Survey asking if roommate is guilty in North Dakota murder case prompts call for gag order

MINOT, N.D. — Prosecutors want a gag order in the case of a Minot woman accused of

killing her roommate 16 years ago

after her lawyers put a survey on social media asking people if they thought she was guilty.

The prosecutor’s motion asked Judge Richard Hagar to ban the lawyers of Nichole Erin Rice from publishing surveys, advertisements or comments regarding the case. The motion, if approved, would also prohibit “media outreach.”

Last week, prosecutors learned of a survey that asked four questions of people who saw it on Facebook. The post with a link to surveymonkey.com showed a mugshot of Rice and photo of Knutson.

The survey asked if participants were over 18 years old, if they lived in Ward County, if they were familiar with the case and if they thought Rice was guilty. The survey has since been closed.

Judge Hagar did not immediately issue an expedited gag order as the prosecution requested. Instead, he asked defense attorney Philip Becher to respond by Wednesday, June 21, setting up the possibility of a hearing before the judge decides on the request.

Becher’s response had not been filed in court records as of Wednesday afternoon. Ward County prosecutor Stephenie Davis and Becher did not respond to The Forum’s messages seeking comment for this story.

Becher confirmed to the prosecution that he hired Indiana-based consulting firm Veracity IIR to create the survey, according to Davis’ motion for a gag order. Becher said he hired the firm to collect data that would prove Rice couldn’t secure an unbiased jury in Ward County and receive a fair trial, the motion brief said. Becher planned to use the data to ask the judge to move the trial to another county, the brief said.

“His statement was, ‘I gave you a chance to agree to a change of venue and you wouldn’t,’” Davis wrote of Becher’s comments. A motion for a change of venue had not been filed in court records as of Wednesday.

In her brief, Davis wrote that the survey question about Rice’s guilt could create bias among potential jurors. She also wrote in her brief that there is no way to confirm if the answers from the survey are legitimate.

Becher cited case law in justifying the survey, according to the brief, but prosecutors said surveys or questionnaires are appropriate after a judge approves them for people selected for a jury pool that was vetted by both sides.

“This ensures a mob mentality is not created because the public at large does not generate the opinion in an environment where a certain level of anonymity is allowed,” Davis wrote. “When a party to an action creates attention in the media, such as this survey has, it removes the safeguards created by the courts to guarantee the system of justice is protected from undue influence or bias.”

Rice, who’s now 35 years old, is awaiting trial for the 2007 death of her 18-year-old roommate, Anita Knutson.

Knutson, a Minot State University student, was found dead in her bed at hers and Rice’s northwest Minot apartment. Prosecutors suspect Knutson was killed either June 2 or June 3, 2007, according to a criminal complaint.

Knutson was covered with a robe and had two stab wounds that caused her to bleed to death, court documents said. Officers found a pocket knife with dried blood on it near Knutson’s window, according to the complaint.

The door to the apartment was locked, the complaint said. The window screen was cut, though police said they suspected that it was staged to make the killing look like a break-in.

Police said they didn’t have enough evidence to arrest Rice until March 16, 2022.

Rice has pleaded not guilty to murder, a felony charge that carries a maximum punishment of life in prison. Becher has suggested in court filings that a Montana man is responsible for Knutson’s death.

April Baumgarten joined The Forum in February 2019 as an investigative reporter. She grew up on a ranch 10 miles southeast of Belfield, N.D., where her family raises Hereford cattle. She double majored in communications and history/political science at the University of Jamestown, N.D.