September 14, 2022
Rice pleads not guilty in Knutson murder
Velva woman was arrested in June for 2007 death
BY JAMES C. FALCON
james@nordaknorth.com
MINOT – A Velva woman who was arrested and charged with the 2007 death of her then-roommate has pleaded not guilty. Nichole Erin Rice, 34, made her plea during a preliminary hearing held Thursday, about six months after she was arrested for the murder of Anita Knutson. Knutson, originally from Butte, was found dead in her bedroom in the northwest Minot apartment she shared with Rice on June 4, 2007. According to reports, Knutson had been stabbed twice; a pocket knife with dried blood on it was found on her bed.
