By Lori Ehde
Commissioner Charlie Weaver of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety addresses media at a press conference Thursday afternoon, Oct. 11, in the Minnehaha County Courthouse, Sioux Falls. Also pictured are (from left) Michael Campion, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Terry Vajgrt of the Rock County Attorney's Office, BCA Special Agent Paul Soppeland, Nan Karr Kaufenberg, mother of murder victim Carrie Nelson, and Carrie's father, Stan Nelson.
Friends and family of local murder victim Carrie Nelson haven't forgotten her, but others may have forgotten the circumstances of her death.
To help jar their memories, the reward for information leading to a conviction of her assailants has been increased to $50,000.
"Money talks," said Michael Campion, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
"Local investigators have followed every clue, they have pursued every lead, but they have reached a dead end."
Campion announced the $50,000 reward Thursday, Oct. 11, along with Charlie Weaver, commissioner of Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Paul Soppeland, special agent with the BCA, and Rock County law enforcement.
"Offering substantial rewards will get people thinking back to what they know about these crimes," he said at a press conference in the Minnehaha County Courthouse, Sioux Falls.
Nelson's murder case is one of three unsolved murders in Minnesota receiving funding from Spotlight on Crime.
The three cases are the first to receive money from the fund set up this year by Minnesota businesses and public safety officials. Target Corporation is the lead sponsor of the fund.
The reward fund, which now amounts to $757,500, is designed to re-energize cases - especially heinous crimes against innocent victims - where investigations have grown cold.
Nelson, a 20-year-old Blue Mounds State Park employee, was murdered on May 2 in the park office. An autopsy showed that the 1999 Luverne High School graduate had died of multiple injuries to the head.
A $15,000 reward had already been posted in Nelson's case. When asked if $50,000 would make a difference, Campion said history has shown more money does produce more information.
"We have seen where $5,000 or $10,000 isn't enough to loosen lips, but $50,000 is," he said. "If a lead generated by a reward brings a killer to justice, $50,000 is a small price to pay."
Vajgrt said he was grateful to the Spotlight on Crime organization for the additional help.
"We're optimistic the $50,000 reward money will provide motivation for someone who knows about this crime," Vajgrt said.
"All we need is one phone call from the right person to solve this crime."
Nelson's mother, Nan Karr Kaufenberg said she's glad her daughter's case is back in the spotlight.
"It's good to get this out in the open and talk about it again," she said Thursday.
Stan Nelson, Hills, talked about how much he missed his daughter. "Carrie was a wonderful girl. Whoever took her life took a beautiful thing from us. I miss her more than I can say," he said.
"The person who took her life should be brought to justice and made accountable, not for revenge - there is no payback for this - but to prevent more suffering."
Both parents wore orange ribbons made by Nelson's classmates. Orange was her favorite color.