Steven Fisher, 20, and his girlfriend Melisa Gregory, 17, were bludgeoned to death on a ranchnorthwest of Newton, Iowa, in 1983. Theres the murder of Anita Knutson, mentioned above, in which her family is still searching desperately for answers. At the time, it was the only decapitation in the US that involved a person that young, according to the FBI. When we were really little, we always had matching outfits, which was really fun. Even with a population of more than 96,000 inhabitants, based on Uniform Crime Reports that are put together and released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there were not any homicides in Burleigh County, North Dakota, from 2015-2019, showing a flatlined homicide trend. Evelyn Williams, 72, an active member of the community in the small town of Pinehurst, North Carolina. Spencer eventually married and had three daughters. Witnesses say that they saw her standing next to a maroon car driven by a man in his 30s on August 9, 1970. 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 unsolved to this day. Sandras family has consulted with psychics, in the hopes of learning something of her and Johns whereabouts. The case remains open. So we went multiple times a week, Anna said. The "Zodiac Killer" has been the subject of several movies, including "Zodiac" and "Dirty Harry," which was inspired by the still-open case. When a woman walking her dog found a human bone in 2009, she had no idea she had come across one of the biggest crime scenes in US history. But on September 19, 1986, her detailed notes stopped around 10 a.m. She was found the next day partially clothed and dead from a shot to the back. In 2005, Spencers biological father was run over by his own vehicle and left to die in the ditch of a maintenance road north of Tuttle, North Dakota. On August 20, 1993, a Dodge van thought to have been driven by Diede and Anderson was found abandoned in Aberdeen, South Dakota. But after 100 years, the identities of the victims remain unknown. The above case index includes all cases referred to the Cold Case Unit. In many cases, biological evidence is still present . As per Project: Cold Case, there were around 508 murders in North Dakota between 1980 and 2019. There are differing reports regarding his height and weight at the time of his disappearance, with some outlets reporting he was 30 and 47 pounds, and others saying he stood at 48 and weighed 75 pounds. 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. MPD/CID. Law enforcement believe they were murdered. In 1985, two couples disappeared in the wooded areas of Pierce and Lewis counties. A 2013 book and a 2014 documentary, both called "Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere" explore the case. into the stories you've heard before, and encounter many others you haven't, in ways that actually help. Kim Raffo, Molly Dilts, Barbara Breidor, and Tracy Roberts were found dead behind the Golden Key Motel in Atlantic City in 2006. CASE CONTACT INFORMATION: Sandra "Sandy" May Jacobson was last seen in Bismarck, Burleigh County, North Dakota on the evening of November 16, 1996. Anna said that their sisters death was particularly devastating for her brother and the incident changed him and caused a lot of pain., He was never the same after she died. The case was featured on "America's Most Wanted.". The FBI figures include nonnegligent homicides as well as murders, but the agency's figures are incomplete because not all law enforcement agencies submit data. 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. "They just couldn't narrow it down.". Maybewhocansay. He never picked up the money order. That June weekend, Anna said, she remembered frequent conversations about how strange it was that Anita had not been answering her phone. The most common sorts of evidence that are included at trial for Burleigh County homicide cases are overwhelmingly Burleigh County murders crime scene photos, along with DNA evidence, digital evidence, and trace evidence. There were multiple people working on this farm as regular laborers and house keepers and the property was generally a busy place. His body was discovered by his uncle, Richard Nygaard. Her parents also discovered a ransom note asking for $118,000, according to CNN. The involvement of the NCMEC in the case has led to tips being called into investigators, with the latest being from February 2016. One of the workers, Klug pointed out, noticed the screen to Anitas bedroom window had been slashed. On August 4, 1892, Andrew Jackson Borden and his second wife, Abby, were bludgeoned to death with an ax, New England Today reports. Though North Dakota is one of the safest states to live in when it comes to crime, thats not to say the state goes without its own gruesome stories. She . The police department continues to staff this case and follows up on leads, Klug told The Daily Beast, adding that police believe Anitas killer is still out there and they are determined to find answers. Read full article . Her case was turned into a made-for-TV movie called "Gone In The Night" (pictured). Issues arose and Limesand disappearedforever. Police are using new DNA technology to try to confirm a potential suspect, but no one has been charged or convicted. Spencer eventually married and had three daughters. On June 7, 2007, Minot State University student Anita Knutson was found stabbed to death in her off-campus apartment. Are the Sodder children still out there somewhere? I never saw him again." ~~~ Fifth generation farmer Jessica Hawkes is seeking non-profit . 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. The unsolved case is the subject of the book "The Kill Jar" by J. Reuben Appelman and the Hulu docuseries "Children of the Snow.". Her parents, Gordon and Sharon Knutson, adopted Anita Knutson as a baby later, they also adopted her younger siblings, Daniel and Anna Knutson. Sandra Jacobson was born on December 8, 1959. The local police department used the newspaper and city television station to inform the Bismarck-Mandan area, while posters with age-progression images of John were hung across Minnesota. Her work is primarily featured on The Vault. Comments Unavailable. October 1, 1981, the body of 69 year old Clifton Wendell Marsh was discovered in a rest area located along Highway 2 approximately 7 miles east of Devils Lake, North Dakota. One thing Anita Knutsons family and friends could cling to during those first turbulent days, weeks and months was a hope that answers would soon be delivered. If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. We were really close, she told The Daily Beast. He went missing for nearly four months until his naked body was found 100 miles away near Devils Lake. 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. Author Joseph Citro coined the term "Bennington Triangle" in 1992. A $10,000 reward is now being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in Monica's murder. There were many suspects, but nothing solid. They had all been strangled or asphyxiated, and were positioned face-down, barefoot, with their heads facing east. A fire broke out in the Sodder home on Christmas Eve in 1945. A few well-known or infamous North Dakota murders that can be found within the lists of all murders in North Dakota include the following: the 2007 murder of Anita Knutson, the 2002 suspected murder of Russell Turcotte, and the 2017 suspicious death o. Sandra agreed to this, but said she first needed to fill her car with gas. Other cold cases in North Dakota involve missing persons, like the case of Barbara Louise Cotton, who was 15 years old when she disappeared from Williston, North Dakota. The killer would then clean the kids' clothes and arrange their bodies in a sort of display on the streets of Metro Detroit for investigators to find. The Brackens worked for Dulmage and were "in the wheat field to conduct harvest related activities," the press release reads. a mythological figure in Lexington, a kind of all-purpose boogeyman. Three men were found dead inside 1318 North LaSalle Street on December 1, 1971, and the killer remains unknown. The case also inspired the movie "Cry-Baby" starring Johnny Depp. A robe covered her bloodied body, and the pocket knife that was used to murder her was close by. On January 21, she left her boyfriend's sister's house after having dinner. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed 18 times. Since the squad's creation, it has closed two cases, including the 1987 murder of Kathryn Bonderson, a 35-year-old whose body was found in a burning vehicle a mile north of New Rockford, N.D. Contact the McKenzie County Sheriff's Department at 701-444-3654. One Year Anniversary of the Unsolved Murder of 15-Year-Old Devin Griffiths. Things like that dont happen in Minot, North Dakota. Linked to 44 murders,Woodfield only ever confessed to one, and is currently serving a 90-year prison sentence. She was found not guilty in 2015. Subtopics of these conversations most commonly focus on speculation of Bismarck murders crime scene photos and even Bismarck, North Dakota, murders autopsy photos. After she had gone missing, her body was found on 26 March 1967, north-east of Biloela. "You don't have such a violent death over just, 'Give me your pocketbook, lady. He was shot while stopped at a red light in Las Vegas. Some of the strangest murders in North Dakota are also some of the coldest, with little hope that eventually a perpetrator will be apprehended and brought to justice. I think that was the problem," Indianapolis Police Department Captain Robert Snow told Fox59. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. In January 2022, Thomas McDowell was arrested and charged with burglary, kidnapping and murder. 47 YOA. But according to the FBI, there were 21,570 murders last year, up 29% from 16,669 in 2019 and the highest annual total since 1995. F-B-I spokesman Donald . A&E aired a six-hour miniseries called "Who Killed Tupac?". A handful of North Dakota law enforcement agency websites, including the website of the North Dakota Attorney General, include a short list of North Dakota murders that remain unsolved or labeled as cold cases. Although investigators took several people into custody for questioning, nobody seemed to have any connection with the murders. It doesn't necessarily match up based on how that apartment is laid out and where the window is and how far you would have to climb to get in that window, he said. 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. Arlis Perry's death went unsolved for more than 40 years, until a break came through forensic technology a development highlighted as a postscript to the Sons of Sam documentary. From that moment, the search for Anita Knutsons killer began DNA swabs were collected from all known close contacts and interviews with persons of interest were conducted. Four days after Kelly Lynn Albright disappeared from her family's home, she was found dead in a field. Have you ever heard of this mystery before? Nearly 340,000 cases of homicide and non-negligent manslaughter went unsolved from 1965 to 2021, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report data studied by The Murder Accountability Project. 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. Love North Dakota? 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. Jessica Gutierrez, 4, was kidnapped from her bed onJune 6, 1986, in the Red Bank area of Lexington County, South Carolina. The murdered body of Anita Knutson was found in her Minot apartment on June 4th, 2007. While the roommate did have an alibi, provided by her parents who claimed she was with them throughout the weekend, she was still subject to polygraph tests and multiple interviews throughout the years.