Transcript
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,800
The views and opinions expressed in Cold and Missing are exclusively those of the hosts.
2
00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:18,400
All parties mentioned are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
3
00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160
Cold and Missing also contains adult themes and languages.
4
00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,560
Listener discretion is advised.
5
00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,280
I'm your host, Allie McLaughlin-Sulkowski.
6
00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,700
And I'm your co-host, Eli Sulkowski.
7
00:00:29,700 --> 00:00:34,440
And this is Cold and Missing, where we cover cold cases and missing person cases.
8
00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:36,840
Hello everyone and welcome back to Cold and Missing.
9
00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:38,240
I'm Allie.
10
00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:39,240
And I'm Eli.
11
00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:40,680
Welcome back everyone.
12
00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:45,240
Just wanted to say at the top, thank you so much to everyone who rated and reviewed over
13
00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:46,400
this last week.
14
00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:50,880
I know I mentioned last week that I was asking for them because it was my birthday.
15
00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,320
So thank you for everyone who did that.
16
00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,200
I really appreciate it and it was such a good gift.
17
00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:01,400
With that being said, I thought we should go ahead and get into this week's episode.
18
00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:09,120
I think before we do, we should mention that this episode will be just a little different
19
00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:10,120
this week.
20
00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,400
Yeah, we're going to be doing another two-parter episode.
21
00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:18,600
We've done a few in the past and this is just one of those cases that needs two episodes
22
00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,000
to kind of get into everything that surrounds it.
23
00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:29,520
Ultimately, I think that that's a good thing because usually that means there's more information
24
00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:36,840
out there and Cold and Missing, that's one of our goals is to spread the word.
25
00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:43,640
So I think more information is always good information in this case.
26
00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,520
I always think about the saying that all facts are friendly.
27
00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,880
So facts don't have any malicious intent behind them.
28
00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:51,960
They are just the facts.
29
00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,400
So that's always what I try to bring.
30
00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:56,760
And with that, do you want to get into it?
31
00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:00,440
Yes, let's get into this week's episode.
32
00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:05,840
So just as a bit of a content warning at the top, there are some graphic details in this
33
00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:07,640
case today.
34
00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:12,440
Today we will be covering the cold case of Rose Burkert and Roger Atkison.
35
00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:17,280
And this takes place in September of 1980 in the Amana colonies in Iowa.
36
00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,880
But first, a little bit about Rose and Roger.
37
00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,660
Rose is 22 years old in 1980.
38
00:02:23,660 --> 00:02:26,340
Her friends and family would call her Rosie.
39
00:02:26,340 --> 00:02:31,920
She lived in a rural part of Savannah, Missouri, but worked in nearby St. Joseph.
40
00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:37,040
Some reports say that she worked at St. Joseph Hospital as a nurse trainee, while others
41
00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:40,060
report that she was working in a nursing home.
42
00:02:40,060 --> 00:02:43,680
What this tells me is that she cared for others for a living.
43
00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,780
She had a young daughter whom she loved dearly.
44
00:02:46,780 --> 00:02:50,040
She was a good friend and a good listener.
45
00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:55,400
She wasn't into the party scene and wasn't known to drink excessively or do any drugs.
46
00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,920
Roger is 32 years old in 1980.
47
00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:03,760
Roger is married to Marcella, and while they don't have any children themselves, they're
48
00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,880
heavily involved in their Baptist church and often spend weekends babysitting children
49
00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:09,760
for church members.
50
00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:15,480
It does appear that Roger and Marcella were going through a tough time in their marriage.
51
00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:20,000
There are reports that Roger had asked for a divorce, but after him and Marcella had
52
00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:25,040
talked about it, and due to their faith, they had not separated.
53
00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,240
Roger worked as a telephone installer and repairer.
54
00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:32,640
It's rumored that he used to purposefully mess up installing phones in houses where
55
00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:37,320
he found the woman attractive, so he would have to go to the home a second time to fix
56
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:38,320
it.
57
00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:40,480
This is how Roger and Rose met.
58
00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:43,280
He was installing a telephone into her home.
59
00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:48,400
There are rumors that the affair between Rose and Roger was not a well-kept secret, that
60
00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:53,520
lots of people around town knew about it, but Marcella has stated that she did not know
61
00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,040
about the affair.
62
00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,400
And now a timeline of events.
63
00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:04,440
The week leading up to the murder, that would be the week of September 8th through the 12th
64
00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:11,180
of 1980, Roger was working on assignment with a crew for his job away from St. Joseph, Missouri.
65
00:04:11,180 --> 00:04:14,380
He was up in northern Missouri, near the Iowa border.
66
00:04:14,380 --> 00:04:18,520
He called Marcella and told her that he wouldn't be coming home this weekend since there was
67
00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:23,400
still more work that needed to be done the next week, so he was just going to stay there.
68
00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:28,440
On Wednesday, September 10th, Rose drops off her daughter with friends for a few days.
69
00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,600
She's going to go spend time with Roger while he's out of town, and over the weekend they
70
00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,240
were going to head to the Amana Colonies.
71
00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:37,960
The Amana Colonies is a tourist spot.
72
00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:43,040
It's a religious community that remained self-sufficient through the Industrial Revolution.
73
00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:47,160
They were German settlers, so much of the architecture through the Amana Colonies are
74
00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,280
German-style housings and buildings.
75
00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:57,600
Today and in 1980, Amana Colonies are a tourist attraction and a place to buy from local artisans.
76
00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:02,200
On Friday, September 12th, Rose and Roger take off from the job site and drive to the
77
00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:06,080
Amana Colonies, which was about two hours away in Iowa.
78
00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:11,440
They drove Rose's car there and pulled off of I-80 to the Amana Holiday Inn.
79
00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:18,200
The hotel had 156 rooms between the two floors, but when Rose and Roger asked for a room,
80
00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,160
the desk attendant told them that they were completely booked.
81
00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:27,000
There was a mortician's conference in town, and many of them had booked rooms there.
82
00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:33,440
The attendant did double-check all the rooms and actually found one vacancy—a late cancellation.
83
00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:39,280
Roger and Rose register under Rose's last name and check in officially around 7.40 p.m.
84
00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:41,240
to room 260.
85
00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,320
When they checked into the hotel room, Rose attempted to call the friends that were watching
86
00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,400
her daughter, but the friend was at work.
87
00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,760
Another call was made to the friend that evening, but it's unclear if Rose dialed the number
88
00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,440
or if the friend called back.
89
00:05:55,440 --> 00:06:01,080
There is also a third call that was made from room 260, but police were never able to determine
90
00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,600
who the caller was.
91
00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,960
It's also reported that at some point that evening, room service makes a delivery to
92
00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:15,120
room 260, and at around 9 p.m., either Rose or Roger moved Rose's car from a reserved
93
00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,080
parking area to the parking lot.
94
00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:23,920
The next day, Saturday, September 13th, a little bit after noon, when checkout had been
95
00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,720
missed, a housekeeper arrives at room 260.
96
00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,520
There's a Do Not Disturb sign on the door handle.
97
00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,680
The housekeeper knocks several times, and when there is no answer, she heads back to
98
00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,560
the front desk to grab a key and heads back to the room.
99
00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,400
Room 260 was in an out-of-the-way area in the hotel.
100
00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:44,160
It sat in a back corner.
101
00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:48,080
The only entrance to the room would have been from inside the hotel.
102
00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:51,400
It didn't have any outside doors or patios.
103
00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,480
The hotel room itself is a typical hotel room.
104
00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:58,760
If you peered in from the hallway, you would see a bathroom entrance to your left and then
105
00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:03,360
a bed sitting in the middle of the room with a few chairs, a small corner table, and a
106
00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:05,400
TV on a stand.
107
00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:10,680
When the housekeeper opens the door, she finds that the TV was left on, but quickly noticed
108
00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,320
the pair of feet still in the bed.
109
00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,400
The feet were sticking out from under the comforter.
110
00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:21,040
Thinking that they might still be asleep, she took a few steps into the room, and then
111
00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,040
she quickly saw the horror inside.
112
00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,920
She saw blood spattered all over the room.
113
00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:31,200
She took off running for the manager, and when he went to go look for himself, he quickly
114
00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:35,560
realized that this was serious and called the Iowa County Sheriff.
115
00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:40,840
When police arrive, many of the veteran officers are shocked by the scene.
116
00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:45,720
Rose and Roger were both found in the bed, Rose on the left side of the bed and Roger
117
00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:47,480
on the right side.
118
00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:52,200
Roger was only wearing boxers shorts, but Rose was fully clothed, except she wasn't
119
00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,000
wearing socks or shoes.
120
00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,080
They were both face down in the bed.
121
00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:01,160
Each had suffered repeated blows to the back of the head by either an axe, hatchet, or
122
00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:02,260
a machete.
123
00:08:02,260 --> 00:08:07,680
Their blood had been spattered on the walls, floors, and carpet, and the spatter also contained
124
00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:09,500
parts of their brain.
125
00:08:09,500 --> 00:08:14,080
While the murder was contained in a hotel room, police have a large task of processing
126
00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,920
the scene, and frankly, the scene is bizarre.
127
00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,240
There were no signs of forced entry into the hotel room.
128
00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:26,300
The lamp on Rose's side of the bed was on, but the lamp on Roger's side of the bed was
129
00:08:26,300 --> 00:08:27,300
off.
130
00:08:27,300 --> 00:08:33,000
Rose's purse and a hot lather machine were found near the foot of the bed on the floor.
131
00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,840
On the floor near Roger's side of the bed were receipts and bits of pieces from a bar
132
00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:38,840
of soap.
133
00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:43,240
It was almost as if someone had been carving the bar of soap.
134
00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:47,580
Also near Roger's side of the bed were two chairs that had been pulled up, as if the
135
00:08:47,580 --> 00:08:51,960
killer or killers had had a conversation with them.
136
00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:56,400
On the corner table, it appeared that the killer had put his feet up at one point.
137
00:08:56,400 --> 00:09:00,800
In the bathroom, a towel had been left on the floor and counter sink.
138
00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,920
The blood in the sink and on the towel gave the impression that the killer had washed
139
00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,220
up after the act.
140
00:09:07,220 --> 00:09:11,700
Inside the bathtub, the killer had squirted a tube of toothpaste and left the tube on
141
00:09:11,700 --> 00:09:15,040
top of the tissue holder on the sink counter.
142
00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:22,160
In the bathroom mirror, the word, quote, this, end quote, had been written with soap.
143
00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:27,280
On the bathroom door, a message had been written in the white hotel soap, but then wiped away
144
00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,360
to the point that it was indecipherable.
145
00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:35,300
When the medical examiner arrives to remove the bodies at about 2 p.m., he is able to
146
00:09:35,300 --> 00:09:38,320
determine that they have been dead for several hours.
147
00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:43,720
Ultimately, the time of death will be around midnight, give or take a few hours.
148
00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:48,400
As police continue to go through the scene, they don't notice that anything is missing.
149
00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:53,420
It does seem like cash had been taken from Roger and Rose, but police rule out robbery
150
00:09:53,420 --> 00:09:55,200
as a motive.
151
00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:59,300
One thing that everyone agrees on is that this was overkill.
152
00:09:59,300 --> 00:10:05,480
The next day, on Sunday, September 14th, Roger and Rose's autopsy is conducted.
153
00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:10,160
The cause of death is acute blood loss and severe brain injuries.
154
00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:16,040
Roger had seven wounds ultimately to his face, head, neck, and throat area.
155
00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:21,400
It gets reported again and again that some of Roger's fingers had been nearly severed,
156
00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:25,600
as if he was trying to protect his head from being hit from behind.
157
00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:29,920
Roger suffered lacerations to the scalp, skull, and brain.
158
00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:35,280
Rose ultimately had 12 wounds to her face, head, neck, and throat area.
159
00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:42,480
Rose suffered lacerations to the scalp, skull, and brain, and also had a brain contusion.
160
00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:46,080
Neither Roger or Rose had been sexually assaulted.
161
00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:51,280
The medical examiner isn't able to say exactly what the murder weapon was, if it was an axe,
162
00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:56,400
hatchet, or machete, but he is able to determine that the blade would have been around 3.5
163
00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:57,700
inches.
164
00:10:57,700 --> 00:11:01,680
Police quickly work on trying to track down people who were staying in the hotel that
165
00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:06,720
night, starting at the rooms closest to 260 and moving outward.
166
00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:11,720
But this is hard work, as most of the people staying at the hotel had already checked out
167
00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:13,800
and were from out of town.
168
00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:18,160
The police also issue a plea to the public that if anyone was driving near the Amana
169
00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:23,520
Holiday Inn Friday night or early Saturday morning to please call if they saw anything
170
00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:25,620
out of the ordinary.
171
00:11:25,620 --> 00:11:31,160
As Rose and Roger's families prepare to lay them to rest, the funeral director handling
172
00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:33,480
their embalming talks to the media.
173
00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:38,720
He says that he did not observe any wounds on the bodies besides the head wounds.
174
00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:44,160
He says that they were, quote, struck on the same, almost identical place on the back of
175
00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:46,420
the skull, end quote.
176
00:11:46,420 --> 00:11:50,800
But he emphasizes that there were no wounds to either of their hands, which he thought
177
00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:54,840
was, quote, kind of strange, end quote.
178
00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,600
But this is where we're going to leave off at part one.
179
00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:02,800
Next week, we're going to get into some of the stuff that's revealed in the investigation,
180
00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:07,440
the suspects, and other things related to the case.
181
00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:13,680
So if you know anything about the murder of Rose Burkert and Roger Atkison in September
182
00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:23,420
of 1980, please contact the Iowa County Sheriff's Office at 319-642-7307.
183
00:12:23,420 --> 00:12:34,040
Or contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at 515-725-6010.
184
00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:36,200
So that is part one.
185
00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:41,560
Anytime you give, you know, a content warning, I'm always mindful.
186
00:12:41,560 --> 00:12:49,000
But this time, you know, I was taking notes and folding our laundry and I had to just
187
00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:54,200
stop, I just stopped what I was doing and I went and sat down.
188
00:12:54,200 --> 00:13:01,880
I feel bad just like commenting on it, but it's, it was so, it's so brutal.
189
00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:02,960
Very sad.
190
00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,040
No one deserves to die that way.
191
00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:06,040
Nobody.
192
00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:10,440
But with that said, I'm glad that you have brought it to our attention.
193
00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:18,220
Yeah, these murders were ones that, you know, made the hair stand up on my arm, like the
194
00:13:18,220 --> 00:13:19,600
details of it.
195
00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:22,960
And I think, you know, the police use the word overkill.
196
00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:28,040
And anytime that word is thrown around in a case, it's, for one, it's always true, but
197
00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,440
it's like, here's really the emphasis.
198
00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,280
Like this was overkill.
199
00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:34,080
Like how horrible.
200
00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:42,520
Yeah, I couldn't stop thinking about the people who love them or knew them and that they just
201
00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:48,960
have to live with knowing this very sad fact about, you know, someone that they love or
202
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:49,960
care for.
203
00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:57,800
And I'm, again, I'm just, I'm glad as difficult as it is to, you know, learn the details of
204
00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:04,980
cases like these sometimes, I'm always glad to have more information because it encourages
205
00:14:04,980 --> 00:14:10,900
people to have more conversations, more information, more conversation, you know, the first thing
206
00:14:10,900 --> 00:14:18,960
I wanted to comment on and just kind of ask a question about was the Amana colonies.
207
00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:20,280
Is that how you say it?
208
00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:22,040
Amana colonies.
209
00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:23,600
Amana colonies.
210
00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:30,860
Yeah, I just think it's a really interesting pocket of the United States, I guess.
211
00:14:30,860 --> 00:14:35,880
It's easy to, you know, just think of us in my mind, I just kind of localized the US as
212
00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:42,560
like, you know, 50 states, but you know, in every state, in every city town there, there's
213
00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:46,800
a possibility of like, of a full thriving independent community.
214
00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,820
I don't know, I just found it to be really interesting.
215
00:14:50,820 --> 00:14:57,600
And I wanted to know is, did they, I'm sorry if this is a stupid question.
216
00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,240
Is this where it happened?
217
00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:08,040
So the hotel, the Amana Holiday Inn is just outside of the seven official colonies that
218
00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:09,600
make up the Amana colonies.
219
00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:11,480
I believe there's seven of them.
220
00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:17,640
So this hotel sits just outside, but it happens right there.
221
00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:22,220
I think the other closest town is Williamsburg, Iowa.
222
00:15:22,220 --> 00:15:26,120
Thank you for clarifying that.
223
00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:30,720
The refresher just makes it easier for me to continue to like connect the facts of the
224
00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:32,560
story.
225
00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:39,240
And again, I just really feel for the maid.
226
00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:45,240
That's a horrifying, very traumatizing discovery that I imagine will, has stayed with her for
227
00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:46,800
the rest of her life.
228
00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:54,020
The maid actually was so traumatized by what she saw that she kind of turned into a recluse
229
00:15:54,020 --> 00:15:55,020
after this.
230
00:15:55,020 --> 00:15:56,400
It really affected her.
231
00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:58,080
It really, really affected her.
232
00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:05,540
Yeah, the imagery of that, I would imagine just eviscerates the mind.
233
00:16:05,540 --> 00:16:09,360
And I just, I really, I really feel for her.
234
00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:16,000
A question that I did have though, upon the discovery was, and this is more a comment
235
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:23,080
on the time that the medical examiner released, like what time they died.
236
00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:29,240
I was wondering if the first thing that popped into my head was, did they just get back from
237
00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:34,960
somewhere when maybe they were surprised by someone already in their room?
238
00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:36,600
I don't know.
239
00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:42,860
I just wanted your opinion on that small amount of time where the crime was happening.
240
00:16:42,860 --> 00:16:46,300
So the medical examiner puts it right around midnight.
241
00:16:46,300 --> 00:16:53,560
From everything that I was able to read, Roger and Rose didn't really leave the hotel once
242
00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:55,840
they checked in.
243
00:16:55,840 --> 00:17:01,640
So there are a few accounts that maybe Rose was seen at the bar area.
244
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:02,880
There was some mention of that.
245
00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:08,700
And then there's the report that Rose's car is moved by Roger or Rose, that it's a little
246
00:17:08,700 --> 00:17:12,920
unclear who might have moved it at 9 p.m.
247
00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:17,600
But from everything I can tell, they had stayed in the room.
248
00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:22,680
I think my mind leaves room for the possibility that, especially with the fact that the car
249
00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:31,480
was moved, that maybe they were taking little trips out to grab food or snacks or, you know,
250
00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:32,480
go to the gas station.
251
00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,000
I don't know.
252
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:42,440
Which would then put them in a position where they had entered their room, you know, with
253
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:49,880
shoes on or would be like partially unclothed because they were just getting ready for bed.
254
00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:55,640
I think there is always space for them to have left.
255
00:17:55,640 --> 00:18:01,080
But police do seem pretty confident that they didn't leave the hotel premises that night.
256
00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,040
They had a room service delivery.
257
00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,040
So they were getting food that way.
258
00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:13,640
And then I believe that Rose's car had actually been parked in handicap parking.
259
00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:15,640
So that's why it had to get moved.
260
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:16,640
OK.
261
00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:19,200
I mean, all of that makes sense.
262
00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:21,920
And again, I always try to fill in the blank.
263
00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:30,040
While you already covered the very malicious details of what happened in this case, I really
264
00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:35,680
feel like the only thing there's left for at least me to say is it was a very aggressive
265
00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:40,560
and angry way to end two lives.
266
00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:47,920
I did find it a little interesting that Rose had more injuries inflicted upon her.
267
00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:55,720
But I also took into account that because Roger did or because the medical examiners
268
00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:57,840
had this, maybe not.
269
00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:04,720
But because he did have wounds, maybe defensive wounds, I'm assuming that if he could have
270
00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:07,520
had less because he blocked some.
271
00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:11,520
But I was wondering if you thought that maybe their hands were tied.
272
00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:12,520
Yeah.
273
00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:17,280
The potential of having defensive wounds and his fingers almost being severed, it's
274
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:19,420
reported again and again and again.
275
00:19:19,420 --> 00:19:24,680
But then we have the funeral director saying that his hands were intact.
276
00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:27,400
Both of their hands were intact, which he thought was strange.
277
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,560
So that's a question that I have.
278
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,100
Just what was the status?
279
00:19:32,100 --> 00:19:38,000
Because to me, if there is defensive wounds, that says that their hands weren't tied,
280
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,120
but also that they were awake, or at least Roger was awake.
281
00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:47,920
I did think about the possibility of their hands being tied together or bound in some
282
00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:48,920
way.
283
00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,080
And maybe that was the case here.
284
00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:57,200
But typically police are able to tell if there was any binding of the hands because there's
285
00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:58,520
usually bruising that happens.
286
00:19:58,520 --> 00:19:59,520
You're struggling against it.
287
00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:01,000
You're pulling against it.
288
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:06,000
So those marks show up in the autopsy and there was no mention of that.
289
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:12,600
But despite all the details I have here, police did try really hard to keep a lot of the details
290
00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:13,600
close to the vest.
291
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:18,000
So I think there are still several things that maybe we don't know about the scene.
292
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:22,120
Some of the questions that I have comes around the telephone calls.
293
00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:26,980
I would be really interested to know when those happened in the evening.
294
00:20:26,980 --> 00:20:31,440
It does seem like one kind of happened in the first few minutes after they checked in.
295
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:36,080
I imagine she was probably calling one to check in on her daughter, but you know, this
296
00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:37,240
is before cell phones.
297
00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:41,680
So she was probably calling so that way they had the hotel room phone number.
298
00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:45,800
So that way if they needed to call her for anything with her daughter, they would know.
299
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:47,480
So we know that call happens.
300
00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,440
There's another call with the babysitters.
301
00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,820
And then the third call wins the third call in all of this.
302
00:20:53,820 --> 00:20:58,040
So that I'm really curious about and the fact that police have never been able to figure
303
00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:05,840
out who the third phone call was either from or to because police can't tell if numbers
304
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,680
are dialed out or dialed or called in.
305
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:16,400
Yeah, I think the order of those phone calls and what was said in them definitely play
306
00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:20,960
a role in how everything unfolded.
307
00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:28,520
I have I have my I didn't think of that question, but I it's a I think it's a very important
308
00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,240
piece to the puzzle here.
309
00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:36,600
The other thing that I would like to know are the receipts that were found on the floor
310
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:38,640
with the bits of soap.
311
00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:43,160
It seems like they were all kind of scattered on the floor mixed in with each other.
312
00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:45,680
So whose receipts were they?
313
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,120
Were they from Roger and Rose from this?
314
00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:52,400
You know, Roger had been out of town for a week, so maybe he had a lot of receipts in
315
00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:53,600
his pocket.
316
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:55,480
Or these potentially from the murderer.
317
00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:00,720
I would be really curious to know the dates of the receipts, where the receipts were from
318
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,760
and how they play into the story.
319
00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:04,920
Where did they come from?
320
00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:11,320
And if they were from Rose and Roger, then that gives more information about where they
321
00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,640
were people who potentially saw them or interacted with them.
322
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:19,400
So that's information that I would really like.
323
00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:27,280
Yeah, when you brought up the details about the soap and the receipts and just where they
324
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,480
were the placement of them.
325
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:38,280
I instantly started to make up, you know, a bunch of reasons as to why they were there
326
00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:40,560
and what it meant that they were there.
327
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:47,320
And then I very quickly thought, because we have a magnifying glass over, you know, this
328
00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:50,240
crime scene, anything can be anything.
329
00:22:50,240 --> 00:23:02,200
So I also allowed room for the possibility that it looks odd, but it could also be nothing.
330
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:07,400
And I know there was some detail about the carving of the soap and then the use of the
331
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,240
soap on the mirror and then on the wall or door.
332
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:16,320
But again, I think it could be something that, you know, cracks the case open.
333
00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:21,960
But I also think it could be something that doesn't really matter, you know.
334
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:27,520
I think that's true in a lot of cases where this one kind of out of the place thing can
335
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:31,040
seemingly be very important or maybe nothing at all.
336
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:40,120
But for me, the soap usage raises a lot of questions, like the pieces of it next to the
337
00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:47,400
bed and then the word this being written on the mirror and then the message on the bathroom
338
00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:54,840
door that was eventually wiped out to the point where nothing was readable in the message.
339
00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:59,200
So to me, the killer did the stuff with the soap.
340
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:04,880
Like, all of that seems to have happened maybe after they were dead.
341
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,560
It does appear like the killer spent some time in the room.
342
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,520
If he's writing messages on the wall, he's cleaning up in the sink.
343
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,080
There's toothpaste in the bathtub.
344
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:19,760
Like there's just these odd things happening around the room where it seems like he's at
345
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:25,400
least spent a little bit of time after the crime just in there.
346
00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:29,320
And I would be really curious to know about that message on the door.
347
00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,260
Was it just a tiny thing?
348
00:24:31,260 --> 00:24:33,340
Did it take up the whole door?
349
00:24:33,340 --> 00:24:37,720
Was there any word that was readable or anything?
350
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,920
Even like handwriting style, could you see anything from it?
351
00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:46,320
I would be very curious to know more about that.
352
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:51,440
Another thing that just came to my mind in this case, but it also happens a lot in other
353
00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:53,240
cases.
354
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:57,640
Police will usually ask the public that, you know, if you saw anything unusual on such
355
00:24:57,640 --> 00:24:59,400
and such day, please call us.
356
00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,360
Or if you were in this area and saw something strange, please call us.
357
00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:10,640
I almost feel as if police should change their wording because it should just be, if you
358
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,480
were in that area, give us a call and just tell us everything you saw.
359
00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:20,200
Because somebody who's driving by the Amana Holiday Inn and, you know, really early in
360
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:25,520
the morning and just see somebody walking to a car, that probably that's not unusual.
361
00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:26,760
People walk to their car all the time.
362
00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:28,300
It's a hotel.
363
00:25:28,300 --> 00:25:33,700
But depending on what time it was and, you know, does that person match a description
364
00:25:33,700 --> 00:25:36,080
of anybody else who was at the hotel?
365
00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:39,680
You know, there's so many things that maybe could be learned that way.
366
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:45,080
I just, I just think that the whole phrasing should be changed.
367
00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:46,080
I agree.
368
00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:54,920
I think that even just like slight adjustment would be a new way to refresh and filter out
369
00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:59,760
in a lot of different ways, but would shake some information loose.
370
00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:03,680
I know we're going to do a second part to this case here.
371
00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:10,760
So I am looking forward to hopefully learning that there's just more information about this
372
00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,000
case and connecting the dots.
373
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:20,840
So for now, thank you for bringing their names to the forefronts of our minds.
374
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:26,160
Yes, we will be bringing part two next week, which we'll get into some more information
375
00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:32,760
that comes out throughout the years, suspects in the case, and then just some other things,
376
00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,040
other cases that could possibly be related.
377
00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:37,440
So we'll be getting into all of that next week.
378
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:43,280
But again, if you know anything about the double murder of Rose and Roger in the Amana
379
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:53,960
colonies, in September of 1980, please call the Iowa County Sheriff at 319-642-7307 or
380
00:26:53,960 --> 00:27:02,400
contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at 515-725-6010.
381
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:09,280
We'll have pictures of Rose and Roger on our Instagram, and we will also have a diagram
382
00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:14,880
of the hotel room where all of the objects that I kind of mentioned were in the room
383
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,840
to just kind of give a visual layout.
384
00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:23,920
And we'll also have a few crime scene photos, nothing graphic, but just images of the hotel
385
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,000
room and the bathroom.
386
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,600
Those will be on our Instagram at Cold and Missing.
387
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:31,160
Search us and we'll pop right up.
388
00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:35,000
Thank you again so much to everyone who rated and reviewed us this past week.
389
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,920
If you have some time today, maybe you can take the time to review us in Apple Podcast,
390
00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:46,720
rate us on your podcast player platform, or even go to our website www.coldandmissing.com,
391
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:50,040
and you can leave us a review there or get into contact with us.
392
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,560
We also have transcripts on our website.
393
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:56,920
If you or someone you love is hard of hearing and needs a transcript, they'll be there.
394
00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,120
That is all I have for you this week.
395
00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:01,760
We'll be back next week covering this case.
396
00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:03,880
Thank you so much for listening to Cold and Missing.
397
00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:05,200
I'm your host Allie.
398
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:07,040
And I'm your co-host Eli.
399
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:08,920
Have a good week and stay safe, y'all.
400
00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:33,320
Stay safe, y'all.
