Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.

Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.
Born Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.
(1953-02-18) February 18, 1953
Criminal penalty Death sentence
Criminal status Incarcerated
Conviction(s) First degree murder in the death of Dru Sjodin

Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. (born February 18, 1953) is a thrice-convicted repeat kidnapper-rapist and murderer. He was released May 1, 2003, as registered level 3 sex offender in Minnesota. Rodriguez was found guilty on August 30, 2006, for the November 22, 2003, rape and murder of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin. Rodriguez was sentenced to death and prison at United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute Indiana.

Early life

Rodriguez was the son of migrant farm workers Dolores and Alfonso Rodriguez Sr., who traveled between Texas and Minnesota and then decided to settle in 1963 in Crookston, Minnesota. He admitted to using many drugs during his youth and committed his first sexual assault with a knife when he was twenty-one by attempting to rape a woman he asked to give him a ride home.[1]

Previous rape convictions

Rodriguez had been released from prison May 1, 2003, after serving a 23-year prison term for rape, aggravated assault and kidnapping a woman. Rodriguez had also previously pleaded guilty to rape and was convicted multiple times for rape. He had a long criminal record that included repeated sexual assaults against women. He was released as a Minnesota Level 3 sex offender which meant he was highly likely to reoffend.[2]

Dru Sjodin rape and murder

On December 1, 2003, Rodriguez was arrested in connection with Sjodin's disappearance. According to police reports, Rodriguez admitted being near the Columbia Mall the day Sjodin disappeared, allegedly watching Once Upon a Time in Mexico. That movie was not playing at any theater in the area. The police also found receipts of purchases that Rodriguez had made at several stores near the mall including one receipt for a knife which he had purchased at a nearby Menards store. Police also found a woman's shoe and a knife in Rodriguez's car that had blood on it that matched Sjodin's DNA.

Sjodin's body was recovered April 17, 2004, just west of Crookston, Minnesota, when deep snow drifts began to melt. Crookston is where Rodriguez lived with his mother. Thousands of people had helped search for the young woman and hundreds attended her funeral.

Trial and sentencing

It was alleged Sjodin was brought across state lines, and because of the interstate nature of the crime, the trial was held in federal court. This meant that Rodriguez was eligible to receive the death penalty if convicted, a possibility not allowed under North Dakota or Minnesota law, neither of which have the death penalty. It was the first death penalty case in a century to take place in North Dakota. US Attorney Drew Wrigley and Assistant US Attorneys Keith Reisenauer and Norman Anderson prosecuted the case against Rodriguez. On August 30, 2006, Rodriguez was convicted in federal court of the murder of Dru Sjodin, and on September 22, 2006, he was sentenced to death. On February 8, 2007, Rodriguez was formally sentenced to death and prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.[3]

Current status

Rodriguez maintains that he is innocent. Defense attorneys filed a federal writ of habeas corpus in October 2011 claiming that Rodriguez is mentally disabled.[4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Bell, Rachael. "The Murder of Dru Sjodin". Crime Library. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015.
  2. ↑ Bell, Rachael. "The Murder of Dru Sjodin". Crime Library: 3. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  3. ↑ Haga, Chuck; Louwagie, Pam (September 23, 2006). "Rodriguez sentenced to die for killing Dru Sjodin". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  4. ↑ The Associated Press (May 21, 2013). "Dru Sjodin's parents in court as Alfonso Rodriguez's death-row case continues". TwinCities.com. Digital First Media. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
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