She Was Found Stabbed In Her Bed, And Her Roommate Was Just Found Not Guilty Of Killing Her
It’s been nearly 18 years since Anita Knutson, a North Dakota college student at Minot State University, was found stabbed in bed in her off-campus apartment. She was only 18 years old.
Now, the trial of Anita’s roommate, Nichole Rice, has recently wrapped up after she was charged with Anita’s murder in March 2022 and pleaded not guilty.
It was June 4, 2007, when Anita’s father, Gordon Knutson, drove to her apartment located in Minot to check on her. He hadn’t heard from her in days, and upon arriving, he realized Anita’s car was in the driveway.
However, the apartment door was locked, so Gordon looked through her bedroom window. That’s when he saw Anita lying face down on her bloodied mattress, with a coat covering her. The 18-year-old had been stabbed two times in the chest.
Gordon was able to reach through the window, recalling how her “body was cold,” so he “knew she was dead.” Once authorities arrived on the scene, they recovered a knife and a sliced screen from Anita’s bedroom window, which was left outside on the ground.
Her tragic slaying went cold for almost 15 years because investigators lacked enough evidence to charge any suspects. Then, the Oxygen TV show “Cold Justice” traveled to Minot to film an episode regarding the case, and shortly afterward, 35-year-old Nichole Rice, formerly Nichole Thomas, was taken into custody.
Nichole had been working at Minot Air Force Base when she was arrested and charged with Anita’s murder in March 2022. She pleaded not guilty.
According to Anita’s mother, Sharon, her daughter was “scared” of Nichole. Furthermore, Sharon alleged Nichole had sent Anita threatening messages. Her daughter had just finished her first year of elementary education studies and was planning to move out of her shared apartment with Nichole.
“My heart goes out to the family. I wish we could have solved this sooner, but at the same time, I’m glad to say we have the person responsible for the murder of Anita Knutson in custody,” stated Minot Police Chief John Klug during a press release following Nichole’s arrest.
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“I think the turning point in this case was really just trying to pull all of that information together and put it in an order that made sense. It just took a little bit of refocusing and a lot of paying attention to the fine details.”
Nichole’s trial began on Tuesday, March 18, and lasted for five days before the prosecution rested its case on Monday, March 24. Her defense attorney, Rick Sand, claimed prosecutors didn’t prove Nichole was in town when Anita was killed or committed the crime. He also argued that her arrest was impacted by the Oxygen TV show “Cold Justice.”
As for the prosecution, they accused Nichole of murdering Anita because her alarm clock wouldn’t stop going off. Minot Police Officer Mikali Talbott had testified in September 2022 during a preliminary hearing that Nichole’s alibi had discrepancies and, leading up to Anita’s death, the former roommates, who were childhood friends, had encountered issues over a fish tank and an alarm clock.
In response, Rick said, “Siblings, roommates, they fight. There are issues about an unplugged fish tank and an alarm clock that wouldn’t stop going off. The evidence will show you people like Nichole don’t kill their roommates over that kind of stuff. They don’t put knives through their sternums.”
However, multiple individuals took the stand and claimed Nichole had allegedly confessed to killing Anita. First, on Friday, March 21, Nichole’s friend, Kristina Holler, testified that Nichole admitted to getting into a fight with Anita over the alarm clock.
“I’m not 100% word for word, but that she had gotten into an argument with her and stabbed her,” Kristina said. She also alleged that she reported this statement to the police.
Next, a man who dated Nichole for a short period, William May, testified that she drank at a 2008 party and confessed to the crime.
“We were playing video games, and Nichole and I were sitting on the couch. Someone in the kitchen was talking about it. That’s when it was stated,” he alleged.
“The comment was that, from Nichole Rice, it was that she had done it, that she had killed Anita.”
According to William, Nichole later said she didn’t remember making that statement. He supposedly contacted the police the following day, but Nichole’s defense attorney argued there were no records showing that he had ever placed a call to authorities.
Nichole’s aunt, Brenda Glinz, also took the stand. She claimed the “only thing she [Nichole] cared about was that they stole her iPod,” referring to Anita’s killer. Then, Brenda alleged that Nichole said Anita “deserved to die.”
Amy Gebhardt, a forensic scientist, detailed how three different DNA sources were found on the murder weapon, making it tough to definitively determine the killer.
Marty Annell, a maintenance worker at Anita’s apartment, had previously been considered a person of interest, but he took his own life on January 1, 2009. According to his sister, he’d been worried about losing his job and dealing with relationship issues.
The jury began deliberations on March 25th and ultimately found Nichole not guilty of murder.
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