A cold case closed
Arrest made in 2007 murder of Butte student
BY JAMES C. FALCON
Almost 15 years after the death of Anita Knutson, her roommate was arrested and charged last week with her murder.
Last Wednesday afternoon, the Minot Police Department held an impromptu press conference where they announced that 34-year-old Nichole Rice was arrested “without incident” for her role in the death of 18-year-old Knutson and charged with murder, a Class AA felony.
Knutson’s body was found in their northwest Minot apartment on June 4, 2007. She had been stabbed twice; the murder weapon, a pocketknife with dried blood on it, was found on the bed.
According to a story which ran in the June 7, 2007, issue of the McLean County Independent, Knutson’s parents were concerned about their daughter’s well-being when they were unable to reach her over the weekend. She was found when her father – Gordon Knutson, who was mayor of Butte at the time – and police personnel entered the apartment. The following week, the Independent printed a follow-up story, which included details about a potential suspect: a man, who was seen running from the area of the apartment on the morning of June 3.
Knutson’s murder was a case the Minot Police Department “had hanging out there that we could not get to a solution was finally over,” Klug said. According to the North Dakota Attorney General’s website, Knutson’s homicide was the youngest cold case in the state of North Dakota.
Knutson, who graduated from Velva High School in 2006, was attending Minot State University, where she majored in elementary education.
