The Confessions That Came Too Late
They lived together, they argued over an alarm clock, and fifteen years later, one of them is on trial for murder.
Anita Knutson was just 18 years old when she was found dead in her bed in Minot, North Dakota. It was June 3, 2007, and the discovery shocked the quiet college town. Anita, a student at Minot State University, had been stabbed twice in the chest. Her apartment showed no signs of forced entry. No valuables were taken. Just a young woman, murdered in her own home—and no one to answer for it.
The case went cold fast. With limited evidence and no arrests, it sat dormant for nearly 15 years, until March 2022. That’s when the investigation took a sharp turn, thanks in part to the Oxygen TV show Cold Justice. The show had rolled into town looking for answers—and apparently helped point investigators back to someone who’d been close all along: Anita’s roommate, Nichole Rice, who was known then as Nichole Thomas.
Rice, now 37, was arrested and charged with Anita’s murder. She pleaded not guilty. And now, after all these years, her trial is underway.
Opening statements began on March 18, 2025. The prosecution told the jury they would lay out clear evidence that Rice killed her roommate in a rage. They argued that the motive was stunningly petty: an argument over an alarm clock that kept going off. According to prosecutors, it was the last straw in a tense living situation, and Rice snapped.
But the defense wasn’t buying it—and made sure the jury knew it. Rice’s attorney, Rick Sand, pushed back hard. He called the theory ridiculous. “Siblings, roommates, they fight. There’s issues about an unplugged fish tank, about an alarm clock that wouldn’t stop going off,” he told the court. “People like Nichole don’t kill their roommates over that kind of stuff. They don’t put knives through their sternums.”
Sand’s strategy was clear: challenge the evidence, point out the lack of it, and call into question the motives of everyone involved—including the Cold Justice team. He suggested the case only reignited because TV cameras came to town, and that investigators were pressured into making an arrest that didn’t hold up.
But what’s turned heads in this trial isn’t just the forensic evidence—it’s the confessions. Two different people have now taken the stand to say that Nichole Rice told them, years ago, that she killed Anita.
First, Kristina Holler. She was a friend of Rice’s who testified on Friday, March 21. According to Holler, Rice confessed during a conversation years ago, saying she and Anita had fought and that she stabbed her. Holler said it was over—you guessed it—an alarm clock. She told police back then, she said.
Then came William May. He dated Rice briefly and testified that she made a drunken confession at a party in 2008. They were playing video games, sitting on the couch, and someone brought up Anita’s murder. According to May, Rice casually said, “I did it. I killed Anita.” He testified that Rice later claimed she didn’t remember saying it.
May said he called police the next day to report what she’d said. But that’s where the story gets murky. Sand pointed out that there are no records of that call. None. And May didn’t speak with police again—at least, not until 2022, after Rice was arrested.
That gap in time is a big problem for the defense. But so is the lack of solid forensic evidence. On Thursday, forensic scientist Amy Gebhardt testified about the knife believed to be the murder weapon. DNA was found on it—more than three contributors, actually. And because of that, it’s impossible to determine exactly whose DNA is on the blade.
So while there’s DNA, it’s inconclusive. There’s no direct physical evidence tying Rice to the crime scene. Just the roommate tension, the alarm clock, and two people who say she confessed.
The final witness of the week, Michelle Moore, was a classmate of both women. She testified that Anita and Nichole argued sometimes. But when asked directly if she believed Rice was capable of murder? She said no.
So now, we’ve got a trial hanging in the balance. A case frozen in time, now thawed by the heat of confessions and cold-case cameras. Whether the jury believes those late revelations—or sees them as unreliable memories from long-ago parties—will decide the outcome of a case that’s haunted Minot for almost two decades.
#AnitaKnutson #NicholeRiceTrial #ColdJusticeEffect #TrueCrime
Want to listen to ALL of our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj
Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com
The latest on The Downfall of Diddy, The Trial of Karen Read, The Murder Of Maddie Soto, Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK’s Unconfessed Crimes, Delphi Murders: Inside the Crime, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Malevolent Mormon Mommys, The Menendez Brothers: Quest For Justice, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, The Murder Of Sandra Birchmore, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com
