Dru Sjodin
Encyclopedia
Dru Katrina Sjodin a student of the University of North Dakota
(UND) and a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority, was a murder victim. Her disappearance garnered great media coverage throughout the United States
and prompted the creation of the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry
.
On December 1, a suspect, 50-year-old registered level 3 sex offender Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., was arrested in connection with Sjodin's disappearance. According to police reports, Rodriguez admitted being near the Columbia Mall the day Sjodin disappeared, allegedly watching the movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico. That movie was not playing at any theater in the area. The police also found receipts of purchases Rodriguez had made at stores near the mall. Rodriguez apparently had two tool kit knives that could only be purchased at a particular home center store which was about one mile from the mall, but they were not purchased the day Sjodin disappeared and a purchase date for the knives was never established. Police also found a tool kit knife in Rodriguez's car that was soaking in some type of cleaning solution inside a rear wheel well. Rodriguez had been released from jail in May 2003 after completing a 23-year prison term for stabbing and trying to kidnap a woman. Rodriguez had also previously pleaded guilty to raping another woman.
Sjodin's body was recovered on April 17, 2004 just west of Crookston, Minnesota when deep snow drifts began to melt. Crookston is also where Rodriguez lived with his mother. Sjodin's body was found partially nude and face down in a ravine. Her hands were tied behind her back and she had been beaten, stabbed, sexually assaulted, and had several lacerations including a five and a half inch cut on her neck. A rope was also tied around her neck and remnants of a shopping bag were found under the rope suggesting that a bag had been placed on her head. The medical examiner concluded that she had either died as a result of the major neck wound, from suffocation, or from exposure to the elements. Thousands of people had helped search for the young woman and hundreds attended her funeral.
It was alleged Sjodin was brought across state lines, so the trial was held in federal court, which meant that Rodriguez was eligible to receive the death penalty if convicted, a possibility not allowed under North Dakota or Minnesota law. On August 30, 2006, Rodriguez was found guilty in Sjodin's death and on September 22, 2006, he was sentenced to the death penalty.
in Minnesota
who was found guilty of the rape
and murder
of University of North Dakota
student Dru Sjodin
.
On December 1, 2003, Rodriguez was arrested in connection with Sjodin's disappearance. According to police reports, Rodriguez admitted being near the Columbia Mall
the day Sjodin disappeared, allegedly watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico
. That movie was not playing at any theater in the area. The police also found receipts of purchases that Rodriguez had made at several stores near the mall. Police found a knife in Rodriguez's car that had blood on it that matched Sjodin's DNA
.
Rodriguez had been released from jail in May 2003 after completing a 23-year prison term for stabbing and trying to kidnap
a woman. Rodriguez had also previously pleaded guilty to rape.
On August 30, 2006, Rodriguez was convicted in federal court of the murder of Dru Sjodin, and on September 22, 2006, he was sentenced to death. It was the first death penalty case in a century to take place in North Dakota
. Neither North Dakota nor neighboring Minnesota
have the death penalty, but Rodriguez was tried under federal law because of the interstate nature of the crime. Rodriguez maintains that he is innocent. On February 8, 2007, Rodriguez was formally sentenced to death and prison in Terre Haute, Indiana
.
, was passed in 2006 and signed into law by President George W. Bush
.
A scholarship in Dru's name has been set up at the University of North Dakota. Past winners include: Alyson Wilhelmi (2006), Meg Towner (2007), Rebecca Bahnmiller (2008), Victoria Mauch (2009), Seinquis Slater (2010) and Grace Torguson (2011).
A memorial garden for Dru recently opened in her hometown of Pequot Lakes, Minnesota
and another is planned for the UND campus.
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...
(UND) and a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority, was a murder victim. Her disappearance garnered great media coverage throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and prompted the creation of the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry
United States National Sex Offenders Public Registry
The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry is a cooperative effort between U.S. state agencies that host public sex offender registries and the U.S. federal government...
.
Murder
During the early evening hours of November 22, 2003, Sjodin finished her shift at the Victoria's Secret store located in the Columbia Mall in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Dru shopped at the mall's Marshall Field's department store and then left the mall. While walking to her car, she spoke with her boyfriend, Chris Lang, on her cell phone. Dru was saying "okay, okay," and the call ended without any sense of urgency at all, just like any other dropped call, so Lang thought nothing of this. About three hours later, Lang received another call from her cell phone, but only heard static and the sound of buttons being pressed. It was reported by authorities this second phone call originated somewhere near Fisher, Minnesota, but that has remained unsubstantiated. With this second call and Dru Sjodin not showing up at another job later that evening, there was concern for her whereabouts.On December 1, a suspect, 50-year-old registered level 3 sex offender Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., was arrested in connection with Sjodin's disappearance. According to police reports, Rodriguez admitted being near the Columbia Mall the day Sjodin disappeared, allegedly watching the movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico. That movie was not playing at any theater in the area. The police also found receipts of purchases Rodriguez had made at stores near the mall. Rodriguez apparently had two tool kit knives that could only be purchased at a particular home center store which was about one mile from the mall, but they were not purchased the day Sjodin disappeared and a purchase date for the knives was never established. Police also found a tool kit knife in Rodriguez's car that was soaking in some type of cleaning solution inside a rear wheel well. Rodriguez had been released from jail in May 2003 after completing a 23-year prison term for stabbing and trying to kidnap a woman. Rodriguez had also previously pleaded guilty to raping another woman.
Sjodin's body was recovered on April 17, 2004 just west of Crookston, Minnesota when deep snow drifts began to melt. Crookston is also where Rodriguez lived with his mother. Sjodin's body was found partially nude and face down in a ravine. Her hands were tied behind her back and she had been beaten, stabbed, sexually assaulted, and had several lacerations including a five and a half inch cut on her neck. A rope was also tied around her neck and remnants of a shopping bag were found under the rope suggesting that a bag had been placed on her head. The medical examiner concluded that she had either died as a result of the major neck wound, from suffocation, or from exposure to the elements. Thousands of people had helped search for the young woman and hundreds attended her funeral.
It was alleged Sjodin was brought across state lines, so the trial was held in federal court, which meant that Rodriguez was eligible to receive the death penalty if convicted, a possibility not allowed under North Dakota or Minnesota law. On August 30, 2006, Rodriguez was found guilty in Sjodin's death and on September 22, 2006, he was sentenced to the death penalty.
Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr.
Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr. (born February 18, 1953) is a registered level 3 sex offenderSex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
who was found guilty of the rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of University of North Dakota
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...
student Dru Sjodin
Dru Sjodin
Dru Katrina Sjodin , a student of the University of North Dakota and a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority, was a murder victim...
.
On December 1, 2003, Rodriguez was arrested in connection with Sjodin's disappearance. According to police reports, Rodriguez admitted being near the Columbia Mall
Columbia Mall (Grand Forks)
Columbia Mall is an enclosed regional shopping mall in Grand Forks, North Dakota and is located at the intersection of 32nd Avenue South and Columbia Road.It is the largest mall within...
the day Sjodin disappeared, allegedly watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a 2003 action film written, edited and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It is the final film in the "Mariachi Trilogy", which also includes El Mariachi and Desperado. Antonio Banderas reprises his role as El Mariachi...
. That movie was not playing at any theater in the area. The police also found receipts of purchases that Rodriguez had made at several stores near the mall. Police found a knife in Rodriguez's car that had blood on it that matched Sjodin's DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
.
Rodriguez had been released from jail in May 2003 after completing a 23-year prison term for stabbing and trying to kidnap
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
a woman. Rodriguez had also previously pleaded guilty to rape.
On August 30, 2006, Rodriguez was convicted in federal court of the murder of Dru Sjodin, and on September 22, 2006, he was sentenced to death. It was the first death penalty case in a century to take place in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
. Neither North Dakota nor neighboring Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
have the death penalty, but Rodriguez was tried under federal law because of the interstate nature of the crime. Rodriguez maintains that he is innocent. On February 8, 2007, Rodriguez was formally sentenced to death and prison in Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
.
Legacy
Legislation dubbed "Dru's Law", which set up the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public RegistryUnited States National Sex Offenders Public Registry
The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry is a cooperative effort between U.S. state agencies that host public sex offender registries and the U.S. federal government...
, was passed in 2006 and signed into law by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
A scholarship in Dru's name has been set up at the University of North Dakota. Past winners include: Alyson Wilhelmi (2006), Meg Towner (2007), Rebecca Bahnmiller (2008), Victoria Mauch (2009), Seinquis Slater (2010) and Grace Torguson (2011).
A memorial garden for Dru recently opened in her hometown of Pequot Lakes, Minnesota
Pequot Lakes, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 947 people, 479 households, and 231 families residing in the city. The population density was 653.8 people per square mile . There were 564 housing units at an average density of 389.4 per square mile...
and another is planned for the UND campus.
External links
- www.drusvoice.com - website about "Dru's Law" legislation
- www.kxmb.com/rodriguez - Full article and video list from KXMB in Bismarck, ND
- www.nsopr.gov - Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry
- www.crimelibrary.com - Dru Sjodin murder and trial coverage from www.crimelibrary.com