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.