Murder of Dru Sjodin
| Murder of Dru Sjodin | |
|---|---|
Dru Sjodin before her murder | |
| Location | Grand Forks, North Dakota, U.S. Crookston, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Date | November 22, 2003 |
Attack type | Murder, sexual assault, beating, stabbing, kidnapping |
| Victim | Dru Sjodin |
| Perpetrator | Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. |
| Motive | Sexual |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Convictions | Kidnapping resulting in death |
| Sentence | Death; commuted to life imprisonment |
The murder of Dru Sjodin, a 22-year-old student at the University of North Dakota and Gamma Phi Beta sorority member, occurred on November 22, 2003. Sjodin was kidnapped by Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. from the Columbia Mall parking lot in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Rodriguez Jr. took Sjodin to the North Dakota and Minnesota state lines, where he murdered her and left her body in Crookston, Minnesota.
In August 2006, Rodriguez Jr. was found guilty of kidnapping resulting in death of Dru Sjodin in a federal court. Rodriguez Jr. was sentenced to death, however, his death sentence was appealed and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Her disappearance and murder attracted national attention, and generated extensive media coverage. Sjodin's murder prompted the creation of the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry, an unprecedented public safety resource that provides the public with access to sex offender data nationwide.