A Woman Went To A Funeral To Berate A Grieving Mother, It Turns Out Her Daughter Might Be The Murderer

Anita Knutson was an 18-year-old elementary schooling main at Minot State College in North Dakota. She labored two jobs, one at a lodge entrance desk and the opposite in retail, as a way to assist herself and transfer from her household residence an hour away. Anita lived in a two-bedroom residence close to campus that she shared with a roommate, Nichole Thomas Rice (19). Sadly Anita and Nichole didn’t get alongside. Anita disliked that Nichole incessantly invited males over the residence, typically leaving whereas the boys had been nonetheless there. The roommates had arguments that generally escalated to screaming matches.

On Friday, June 1st, 2007 Anita referred to as her mother and advised her she was at a friend’s house. The following day, Anita was a no-show at work which was not regular for her. Her mom additionally started to fret when Anita didn’t reply her calls on Saturday or Sunday.

On Monday, June 4th, Anita’s father, Gordon, drove the hour from their residence to campus. He discovered Anita’s automotive in her residence’s parking zone however bought no response when he knocked on her door. Gordon then went to the residence supervisor to ask for a wellness verify. The supervisor was along with her boyfriend, who did upkeep for the residences. The upkeep employee advised Anita’s father he observed a troubling minimize within the display of one in every of her home windows. The 2 went again to Anita’s residence to have a look at the window and it was then that Gordon noticed his daughter’s murdered physique contained in the residence. Anita was discovered laying on her bloody mattress lined by a gown.

When police arrived, they decided Anita had been stabbed to dying and possibly by somebody she knew as she didn’t have defensive wounds. The residence didn’t seem like a vicious assault had taken place there and so they hadn’t been robbed. Anita had not been sexually assaulted. The blood-covered homicide weapon, a knife that didn’t belong to both Anita or Nichole, was discovered sitting within the sink. Police recovered what they believed to be the killer’s fingerprints and DNA from the scene. An post-mortem led police to imagine Anita was murdered someday early Sunday (June 3) morning. This puzzled Anita’s household as she was uncharacteristically MIA all day Saturday, the day earlier than the homicide, as effectively.

Suspects

Police investigated the upkeep man who reported the slashed window display to Gordon. In addition they checked out a person from Anita’s hometown, Tyler, who Anita had rejected romantically and now lived in her residence constructing. Understanding the 2 didn’t get alongside, Anita’s roommate Nichole was additionally a suspect, however her mother and father supplied an alibi that she was with all of them weekend. Police additionally investigated 40 building staff who had been working exterior of Anita’s residence within the weeks main as much as her homicide.

Nichole attended Anita’s funeral along with her mom, GaeMari Thomas. In some unspecified time in the future Nichole’s mom and Anita’s mom bought in a verbal argument as a result of Nichole’s mom was upset that her daughter had been thought-about an individual of curiosity. A witness additionally mentioned that after Anita handed, Nichole’s mother referred to her as a “f***** b****” and a “f****** little c***”.

In 2013, six years after Anita’s homicide, her brother Daniel died by suicide. Anita and Daniel’s sister, Anna, says that Daniel was “never the same” after Anita’s dying.

In 2016, GaeMari Thomas posted about Anita on Facebook, saying “I want they’d catch the individual that took Anita’s life. I actually appreciated her, I do know u 2 had yor ups and downs, no totally different they any of the opposite in yor class.” Nichole replied to the post, saying that she can be a “sufferer” like Anita: “It’s simply exhausting being the particular person everybody seems to be at…This has modified my life ceaselessly…and I nonetheless harm…I focus as a lot as I can on understanding the those who know me and know what sort of particular person I’m know I wouldn’t harm anybody….However I’ll by no means have the ability to change these otehr individuals’s emotions.”

In fall 2021, Nichole additionally posted on Fb about how the Gabby Petito case personally touched her:

Arrest

Fifteen years after Anita’s homicide, police lastly made an arrest in her case. Anita’s roommate, Nichole Rice, was arrested and charged along with her homicide.

Police haven’t mentioned particularly what new proof emerged that allowed them to cost Nichole, who they are saying has by no means been cleared and has “at all times” been an individual of curiosity within the crime. Nevertheless, they do credit the arrest to the true crime TV show Cold Justice which airs on Oxygen. Chilly Justice stars prosecutor Kelly Siegler, who leads a staff of investigators in researching chilly circumstances with the assistance of native legislation enforcement. Every episode encompasses a totally different chilly case and Anita’s case was being researched for an upcoming episode. That is one in every of 50 arrests which have resulted from the TV present.

Initially, Nichole advised police that she was “greatest buddies” along with her roommate. A yr or two after the homicide, Nichole reportedly bought blackout drunk at a celebration and advised her then boyfriend that she murdered Anita. There have been additionally witnesses who mentioned they noticed Nichole partying on Saturday night time, although she and her mother and father claimed she was residence with them. Earlier than she deleted her account, Nichole was an active member of Anita’s memorial group on Facebook, sharing with different members that she “missed” Anita.

Within the fifteen years because the homicide Nichole had gotten married twice and now has a daughter. On Fb, she described herself as a mother who’s “Married to my greatest pal. Canine mother. Cat mother. Ringleader of my very own circus.” Her wedding website spins a fairytale romance story between Nichole and her husband. The site says that Nichole and her husband lately bought 6 acres of land and had “So many thrilling issues to come back!”

Nichole has been charged with felony homicide and is at present out on bail despite the fact that in 2012 she pled guilty to bail jumping after she failed to seem in courtroom for writing dangerous checks. Her arraignment is scheduled for April 21, 2022.