call the Minot Police Department at (701) 852-0111. People with information on any of these unsolved murders are asked to call detective Sgt. Sandras mother raised Spencer after she went missing. Clarence was working in the oil fields in Williston, North Dakota, and was found dead in 2017. A man confessed to the crime in 1965, saying he had been drunk, but the jury didn't buy it and the trial ended in a hung jury. He was outgoing, he was funny, he was homecoming king, people loved being around him, Haustveit said. On October 27, 1961, 19-year-oldBetty Gail Brown was found in her car in front ofTransylvania College's Old Morrison building, strangled to death with her own bra. Law enforcement continued to look into other factors of the case, including the screen on the window that had been cut. A robe covered her bloodied body, and the pocket knife that was used to murder her was close by. However, his packed suitcase and a map depicting the travel route he planned to take were found inside his home along with other personal items and medication. The murder in this case is no mystery - Steven Thomas pleaded guilty to the murder of Norman Limesand that occurred near Bismarck in 1999. That might not be how the original rhyme goes, but it is more accurate sinceLizzie was acquitted of her parents' murder in 1893. Witnesses say they saw a car flashing blue lights behind hers in what may have been someone impersonating a police officer, prompting the Honolulu Police Department to ban supplemental blue lights. The Dakota Spotlight . A robe covered her bloodied body. There were theories investigators looked into during the early days. one of the biggest crime scenes in US history, one of the state's biggest murder mysteries. In 1994, a mans body was found frozen in an icy ditch near Dunseith. While Klug maintains that the investigation is ongoing and that all tips have received attention, Anna told The Daily Beast that the police have not done enough to solve the murder, a horror she said played some part in her brothers demise. Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. His body has still not been found to this day. Most of the murders that have occurred in North Dakota in the last 40 years have been solved, as shown on Project: Cold Cases unsolved homicide statistics webpage, and authorities continue their investigations into the remaining cold cases. Police say that Anita was stabbed at least twice in the chest with a pocket knife that was recovered at the scene. Below are the total number of homicides reported in each state, the rate at which homicides are cleared and the estimated number of unsolved homicides. Concerned, Gordon Knutson made the drive on a Monday to Anita Knutsons off-campus apartment, where he first noticed her vehicle parked outside. $20,000 reward: Maple Grove Unsolved Homicide unsolved July 30, 2021 26-year-old Dayton Rossetti (pictured) of Minneapolis was found dead as a result of a gunshot wound early in the morning of July 30, 2019. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked. Robert and Helen Sims and their daughter Joy were found bound, gagged, stabbed, and shot in their Tallahassee home onOctober 22, 1966, WCTV reports. All of the bodies were found along major highways, suggesting that they were hitchhiking or working in prostitution, according to the Gasden Times. It's located in Grand Forks County and was founded in 1883. But witnesses said they saw the children after the fire, and 20 years later, the mother, Jennie, received a photo in the mail labeled Louis Sodder their son who was 9 at the time of the fire. Thank you! Due to the scene at Centennial Beach, its been theorized that Sandra murdered her son, then died by suicide after jumping into the river. He was later identified as Ronald S. Johnson, and his body showed signs of having fought for his life. He never picked up the money order. We will not release specifics on DNAexcept we are hoping new advances in technology will lead us to a suspect, Klug added. According to Project: Cold Case, North Dakota has the least unsolved homicides remaining from 1980-2019 out of any U.S. state, with Wyoming not too far behind, with only 137 unsolved murders. Crime scene photos are shown during trial with the goal of showing the jury the surroundings of the scene as well as the locations of any relevant items of evidence. JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her family's home on December 26, 1996. Four days after Kelly Lynn Albright disappeared from her family's home, she was found dead in a field. . 18, 2021 at 4:23 PM PDT. Among those. Keeping the total population of the capital city in mind, the 2018 violent crime rate in Bismarck, North Dakota, was around 298.75 out of every 100,000 inhabitants. The 1981 murder of Clifton Wendell Marsh, the 1994 murder of Ronald Johnson, the 2007 murder of Anita Knutson, and the 1985 suspicious death of Olivia Lone Bear are a few examples of the murders in northern North Dakota which remain unsolved today. She . A regular runner, he was cleared once it was proven he was out for a jog on his routine route. 624 Fifth Ave. North in Grand Forks is the address where murder happened in 1968. One thing Anna especially loved about Anita was her ability to be someone that everyone wanted to be like. That charisma, she said, made it easy to imagine her elder sister as an elementary school teacher. An autopsy revealed he'd been beaten about the head and body and died as a result of those injuries. Eight people, including a man, his pregnant wife, their two children, and teenage deckhands, were shot to death aboard a fishing boat called the Investor on September 6, 1982, People Magazine reported. Klug confirmed that the roommate, who has not been publicly identified, has never been ruled out as a suspectbut also said that police were simply not ruling anything out in the open investigation. Three men were found dead inside 1318 North LaSalle Street on December 1, 1971, and the killer remains unknown. Additionally, you may be able to find a few short lists of notorious North Dakota criminals around the internet, if you would like to learn more about them. Anita Knutson did have a roommate she did not get along with. North Dakota is a beautiful little state that doesnt get the attention it deserves for its awe-inspiring beauty, but it does get attention from time to time thanks to some truly bizarre or otherwise downright eerie cold cases. Sandras family has consulted with psychics, in the hopes of learning something of her and Johns whereabouts. An employee with the North Dakota Department of Transportation, she was the mother of two sons, five-year-old John and 16-year-old Spencer. Crime scene analysis later concluded that Anita had been dead for more than a day before her father burst into her locked apartment with the help of two maintenance workers. In 1977, 19-year-oldTerri Jentz and her college roommate Shayna Weiss spent the night at Cline Falls State Park while on a cross-country bike trip. According to the arrest warrant, his fingerprint had been found at the scene, People magazine reported. Published: Mar. The murders remain unsolved. Dykstra, her 11-year-old son and Dulmage's parents discovered the bodies when they went to deliver dinner to the men, according to the outlet. Like, Is it mom, is it our Aunt Karen, or Uncle Joe? Is it Anita?, And then he started crying and kind of looked at me and said, Shes dead, Anna continued. As they looked closer, they saw her face down on her bed. When asked why she hadnt called local law enforcement, she replied that she didnt trust those with the Center Police Department and the Oliver County Sheriffs Office. She hasn't been seen since. The exact number of victims is unknown, but it could be as many as 11 women. There were cords around her right wrist and neck and she was wearing her favorite pageant nightgown, according to Vanity Fair. If you have information about a listed cold case, please contact the Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 701-328-5500 or the local law enforcement agency at the number listed. Triple Murder-Suicide Mourned as 'Generous Soul,' as Police ID the Deceased Three of the victims in. Examining the world of solved and unsolved cases. Mathis murders: 30 years later some authorities remain convinced of John Mathis' guilt "September 8 is coming pretty fast," Swenson, the former longtime Davison County sheriff, said last week. The Connecticut River Killer was profiled on "Unsolved Mysteries" and "THS Investigates.". At the time of her separation from her second husband, Alan, she and her sons were living in an apartment in Center, North Dakota, a rural city in Oliver County. coined the term "Bennington Triangle" in 1992. asking Russia to view satellite footage of the area, the women had tube socks tied around their necks, left an old trunk in his friendNewell Sessions' shed inThermopolis in1986. Alibis dismissed Anita Knutsons roommate and a prominent sketch of a man seen running near the scene of the crime turned out to belong to a runner on a regular route. Her case was turned into a made-for-TV movie called "Gone In The Night" (pictured). Her parents also discovered a ransom note asking for $118,000, according to CNN. In terms of the robe used to cover Anita Knutsons body, Klug said that aspect of the crime scene doesnt point them in one direction or another when considering whether the assailant was someone Anita knew.