Grand Forks County (trfnews.i234.me) — A Grand Forks County jury will now determine the fate of Nichole Rice, the woman charged in one of North Dakota’s most widely followed murder cases — the 2007 stabbing death of Minot State University student Anita Knutson.
Jury selection officially began on Monday, March 17, at the Grand Forks County Courthouse, exactly three years and one day after Rice was arrested. The now 37-year-old is accused of fatally stabbing her former roommate, 18-year-old Knutson, inside their shared Minot apartment back in June 2007. For over 15 years, the case went unsolved until Minot police reopened the investigation in 2022, citing renewed attention to critical details, including Rice’s inconsistent alibi and alleged drunken confessions made to an ex-boyfriend.
The highly publicized case was moved from Minot to Grand Forks due to extensive pretrial media coverage.
“This takes a lot of communication,” said Kelly Hutton, court administrator at the Grand Forks County Courthouse. “How many jurors we are going to have to summon, how we are going to work with the media, security concerns, making sure we have rooms for everybody.”
The jury pool is notably larger than in standard trials. Sixteen jurors, including four alternates, will ultimately be seated.
“The judge said it. He wanted 150 jurors, so we then divide them into pools or groups, and they come in shifts,” Hutton explained.
Opening statements could begin as early as Tuesday morning, with the trial expected to last two to three weeks. Prosecutors intend to call over two dozen witnesses, while the defense has yet to announce its witness list, including whether Rice herself will take the stand.
If convicted, Rice could face life in prison.
Stay with us for continuing coverage of this significant North Dakota trial.
I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News.
Did you know?
- The Anita Knutson murder case is one of the longest unsolved homicides in North Dakota history.
- Jury pools in high-profile cases can exceed 100 people to ensure impartiality.
- North Dakota averages fewer than 20 homicide cases per year, making this trial a major public event.