Nichole Rice

GRAND FORKS — The State called four witnesses to the stand in Grand Forks on the fourth day of testimony in the trial of Nichole Rice, the woman charged with the 2007 murder of her roommate Anita Knutson.

Anita Knutson

Velva classmates

The first to testify Friday was April Alyea, a friend of both Knutson and Rice who graduated with the roommates from Velva High School. Alyea said she was closer with Knutson, and that she heard about Knutson’s death while she was at work. Alyea testified that a group of fellow Velva classmates gathered at a friend’s house in Minot to process the news, and that Rice was the last to arrive.

“When she arrived at the house, we all walked over to go talk to her because she had just come back from the police station. We went over to find out what happened and what she knew,” Alyea said. “The first thing she told us was she’d just gotten back from the police station and that they wanted her to go up to the apartment to look around and see if she knew anything was missing up there and that her pink iPod better not be missing. I found it very funny that was what she was concerned about. The rest of us were concerned about Anita being dead, and she was concerned about an item being missing from the apartment.”

Alyea recalled Rice was upset with Knutson about various things before the murder, but couldn’t recall specific instances.

Rice’s attorney Richard Sand questioned Alyea during cross examination about statements she made to Minot Police investigators in 2007 about an encounter at Club 101, and subsequent interviews with investigators which were more focused on Rice. Assistant Ward County State’s Attorney Christopher Nelson asked Alyea if her interview with Minot Police and a member of the “Cold Justice” team had any influence on her testimony, and she said it did not.

Another Velva classmate of the roommates, Michelle Moore, testified next, saying Knutson, “was like a sister to me.” Moore said the last time she saw Knutson alive was on June 1, days before her death.

“I went to get a tattoo that day, and she was supposed to get a tattoo with me, but she chickened out. After I got the tattoo we went up to Schatz Crossroads to eat,” Moore said.

Moore testified she spoke with Rice after Knutson’s funeral a week after the murder, and that Rice said if they didn’t find a suspect that police, “were going to come after her for the murder.”

On cross-examination, Sand dug into Moore’s statements to investigators in 2007, in which she stated she had plans to go to a movie with Knutson on June 2, 2007, but she couldn’t get a hold of her. Moore indicated she was aware the roommates had disagreements and were fighting, and that Rice was trying to move out of the apartment. On redirect, Moore said it was unusual that she wasn’t able to get ahold of Knutson.

Alleged drunken confessions

Next to testify was William May, a former boyfriend of Rice’s. May said he met Rice at a party in Minot after he returned from a deployment to Iraq. May said he and Rice spent time together for several weeks, which included a house party in the summer of 2008. May said people at the party were discussing Knutson’s death.

“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. The comment,” May said. “The comment was, from Nichole Rice, it was that she had did it. She had killed Anita.”

May compared Rice’s statement to similar statements made by fellow veterans at group sessions when discussing taking a life, saying they were delivered in a similar fashion.

May said he called the Minot Police Department (MPD) the next day and gave a statement, and that he cut all ties with Rice.

“I was in the service at the time. I just didn’t need all that around,” May said. “I asked her one time if she remembered saying it, and if she could say it again, but nothing.”

May said that Rice mentioned the MPD had cleared her as a person of interest.

On cross-examination, Sand clarified with May that there were no records of his call to the police in 2008, and that he didn’t speak with law enforcement again until after he reached out following Rice’s arrest in 2022. May confirmed he told police she was “belligerently drunk” when she allegedly made the statement, and when he asked her about it when she was sober Rice said she didn’t remember making the statement.

Sand also raised questions about statements May made in an interview with “Cold Justice” investigator Steve Spanoula, where he indicated he didn’t think Rice, “could have hurt a mouse.” May acknowledged he suspected maintenance man Marty Annell had killed Knutson based on speculation around town.

May testified that he ran into Rice in 2017 after returning from Afghanistan, and that she indicated she had been cleared which made him comfortable dating Rice.

On redirect by Nelson, May clarified that Rice was “really, really drunk,” when she made the statement but she wasn’t necessarily angry. May acknowledged that most people, “let their guard down,” and are more “honest” when drinking. May also clarified that Rice later had not denied killing Knutson, but rather said she didn’t remember making the statement claiming she had.

The final witness to testify Friday was Kristina Holler, an acquaintance of Rice. Holler said she met Rice at a house party in 2008, which occurred about a week after Rice and May began dating. .

“She was crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she said she was getting bullied about the anniversary of her roommate’s death,” Holler said

Holler testified that she gave Rice a ride home, and that they had a conversation in her apartment where Rice allegedly confessed to killing Knutson.

“I’m not 100 percent word for word, but that she had gotten into an argument with her, and stabbed her,” Holler said.

Holler testified that Rice said the argument was over an alarm clock, and that Knutson was wearing a white robe.

“I was shocked. I didn’t know what to do. I went back to the party and told my friend I wanted to go home. When I got home, I sat around the table with my two roommates and told them what happened, and asked them what I should do,” Holler said. “I called the police department and told them I had information, and then I went down and wrote a statement.”

Holler said she couldn’t recall who she spoke with and that she had never been given a copy of her statement. Deputy Ward County State’s Attorney Tiffany Sorgen confirmed with Holler that she was aware there was no record of her going to the MPD in 2008, but that she did give a statement to Case Agent Carmen Asham in 2022 after someone else at the party gave investigators her name.

Holler said she maintained contact with Rice for a few months after the party in 2008, and that they talked about becoming roommates. Holler indicated the relationship was very controlling and that they fought a lot, which was compounded by their consumption of alcohol.

“We would fight if I wanted to go hang out with my other friends. She would get upset about that,” Holler said.

Holler said her friendship with Rice ended after an argument and that she hadn’t spoken to her since.

Sand cross-examined Holler about a friend request she received from William May in 2022 the day before her scheduled interview with Asham. Holler said she forwarded screenshots of the interaction to Asham. Sand pressed Holler regarding her recollection of Rice’s statement in her interview with Asham, but on redirect Holler clarified that she heard Rice say she had stabbed Knutson.

Next week

The State concluded testimony from its available witnesses for the day after a little more than an hour, as the remainder aren’t expected in Grand Forks until Monday. Judge Richard Hagar said he was a little “disappointed” about the timing, but suggested the early recess would be appreciated by the jury. Hagar once again admonished the jury to avoid any media coverage of the case, saying, “if there’s a weekend in your life where you don’t look at the news, this would be it.”

Sorgen said four witnesses remain on the State’s witness list, including Knutson’s friend Tyler Schmaltz, with Asham’s testimony concluding the State’s case in chief. Sorgen indicated to Hagar that Monday’s testimony would be “relatively brief.”

The defense’s alternative suspect Devin Hall is listed as a potential state witness, but it is unclear whether or not he will be available or able to testify as he is currently in the custody of the Fort Peck Tribes Branch of Corrections in Montana.

Hagar presumed the first defense witnesses could testify as early as Monday afternoon or Tuesday.