MINOT — Attention was widespread and immediate regarding the recent arrest of a suspect in the 15-year-old Anita Knutson murder case. The community was still absorbing the stunning news when came the revelation that the suspect had been released from jail.
Minot Police had arrested Nichole Rice, 34, Minot, and charged her with AA felony murder. After piecing together information gathered from a seemingly endless investigation, Minot Police concluded that Rice was responsible for the murder of her roommate – Anita Knutson, 18.
Police made the arrest at Rice’s place of employment on Minot Air Force Base mid-afternoon Wednesday, March 16 and transferred her to the Ward County Jail. Rice made her initial appearance before Judge Richard Hagar at 2 p.m. the following day.
One of the purposes of the initial appearance was to set a bond amount for Rice. The State’s Attorney detailed a list bond of amounts for murder suspects known to the court, concluding with a recommendation that bond for Rice be set at $1 million.
Rice’s attorney, Philip Bechler, countered the bond amount for his client should be considerably lower, telling Hagar, “It's been 15 years. If she was going to flee, I think she would have done so a long time ago. She’s absolutely not a flight risk.”
Hagar noted that Rice had no criminal history and no record of jumping bail, ruling that bond should be set at $120,000 or $250,000 surety. With that, the hearing was adjourned. Approximately 30 minutes later, Rice’s bail was paid in full, and she was released from jail.
The news of Rice’s release caused a great deal of discussion in the community. Conversations centered around why the amount of bail on so serious a charge as murder, a AA felony, was so low. It was also revealed that Rice had indeed jumped bail previously in neighboring McHenry County under the name of Nichole Bakken, her married name at the time.
The following is a list of AA felony suspects currently being held in the Ward County Jail, their charges, and bail amounts:
Shawnee Krall, murder, $2 million cash or surety.
Milo Whitetail, murder, $1 million.
Bradley Morales, murder, $750,000.
Donald Cooper, accomplice to murder, no bond.
Eric Venn, murder, no bond.
Whitney Racine, accomplice to murder, $750,000 cash or surety.
Mathew Anderson, murder, $1 million.
Rice’s next court appearance is a preliminary hearing set for Thursday, April 21 at 3 p.m.
