GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KMOT) - The jury returned a not guilty verdict against Nichole Rice in the 2007 killing of her roommate Anita Knutson in Minot.

The prosecution pointed to evidence of Rice’s changing stories to investigators regarding her comings and goings leading up to and after Knutson’s death.

The state also had two separate witnesses testify that Rice admitted to the killing— one saying she did so while intoxicated at a party, and the other saying Rice admitted it to her after she gave Rice a ride home from a separate party.

The defense put a former FBI agent and current private investigator on the stand who was critical of law enforcement’s handling of the case, including why they did not further pursue other persons of interest. The defense also pointed out the fact that an alternate person of interest named Devin Hall claimed to have, at one point, recognized the murder weapon.

Hall, who is currently incarcerated in Montana, was ruled out as a suspect by the state and was never charged in the case.

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