See Photos. MINOT, N.D. (KFGO) - Minot police have announced the arrest of a woman who they believe killed her roommate 15 years ago. Nicole Rice, the former roommate of murder victim, Anita Knutson has . Judge Richard Hagar ruled there was enough evidence to proceed to trial, and Rice pleaded not guilty. . Nichole Rice, 34, appeared in Ward County District Court in connection with the 2007 death of 18-year-old Anita Knutson. MINOT (AP) A woman accused of fatally stabbing her roommate 15 years ago in Minot pleaded not guilty Thursday after a judge determined there was sufficient evidence to send her to trial on felony murder. On her Knot wedding website, she wrote that she met her husband at a sporting goods store where he worked. He went to her apartment on June 4. Minot police said Nichole Rice was in custody Wednesday and is believed to have been responsible for . Nichole stated she and Anita were best friends and she has never complained about Anita to anyone. During the preliminary hearing Thursday, Judge Richard Hagar heard testimony to determine whether there was evidence that Rice committed the crime. Talbott said in the affidavit that police received numerous tips about Knutsons murder over the years, including information regarding party attended by Nichole. Talbott wrote, Law enforcement had been told that Nichole admitted to the murder, but the person or people that heard this admission was unknown to law enforcement. Police have since identified the person as a man Rice dated in 2008 or 2009. It was being able to sit and dedicate some time, our officers to that, and let them do their work.. President Dallas Rice 701-500-0432 Vice President Trent Kinzell 701-240-8159 . We identified 4 records related to "Nicole Thomas" in the state of North Dakota. Ringleader of my own circus.. Nichole Rice is a North Dakota woman arrested in the 2007 cold case murder of her roommate. P*@ T roommate 15 years ago For nearly 15 years, Anita Knutson's family anxiously waited for North Dakota authorities to identify a suspect in the brutal murder of the 18-year-old Minot State University student inside her . Rice is charged with Class AA murder in the June 2007 stabbing death of Knutson, who was a childhood friend and her roommate at the time. UPDATE: According to NBC affiliate KFYR, Rice made her initial appearance by video at the Ward County courthouse Thursday afternoon. She is associated with being involved in the murder of her roommate, Anita Knutson. 'In the world today, there is a lot of sadness, and when I seen this show on a rough day I had for business, I was laughing,' replied the world famous DJ. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Nichole Erin Rice, 34, appeared Thursday, Sept. 8, in Ward County District Court on a Class AA felony murder charge in connection with the 2007 death of her 18-year-old roommate, Anita Knutson. BISMARCK - United States Attorney Christopher C. Myers announced that on April 3, 2019, Nicole Marie Rogers, age 31, from Minot, ND, was charged by Indictment with two counts of Bank Fraud, Possession of Stolen Mail, and Aggravated Identity Theft.. Roger's initial appearance was before Magistrate Judge Alice R. Senechal, on March 26, 2019. According to police, Knutsons purse, laptop, phone, a digital camera and other valuables were left in her bedroom, suggesting theft was not a motive., The affidavit added, The single window in Antias room, which was located just past the foot of her bed, was wide open and missing a screen. Find your friends on Facebook. He said that staffing issues and lack of resources interfered with achieving a breakthrough in the case in the past. On June 4, 2007, Knutson's father had called the police because he hadn't heard from her in several days, KXNET-TV reported. @nicolerice761986. C-SPAN's operating revenues come from license fees paid by cable systems and satellite companies that offer the network to their. About a month before her death, Knutson had her father install a lock on her bedroom door, saying she "didn't feel safe" without it, Talbott said. My heart goes out to the family. |jT P*px>]Ip*@ The . Rice is the only person ever charged in the murder of Knutson, who was stabbed to death 15 years ago. Due to the resources, logistics and planning they were able to provide, we were able to obtain an arrest warrant for Nichole Rice, Klug said. A pocket knife with dried blood on it was found near the bedroom window, court documents said. An arrest has been made in the 15-year-old cold case murder of Anita Knutson. /Length 154660 /Filter /FlateDecode >> Rice is charged with Class AA murder in . After nearly 15 years of investigating and following up on leads, the suspect is in custody, Minot Police Chief John Klug said at a press conference. They do pretty much everything together because they have so much in common. Fees. Copyright Minot Daily News | https://www.minotdailynews.com | 301 4th St SE, Minot, ND 58701 | 701-857-1900. P*px>]Ap*@ h Charles Crane/MDN P*px>]Qp*@ ( After hearing the prosecutors and defenses arguments, District Judge Richard Hagar set Rices bail at $250,000 surety and $120,000 cash. Subscribe to get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox, RAND to USAF: Dont Take GBSD Support for Granted, Job Service Offers Assistance to Outlying Communities. . Talbott pointed to a series of inconsistencies in Rices statements, and the statements of family members that broke down the narrative Rice had given of her movements on June 2. She wrote on Facebook she is a, Mom of 1 Married to my best friend. Rice will be back in court April 21 for her preliminary hearing and arraignment. The Ward County Jail says she posted $120,000 cash bond last evening. Grace Kraemer 3/17/2022. They decided to not go on a honeymoon in order to put money into the new place! P m*@ T A pocket knife with dried blood on it was found near the bedroom window, court documents said. Thomas Family Funeral Home 304 S Main Street Minot, ND 58701 (701) 838-2832 (701) 838-6949 toll free: (800) 228-3588 PAXTON, ISAAC A. FARGO, ND $922.00 PEARSON, RANDAL J. FORT TOTTEN, ND $308.00 PEARSON, RANDAL J. FORT TOTTEN, ND $382.80 PEARSON, RANDAL J. SAINT MICHAEL, ND $432.80 PEARSON, RANDAL J. SAINT MICHAEL, ND $765.60 State of North Dakota Department of Human Services Child Support Enforcement - List of Obligors Found in Contempt of Court Name City . A page related to that job has also been deleted. \DOy According to North Dakota state law, the charge carries a potential sentence of life in prison without parole if she is convicted. P*PTM WQUT |T Klug said in the past, staffing and timing issues prevented the department from focusing as needed on the cold case murder. Rice, who was arrested at the Minot Air Force Base, where she works as a civilian, is facing a murder charge and being held at the Ward County Matching search results: "Although most of the detectives who worked the original scene and investigation have retired, we have not forgotten about this case . The woman accused of murdering her roommate has pleaded not guilty. Her sister, Anna Knutson, told the news site, She was enjoying school and always had a lot of friends around her. Her family has not commented since Rices arrest. MINOT, N.D. (KVRR) The murder of an 18-year-old Minot State University student in 2007 is no longer a mystery. Rice was Anita's roommate at the time of her murder. An arrest has been made in the 15-year-old cold case murder of Anita Knutson in North Dakota. Police announcing Wednesday afternoon the arrest of Anita Knutson's . People Search Dallas Rice ND. MINOT, N.D. - Your News Leader is learning new details about the suspect charged in Anita Knutson's 2007 death, including a prior incident of bail jumping. Rices defense attorney Philip Becher used his redirect to press Talbott on the investigation into an alternative suspect named Devan Hall, who had been arrested for breaking into homes armed with a knife in the days after the murder. Rice, previously known as Nichole Thomas, was not at the apartment when Knutson was found. According to her now-deleted Facebook page, she was born in Velva, North Dakota, and lived in Minot. Anita Knutson, a student at Minot State University, was found stabbed to death in her apartment on June 4, 2007. North Dakota, about 40 miles south of Minot, that Saturday night into Sunday morning, and when she left the bar . She was covered with a robe and had two stab wounds that caused her to bleed to death, according to a criminal complaint filed against Rice. On Wednesday, the Minot Police arrested 34-year-old Nichole Rice, who was living with Knutson at the time of her murder, Ward County State's Attorney Roza Larson announced in a press release. Log In. Eighteen year old Anita Knutson had just completed her freshman semester at Minot State University in North Dakota. The North Dakota Supreme Court will not answer certified questions absent development of the factual record because doing so exposes the court to the danger of improvidently deciding issues. Klug said detectives Carmen Asham and Mikali Talbott were most recently assigned to investigate the case. P*@ < A UOU T CBSNews. Dog mom. Talbott wrote that Knutson had been texting with a friend on Sunday, June 3, 2007. She was a civilian employee at Minot Air Force Base at the time of her arrest, according to Klug. << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 1696 /Height 2200 /Interpolate true << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 77 >> A message left for Rice's attorney, Philip Becher, was not returned Thursday. A few years later, Anitas death was followed by another tragedy in the Knutson family, Anna told Dateline in 2015. Becher introduced a statement indicating that someone matching his description had been seen running in the area of Knutsons apartment on the evening of June 2. Shalom Baer Gee. |jT Membership Director Nichole Thomas 701-721-9292. |jrT Klug told reporters Rice was at the Minot Air Face Base working in a civilian capacity when she was arrested without incident. Anita Knutson was 18 years old when she was murdered on June 4, 2007, at her home in Minot. Many people wanted to be close to Anita. Those interviewed recalled conflicts over an alarm clock and a fish tank, as well as Rice calling Knutson derogatory names to others. Minot Police Chief John Klug said they had received numerous tips . P m*@ T One witness told police Rice was at a bar in Ruso, North Dakota, about 40 miles south of Minot, that Saturday night into Sunday morning, and when she left the bar, Rice said she was going back to her apartment to get some clothes. C-SPAN is a private, non-profit public service of the cable television industry that covers the political process. Nichole is currently the Vice President of Network Deployment and Operations at Dish Wireless, leading the Central United States through deployment of the nation's first open RAN, cloud native 5G . The pre-trial conference is scheduled for Nov. 16. Her Facebook page has been deleted. She double majored in communications and history/political science at the University of Jamestown, N.D. We see that you have javascript disabled. Powered by. Nichole Erin Rice was charged with murder, a class AA felony in North Dakota. MINOT, ND (iNewZ.TV) We now have details behind a 2007 Minot, North Dakota murder case. So many exciting things to come! Statements by members of her family were also inconsistent. At a press conference on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, Minot Police announced the arrest of 34-year-old Nichole Rice. Nicholes reputation is that she was hot-tempered and reactionary. P*@ T Anita Knutson was an 18-year-old Minot State University student . Becher would bolster his argument by citing a number of reports from prior investigators and even analysts from the FBI who theorized that Hall was the most likely suspect to have broken in and killed Knutson. Rices plea follows a lengthy testimony in a preliminary hearing from a Minot Police detective. Welcome to Nichole Thomas and Dallas Rice's Wedding Website! Now 34, Rice was a civilian worker at Minot Air Force . The Ward County Jail said Rice was still in custody as of early Thursday evening, but she was expected to be released soon. Reached by phone, Rice's father declined to comment. Witness 1 said that Nichole had changed her story multiple times. The Minot State University student was found face down in her bed and had two stab wounds to the chest, according to court documents.Rice was arrested in March at the Minot Air Force Base where she worked as a civilian.Rice was always a person of interest, but until this year there had not been enough evidence to arrest her, Minot Police Chief John Klug said at the time she was taken into custody.Besides the work of his investigators, Klug credited help from "Cold Justice," a television series that sends its detectives to work alongside local law enforcement on unsolved homicide cases.According to the affidavit, investigators had been told that Rice had admitted to the murder, but that the person or people that heard the admission were unknown. At about 3:25 p.m. 34-year-old Nichole Rice was arrested for murder and taken to our county jail. Talbott also introduced a statement from a man that heard Rice make a drunken confession while at a party. Sorgen said Amtrak data likely wasn't reliable at the time, and Talbott said there is video evidence that shows the Montana man arrived in Minot Sunday evening that weekend, not Saturday. Nichole and Kevin Thomas, Nicholes father, previously told officers that Nichole was at her parents house from approximately 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 2 until the morning of June 4, 2007. She told police she was with her parents at their home in Velva, North Dakota, over the weekend Knutson was killed, but statements from her and family members were inconsistent, the complaint said. 4x>59P*@Et1 T)A Rices defense argued that she was not a flight risk because of family ties and her lack of a criminal record. She did not text or make any phone calls after the 4:48 a.m. text on June 3, police said. P*px>]Ip*@ Police announcing Wednesday afternoon the arrest of Anita Knutsons former roommate. Anita Knutson was an 18-year-old Minot State University student when she was killed. A lot of the information is information we have. MINOT, N.D. A woman accused this year of killing her roommate 15 years ago pleaded not guilty to the crime after a defense attorney tried to make a case that a man caught burglarizing a home about a week later might be the one who did it. PQ9GH. Knutson was a beautiful, charismatic, and joyful elementary education major from Butte, North Dakota, her family told The Daily Beast in January 2022. Judge Richard Hager determined there was probable cause that Nichole Erin Rice, then 19, stabbed Anita Knutson, 18, at their apartment in early June 2007 and left her face down in bed, according to The Form of Fargo-Moorhead. She was scheduled to make her first court appearance on March 17, 2022. Nicole Hanson, 35. The preliminary hearing for Nichole Erin Rice, 34, the accused killer of Anita Knutson, 18, was held on Sept. 8 in North Central District Court in Minot. They are usually either out fishing or hunting during their free time. "There was never enough to arrest her but I would say she was always a person of interest in this case," Klug said when asked if Rice had previously been cleared. The Minot Police Department said that Nichole Rice, 34, was in custody. The sample was tested against a number of persons of interest, but Rice was the only individual who could not be excluded by investigators. He told police he hadnt heard from his daughter in days, which was unusual, police said. However, over the first weekend in June of 2007, Anita's family couldn't get in touch with her which was extremely out of character. Judge Richard Hagar set Rice's bond at $120,000 cash or a $250,000 surety bond. Rice had remained a person of interest in the case in the years that followed the initial investigation, and provided a number of statements to the authorities. Rice, who is now a 34-year-old married mother who works as a civilian employee at the Minot Air Force Base, was arrested on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 . Rice initially maintained she was at her parents' farm near Velva, North Dakota, the weekend of Knutson's murder, but subsequent statements from her and family members over the years were inconsistent, Talbott said. When asked about Cold Justices role, Knutson said they provided support. On March 17, at Rices initial hearing for the murder of Knutson, the states attorneys argued for a $1 million bail on the basis of similar cases being set at that amount, but did not mention Rices failure to appear in 2012. . The full affidavit of probable cause can be read here. P &*@ T MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) - Nichole Rice, the woman charged with murder in the 2007 killing of Anita Knutson in Minot, has pleaded not guilty. A bloody knife was found in a bathroom and nothing appeared to have been stolen, according to police. Copyright 2022 KFYR. At a news conference this afternoon, Chief of Police John Klug stated that Nichole Rice, 34, of Minot, had been arrested. Anna Knutson told Dateline that even though Anita was then living away from home, she was close to their tightknit family. Rices arrest affidavit states that witnesses recall that Rice and Knutson had a strained relationship and that Rice admitted to a man she dated briefly that she had done it.. There, Rice pleaded not guilty to the Class AA felony murder charge, and Hagar ordered her back in court on Nov. 16. He did not go into further details of the case or a motive. I really liked her, I know u 2 had yor ups and downs, no different they any of the other in yor class. 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