A day after her arrest for the murder of Anita Knutson, 18, Nichole (Thomas) Rice, 34, Minot, appeared in the North Central Judicial District Court in Minot on Thursday afternoon for her initial hearing. Rice attended the meeting virtually from the Ward County Detention Center.

Rice is charged with Class AA murder in the June 2007 stabbing death of Knutson, her roommate at the time. Almost 15 years after her roommate’s death, Rice is facing a maximum penalty of life without the possibility of parole if convicted. Judge Richard Hagar set her cash bond at $120,000 and her corporate surety bond at $250,000.

According to the bond conditions, Rice is to not commit another criminal offense, she is to appear before the court when directed, have no contact with Knutson’s family, maintain regular contact with her attorney, not leave North Dakota without court permission, notify the court of any changes of address, notify the clerk of any changes of address, and submit a DNA sample to the sheriff’s office.

The state had argued for a $1 million bond based on bonds of other murder cases, but Hagar said that was “not necessarily relevant because each individual crime or circumstances is different.”

There are a number of factors that go into setting a bond amount. Hagar said those include the nature and circumstances of the offense, the weight of the evidence, the accused person’s family ties to the area of the community, employment, financial resources, character, mental condition, length of residence, past convictions, court appearance record, any history of flight to avoid prosecution or failure to appear, and the seriousness of danger to any person in the community that might arise from a charged person’s release.

Rice’s attorney, Philip Becher, argued before the setting of the bond that Rice has numerous family ties to the area, including a husband, a daughter, and family in Velva. Becher said that Rice has remained within N.D. “pretty much continuously” other than a trip to New Mexico years ago. The prosecution alleged the trip to New Mexico was two weeks after the crime, but Becher said it was close to a year.

“She wasn’t a flight risk. I think she would have flown the coop a long time ago, so I really don’t think that she is (a flight risk),” Becher said. He added that this is a difficult time for Rice and her family.

“She would very much like to be out and be with her family through this,” he said.

Other than acknowledging she was in fact Nichole Rice, she agreed to attend the initial hearing via video conference, she understood the charges, she understood the conditions of her bond, and she had been read and understood her rights. Rice made no comment on her own behalf.

Knutson’s father discovered her body on the morning of June 4, 2007, at her northwest Minot apartment she shared with Rice when she didn’t respond to phone calls or show up at her workplace. Until Rice, no one was ever arrested or charged with Knutson’s murder.

Law enforcement re-interviewed multiple people in connection with the case in 2022. Minot Police Department stated the detectives with the television series “Cold Justice,” which travels to small towns to investigate unsolved murder cases, had a hand in helping the department regain focus and pull information together the department already had.

Rice’s arrest affidavit states the condition of the apartment did not indicate a break-in, even though there was an open window. It also states a witness, who dated Rice for a couple of months in either 2008 or 2009, said Rice told him when she was “belligerently drunk” that she “did it.” He was reportedly unable to convince her to admit it again when she was sober.

The affidavit also alleges there are inconsistencies in Rice’s statements and her family’s statements about where she was the night of the murder. Rice had claimed she was at her family’s farm in Velva, but another witness said Rice was actually at a bar in Ruso and went to her apartment in the early morning hours. That witness also said Rice referred to Knutson with derogatory and insulting terms after her death.

According to the affidavit, a number of individuals indicated there was a lot of tension between Rice and Knutson, and Knutson’s reputation was she was kind, friendly, and likeable, but Rice’s reputation was she was hot-tempered and reactionary.

A friend told law enforcement officials they heard Rice tell Knutson, “One way or another I’m going to get you out of this house,” prior to her murder.

Rice was arrested at her workplace as a civilian at Minot Air Force Base. Her preliminary hearing is set for April 21 at 3 p.m.