Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - Butte rocked by college girl's death

Butte rocked by college girl's death

Jun 10, 2007 - 04:07:55 CDT

BUTTE (AP) - Residents in this small central North Dakota town have been shaken by the killing of Minot State University student Anita Knutson, one of their own.

The body of Knutson, 18, was found Monday in her off-campus Minot apartment. Police are searching for a suspect in the slaying, and awaiting autopsy results and results of lab tests on evidence.

In Butte, residents are trying to cope and help Knutson's parents, Gordon and Sharon, at the same time.

"The whole community is doing whatever they can do," said Sandie Hartman, who is helping run Sharon Knutson's grocery store. "This is something I can do. I used to work in a restaurant. You just give wherever you can."

Hartman and Marilyn Haugen said Anita Knutson's classmates from nearby Velva High School have been putting together pink bracelets in her memory that say "Rest in peace, Anita."

"Pink was her favorite color," Hartman said. "One of her teachers took one of (Anita's) purses and put a flower arrangement in it."

Haugen said her son, who is a year older than Anita, was one of her friends.

"He's in South Carolina right now, with a group of 60 people. They're all praying for her," Haugen said. "She's touching lives already, everywhere."

Haugen said Anita was adopted by the Knutsons, and that they have two other adopted children, both younger than her. Gordon Knutson, who was raised in Butte, is the mayor of the town of 70 people.

"They're just wonderful parents that adopted these three children," Haugen said. "They really took them as their own. Sharon kind of mothers everyone in the whole community. Everybody's really rallying around them."

Hartman said the community has gone from shock at Anita Knutson's death to anger.

"Now we just want whoever did this found immediately," she said.

Anita Knutson was to be buried Monday in the Butte Cemetery. A potluck supper will follow in the American Legion hall.

Dennis Schott, who runs a local insurance agency, said the community will survive the ordeal together.

"We've had this tragedy, and now we have to deal with it," he said.

News > State

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Comments

100% Effective wrote on Jun 14, 2007 9:39 AM:

" I've communicated to my legislators during the last session that we need to have a death penalty in North Dakota for crimes such as this. However, there needs to be a time limit for appeals. I've heard of some of these being stretched out to 20 years. If we have a law, we should have the responsibility upon the convicted person to go through the appeal process in a timely manner. Instead of hiring an attorney to draw out the process as long as possible, the convicted murderer would have 2 years in which to make all appeals. After a maximum of 2 years after being sentenced to death, the convicted murderer must be executed. This would prevent a convicted murderer from murdering again. It may also help to prevent some people from killing in the first place. While the latter is difficult to prove, the first one has been proven. I'm not about punishment. Rather, this is about keeping people safe. I know of a whole Jamestown family that was killed out of state by a bunch of convicted felons who escaped from prison to kill again. "

100% Effective wrote on Jun 14, 2007 9:24 AM:

" Yes, some self-defense training would be helpful. Some pepper spray may have helped these girls - provided they weren't grabbed from behind and never had a free hand. I'd say both of these murderers as well as the murderer of Dru probably didn't let their victims have a free hand with which to grab pepper spray from their purse. I see that both Mindy and Anita lived off-campus. I wonder if they had lived in a college dormitory (residence hall) if they would still be alive today. If I had a daughter in college, I wouldn't want them living off campus. "

pondering wrote on Jun 12, 2007 8:14 AM:

" There are similarities, and Mr. Gibbs is still holding onto his innocence. He openly admits to tohers things, but this. If they do have the wrong person, how scary. They did just jump on him right away. Kinda weird he would be so dumb, with living in the SAME building. Maybe in Minot they are looking for the same. Hopefully with the 'broken glass' they mentioned in the first article, they can pull some DNA off it! But in Minot, its hard to find people with the basers and all! "

College Senior wrote on Jun 11, 2007 5:52 PM:

" I was looking at both Mindy Morgenstern's pictures and Anita Knutson's pictures. Is it only me or did they look very similar. They also had very similar backgrounds, They both were adopted, both were very petite and both were said to be very bubbly and were said to light up a room. Has anyone looked into the similarities of these two girls and how they died? "

PO3 wrote on Jun 11, 2007 2:54 PM:

" Its a tragic thing when a young girl is murdered, and their families suffer for years after such an event. We need tougher laws and I believe the death penalty for these people who commit such crimes against our children and adults. Also young girls need to learn how to defend themselves, the NRA and other organizations can teach them about self defense. Whether a gun would have helped this girl we'll never know, but we know what has happened when she didn't have a legal weapon or training on its use to protect herself. These animals that pray on our most vunerable need to be met by lethal force and we need to teach our people how to use this force properly. "

Will wrote on Jun 11, 2007 9:34 AM:

" To Anita's Family I give my sympathy and thoughts. To those that question the crime rate of ND its a simple item of statistics. As our population grows so does every element of society. The good and the bad. However I think it will still stay pretty low for the most part. "

To 100% wrote on Jun 11, 2007 9:06 AM:

" Your are right. Just like sexual abstinence keeps us from STDs and unwanted pregnancies, execution makes recidivism impossible for sexual predators, pedophiles and murderers. Works EVERYTIME... inarguably! I hope and pray they catch Knutson's wretched killer. I hope and pray consolation and comfort for her family, friends and citizens of Butte. "

100 Percent Effective wrote on Jun 11, 2007 8:11 AM:

" Mo Gibbs was arrested about a week after Mindy Morgenstern's murder in Valley City last September. Mr. Gibbs will be standing trial for that murder shortly. Mr. Gibbs is not a newby to crime. He spent time in a military prison a few years ago. He changed his name and was employed as a jailer at the Valley City jail when he allegedly murdered Mindy. Mindy was from New Salem and was a senior at Valley City State University. We need a death penalty in North Dakota. The legislature did not do their job earlier this year in dealing with the death penalty. The death penalty has proven time and time again that it is 100 % effective in preventing further crime. I have never heard of a single crime being commited - even a minor crime - by someone who has been executed. "

unanamous wrote on Jun 10, 2007 8:40 PM:

" we pray they find her killer. "

Steve wrote on Jun 10, 2007 7:59 PM:

" My condloences to the family of Anita & her closest friends. I live next door to the state of ND (MT in this case) where the crime rate in Missoula has gotten so bad lately, that it has forced me to start looking into the area of Willison, ND. For those who knew Anita the best, my condolences and heart go out to you. Mmay the city PD be able to find the suspect fast and pray for the family of Anita should be he first thing to do if anything & pray the the murder suspect is caught. Peace to all of you from Missoula, MT "

mandanian wrote on Jun 10, 2007 4:01 PM:

" not a sad state KW?? where's your compassion? we should feel blessed that we live in a state where there is such a low crime rate compared to places like CA. I believe with population increase, murder increases. Our state population is increasing and yes it is sad to see more murders. We should work on preventing them and pray for Anita and her family at this time. DOn't make her a statistic. "

anonymous wrote on Jun 10, 2007 1:16 PM:

" North Dakota remains a low crime area compared to some of the really big cities. However, these two recent homicides, less than a year apart, of college girls are quite scary. I do wish that law enforcement would compare the DNA from the murder weapons in these two murders, just to see if they are related. "

Bismarck Resident wrote on Jun 10, 2007 10:50 AM:

" I live in Bismarck I used to think that if parents sent thier children off to college all they had to worry about was drugs and alcohal but what is happening in North Dakota pretty soon parents are going to be afraid to send thier child to college because they are going to be afraid that something bad might happen to them I feel for the family of this young girl and I hope that they catch the person that did this. God Bless Everyone During This Ordeal. "

kw wrote on Jun 10, 2007 9:43 AM:

" it is truly sad but I wouldn't write off the whole sate yet as a bad state. one murder is nothing compared to CA that has 100s a day~ that is when things are bad "

Kansas Girl wrote on Jun 10, 2007 7:49 AM:

" How sad , What is going on in ND right now with all these murders. I moved to Kansas 7 yrs ago and have been telling everyone what a wonderful place ND is to live. We have so much crime here in KS , but NS Has very little . I guess I can not say that any more. Things are changing there also. I am so sorry for Anita'a parents. "

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