Kriti Mehrotra
When 18-year-old Minot State University elementary education major Anita Knutson was found dead in her apartment on June 4, 2007, it left her entire community shaken to its core. That’s because, as explored in NBC’s ‘Dateline: Murder in Minot,’ she had been stabbed multiple times before being left to bleed out on her mattress while wearing just a robe. However, arguably the most horrific part of this whole ordeal is that it was her father who found her body, and then it took almost two decades for her murder case to reach legal proceedings, but even that concluded with an acquittal.
Sharon and Gordon Knutson Were Wholly Dedicated to Their Family
Although it’s unclear precisely when Sharon Fellows and Gordon Knutson first came across one another, they did fall head over heels in love before tying the knot and settling down in California. They actually raised a beautiful family of 11 children in Anaheim, amongst whom was Anita Knutson, whom they had adopted at the age of five months in early 1989. The truth is, these parents always provided equal, unconditional love and support to each and every one of their kids, which is how Anita was even able to write and publish a book while she was still just in the 8th grade. There was also care amongst the siblings, even with the age differences and the chaos of growing up in such a big family.
It was in 2002 when the Knutsons relocated from California to Butte, North Dakota, where a lot of the children graduated from high school before enrolling in college. Anita was one of them, but even after moving out of her home to build a life for herself, she was still connected with them – in fact, she and her mother often even spoke on the phone. Therefore, over the first weekend of June 2007, when she failed to respond to any calls or messages from her loved ones, they became worried, and Gordon decided to go check on her in her apartment, all the way in Minot.
According to reports, it was on the afternoon of June 4 when Gordon left home to check on his little girl, worried about her well-being since it was unlike her to not communicate or go completely off the grid. He actually found her car in her parking lot with the door locked, so he made his way to her door, only for all his knocks to go unanswered, which scared him to such an extent that he asked for the property manager. It was then that he noticed that one of the screens in her place was on the ground with a slash in it, and when he looked inside from the window, he saw his daughter. She was lying face down on her bed in a robe, and the mattress as well as the area around her was completely blood-soaked.
Sharon and Gordon Knutson Prefer to Lead Quiet Lives Today
Even though Gordon hadn’t hesitated to call the police and then consistently contacted the Minot Police Department for updates regarding their daughter’s case, it wasn’t until March 16, 2022, that he and Sharon got an answer. It was then that Anita’s then-roommate Nichole Rice was arrested on the charge of murder, to which she pleaded not guilty before bonding out until her trial. During her early 2025 court proceedings, both Sharon and Gordon actually testified against her, stating that their daughter was so scared of her that she even had them install a lock on her bedroom door to protect her privacy. However, owing to the lack of concrete evidence against her, Nichole was ultimately acquitted in 2025.
This verdict understandably shattered Sharon and Gordon, along with the rest of their family, since they are now back at square one, with no answers about what happened to the brilliant 18-year-old who had her whole life ahead of her. The pain of loss and grief continues to hang over their head like a dark cloud, especially as they have lost a total of three children as of writing. While their daughter Patti Knutson had passed away before Anita, their son Daniel lost his life to suicide three years after Anita’s demise.
The Knutsons have thus endured more tragedies than one can even begin to imagine, yet they still appear strong by not letting it consume their entire lives. Instead, from what we can tell, they have since turned it into a motivation to remain in touch and spend as much quality time together as possible because they know better than anyone that life is short. The family has also since established the Anita and Daniel Knutson Memorial Scholarship Fund to continue their legacy. As for Sharon and Gordon in particular, it seems like they still reside in Butte, North Dakota, where they are leading a quiet life surrounded by their kids and grandkids, all the while still hoping for justice to be served one day.
Read More: Anita Knutson Murder Details and Investigation Timeline
