A jury finds a North Dakota woman not guilty in the 2007 stabbing death of her roommate

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A North Dakota jury on Wednesday found a woman not guilty of murder in the 2007 stabbing death of her roommate.

The jury in the Grand Forks trial deliberated for more than five hours before finding Nichole Rice not guilty in the death of Anita Knutson, the Minot Daily News reported. As the court clerk read the verdict aloud, Rice's family and friends embraced, and Rice was in tears as the judge restored order to the courtroom.

Rice, now 37, had been charged with a felony murder in the death of Knutson, an 18-year-old student at Minot State University.

Knutson was found dead in the apartment she shared with Rice. Knutson's body was face down in her bed with two stab wounds in the chest.

Investigators said Rice was a person of interest in connection with the murder, but was not arrested until March 2022 because there wasn't enough evidence to justify an arrest.