GRAND FORKS — The nearly two-decade-old murder case of Anita Knutson is now in the hands of a jury, which began deliberating Tuesday afternoon in the trial of Nicole Rice.
Rice, 37, is accused of fatally stabbing her 18-year-old roommate, a Minot State student, in 2007.
The defense called only one witness — a private investigator hired to review the case file, which spanned thousands of pages. Rice did not testify in her own defense.
During closing arguments, prosecutors alleged Rice staged the crime scene, cutting a window screen in Knutson’s bedroom to make it appear as a break-in.
"Anita's blood was in the cut in the screen and nowhere else on that screen, only in the cut," said Ward County Assistant State’s Attorney Tiffany Sorgen.
Prosecutors also highlighted Rice’s reaction when police called her after discovering Knutson’s body.
"Normally, when someone is told there is an emergency at my home, (they ask) ‘What is it? Why are the police at my house?’ No questions," Sorgen said.
Witnesses testified that Rice had made threatening statements, confessed to two people, and knew details about the crime scene that could only be known to the killer.
"The only thing she was concerned about was that pink iPod. Declared it missing before ever entering the room," Sorgen said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Rice’s attorney, Rick Sand, argued that the state lacked physical evidence, describing the case as “20 years of hearsay bologna.”
"It's 2025. We're taking a cold case with no new physical evidence, no genetic evidence, no DNA," Sand said.
Rice, who traveled between Wells County and Minot the weekend of the murder, had an eight-hour window where she could not provide a consistent alibi, one that allegedly changed over the years.
Prosecutors said Rice was the only person classified as a suspect, while the defense pointed to other persons of interest and criticized media coverage.
"If the dead guy was the suspect, these cameras would not be in here," Sand said. "These cameras can be in here because we can have a nice North Dakota mom sitting there. That sells. It’s disgusting."
Rice was arrested in 2022. The trial was moved to Grand Forks because of pretrial publicity.
If convicted, Rice faces the possibility of life in prison.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Trust Project
