Kathy Bonderson
Real Name: Kathryn Jean Bonderson
Nicknames: No Known Nicknames
Location: New Rockford, North Dakota
Date: October 25, 1987
Case
Details: At around 2am on October 25, 1987, 35 year old Kathy Bonderson had an argument with her husband Robert about their teenaged son who had not come home. Kathy went out to search for their son, and then her son noticed his mother's car drive by him while he was parked with his girlfriend near a bridge, so he ducked out of sight. He then noticed his mother's car being followed by another car, and that was the last time Kathy was seen alive. In the early morning hours, her 1974 Ford Torino was found engulfed in flames on a gravel road north of town near a railroad track; her body was inside on the front passenger side. After firefighters put out the fire, Kathy's body was removed and an investigation into the crash began. Sheriff Ed Allmaras believed that the fire started from the front of the car, and that Kathy, for some unknown reason, swerved to the right as she approached the railroad crossing and went over the exposed tracks. Then, the car went into the ditch and caught fire, with Kathy being thrown into the passenger side. Allmaras believed that Kathy Bonderson had been the victim of a tragic accident, but several clues found at the scene suggested otherwise, and state highway patrolman William Byram believed that something was odd about the crash. Byram found no tire tracks that showed that Kathy had veered off the side of the road, and he believed that the marks on the tracks that Allmaras believed were from Kathy's car were actually from the firetrucks. The next day, Byram and fire marshal Curt Fogel inspected Kathy's car and the two noticed that the car was totally burned, but found no structural damage from the impact. They also found that there was still twelve gallons of gasoline in the car, and Fogel soon concluded that the fire had started in several different areas and that the fire was not an accident, but instead was intentionally set. Three weeks later, Byram requested that Kathy's body to be exhumed for a new autopsy, and at first Allmaras objected, but Byram threatened to get a court order, so Allmaras let the body to be exhumed. The autopsy suggested that Kathy Bonderson was killed before the fire was ignited, because there was no carbon monoxide in her lungs. Tests conducted on Kathy's clothing and the vehicle's carpeting revealed that each contained traces of gasoline, supporting the theory of arson, along with a gasoline can that was later found near the scene. However, Allmaras, refused to change the status on the case from "accident" to "homicide", claiming that there was no evidence that it was a murder. Byram, however, believed that based on the facts in the case and the evidence found at the scene, that Kathy's death was no accident. He believes that somebody murdered Kathy and then set her body on fire to make it look like an accident. However, no suspects in Kathy's death have ever been identified and the case remains open.
Suspects: None known
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the November 10, 1991 episode.
Results: Solved. In November of 2005, cold case investigators re-opened the case and a new autopsy performed proved that Kathy had definitely been murdered, after it was discovered that there were injuries to her neck and throat that were not consistent with the accident and most likely killed her. In February of 2006, authorities discovered that Kathy's husband Robert was living in Thermopolis, Wyoming. After talking to the police, he vanished, leaving behind his bank and credit cards. In April of 2006, authorities discovered that Robert had taken his own life in a remote cabin in the Montana mountains. Police later concluded that had Robert been alive, that he would have been arrested for Kathy's murder, and that he is definitely responsible for her death; the case is now closed. Sadly, Sheriff Ed Allmaras passed away in 1997.
Links: