True Crime All The Time - The Swanson Motel Murders

Episode Date: April 14, 2025

On November 16th, 1981, 53-year-old Priscilla Dinkel and her 7-year-old granddaughter Danelle Lietz were murdered at The Swanson Motel in Dickinson, North Dakota. The case went cold until 1991, when local law enforcement utilized an FBI profile to identify the killer. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss the Swanson motel murders. The police followed leads down into Texas and even looked at Henry Lee Lucas as a possible suspect. Then, in 1991, authorities began looking at a 48-year-old named William Reager who fit the FBI profile. Reager was a drifter who worked as a truck driver and a carnival employee. You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetimeVisit the show's website at truecrimeallthetime.com for contact, merchandise, and donation informationAn Emash Digital productionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 430 of the True Crime All the Time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson and with me as always is my partner in true crime. Mike Gibson, Gibby, how are you? Hey, I'm doing good about you. Doing great. Good. We just had a pretty chaotic Patreon minisode. We did.

We were all over the map. Because of you. Oh, sure. It's always because of me. But, you know. I pulled you back in. Some of it was funny. Some of it was perplexing, bewildering.

Did you scratch your head a little bit? Not me, but I'm sure people listening and watching, yeah. Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shoutouts. We had Carly Simon. The Carmi. Carmi. Carmi. Carmi.

Carly, Simon. Yeah. Spelled differently. What a great singer. Mo. What's up, Mo? B.J. Sir Earl.

or Earl. So from one night, remember I was knighted from that small little country over in Western Europe. So I know how it feels to be a night. So she like an MBE or I don't know if I'm saying that right. There's a bunch of letters that come after. Yes. Yeah. Martin. Hey Martin. Veronica. Veronica. What's going on Veronica? Marcella Kinsella. That's kind of like got a little rhyme to it. It does. Yeah. Stephen Hall. Hey, Stephen. Amanda Foley. Well, Amanda. Melanie. What's up, Melanie? Gens. Gens. Yeah. Yeah. Michelle. Hey, Michelle. Brandy Lewis. Thanks. Brandy. Lauren Johnson. There's Lauren. And last but not least, Natalie Walker. Good old Natalie. Yeah. Then we go back into the vault. This week, we selected Emma Harrington.

From the Harrington's. From the Harrington's. Yeah. Sure. Appreciate the new support, the continued support. We also had a PayPal donation from Danny Watt, who's getting married this weekend. We'll probably be married by the time the episode comes out. So he wanted to give a shout out to his beautiful wife. They listen together. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, it's very cool. Congratulations, guys.

So we have an episode out right now on True Crime All the Time Unsolved, where we're talking about the Germand family murders. And this goes all the way back to Thanksgiving Eve of 1930. The entire Germant family was murdered on their farm in Stanford. New York. And nearly a century later, the murders remained unsolved. Which is amazing. And it's still unsolved.

Yeah. But there's a lot of different things to discuss with the case. And, you know, is it going to be easier to solve it 100 years later? No, probably not. We're talking about it and go from there. All right, buddy. Are you ready to get into this episode of true crime all the time? I actually am.

I really want to talk about this case. Yeah. We're talking about the. Swanson Motel murders. On November 16th, 1981, 50-year-old Priscilla Dinkle and her seven-year-old granddaughter, Donnell Leitz, were murdered at the Swanson Motel in Dickinson, North Dakota. The case went cold until 1991 when local law enforcement utilized an FBI profile to identify the killer. So there's a couple of things here that fascinated me about this case. First of all, you have a cold case, right?

10 year old cold case that gets solved. And that to me is amazing. Absolutely. And then on top of that, you know, it's solved with the help of an FBI profile, which is also another one of my fascinations. It is. Now, I sometimes, I don't want to say talk down about FBI profiles because they're great tools. A lot of times they are very generic. So we'll have to kind of see what we think about this one,

but obviously it worked because they used it. Priscilla Dinkle was born on January 5th, 1928 in Greenbush, Minnesota, according to an obituary published by the Bismarck Tribune. So there are a couple of states that, you know, I've spent very little time in. Minnesota is one, North Dakota is another. Yeah. Those are just not states that I've really spent much time at all. I've been to Minnesota, but maybe it was for a conference or it was for something,

and I was kind of in and out. I've been to Minnesota once as well. Like you said, I think I was there for a conference or something for a weekend. And that was about it. I don't believe I've ever been to North Dakota. No, I know I haven't. I've been the South, but not North. In October, 1949, Priscilla, Mary.

married Frank Dinkle in Crystal, North Dakota, where they lived for many years. Priscilla had nine children, two sons, and seven daughters. Oh, my, that's a lot. It is. And we talk about it quite a bit, right? Big families, not to say that people nowadays don't have big families. It seems like it was more common, right, in the past. And I think there were reasons for that in some areas, you know,

You know, families needed help. Sure. Like actual labor help. Yeah. Whether they were running their own farm or doing whatever. So kids helped provide that, some of them. And some of the different churches promoted. Bigger families.

Bigger families. So I just don't know how you remember all your kids' names with nine of them. Well, you and I talk about our kids a lot. I have two girls. They are absolutely. wonderful, but also unbelievably expensive. Yes. So seven girls, I don't know.

I'm not sure what I would do if I had seven girls. I mean, it would be a blessing. Don't get me wrong. But I'd probably have even less hair than I have now, which is almost not possible. It'd be gone. What you have left would not be there. No, it would completely be gone.

And then I'm thinking, boy, if you're like the two boys, if you came towards the end, you know, that's potentially a lot of sisters that want to kind of be like your mom as well. Yeah, maybe you're going to get a lot of hell, but maybe you're also going to get told what to do a lot. A lot, yeah. In August 1981, Priscilla moved from Crystal to Dickinson, North Dakota, to take on a job managing the Swanson Motel. The sources that, you know, we found and used for this episode didn't provide a lot of information on why she moved. Her husband, Frank, was still alive at the time, but sources didn't say why he didn't go with her. So, you know, maybe he didn't want to go. Maybe they were having problems in their marriage. You know, these older cases and, you know, I'll classify a 1980s case as an older case,

but also when you're talking about kind of the less well-known cases, maybe in a smaller town. Well, just by that very nature, you are going to have less reporting. Sure, you are on it. The Swanson Motel was a small, older motel on the main thoroughfare through downtown Dickinson. It was torn down in the late 80s. So, you know, I'm getting a real Schitts vibe here. Yeah. Maybe, you know, like the Schitts Creek Motel.

That or like the Bates Motel. Okay. We could go with that too. Yeah. Have you ever stayed at a motel like that? I've stayed at one more like the Schitt's Creek than the Bates. That was maybe, you know, small eight or ten rooms, like right off the road. I think I stayed in one one time down in Kentucky.

where my family was from because that was literally the only place you could rent a room. That was it. That was it. You either stayed there or you stayed at family's house. And it was probably better to stay at the motel. Well, I think whatever reason we were there, there just wasn't room. Yeah. Probably.

Most of the guests at the motel were oil field and energy workers who were part of the 1980 oil boom in North Dakota. rooms were normally rented on a weekly basis rather than nightly. The police were only called to the motel a few times while Priscilla was the manager. The old oil boom there. I remember that. Yeah. I mean, big deal.

But you think about all the different things that go on in a motel. My assumption is the police are there at most motels semi-regularly. Well, maybe because they're there for the whole week and maybe even longer, they're just not the type of people that will get into trouble. Yeah, they're obviously not renting the room for a night to party or something like that. But I still thought that was a pretty interesting statement. In November 1981, Priscilla's daughter, Melody Mattson, came to Dickinson for a visit, bringing her own daughter, Dinell.

Priscilla was babysitting Dinell overnight on November 15th. They stayed in Priscilla's living quarters in the, office building. So, you know, she was the manager, but also lived there. perks of the business. Well, you have your salary, which is one thing. But if on top of that, you know, you're getting free lodging, okay, that's a big deal. Sure. Housing is expensive or lodging is expensive. On the morning of November 16th, 1981, a man called the police, just before 8 a.m. to report finding Priscilla and Denel's body in the office. This man normally stopped at the motel to get coffee every morning.

And I don't know if that was all that unusual. You actually see that in a lot of different movies and shows from back during that time period. Police officers, and this wasn't a police officer, but a lot of police officers, you know, if they were out on patrol, would stop into a motel. Just say hi to the owner. They knew there was free coffee. Sure. Why they're in there?

Why not get some free coffee? Yeah. Maybe a cookie or a donut. Well, you didn't have a Starbucks on every corner or Dunkin' Donuts on every corner. No, you did not. And I know near and dear to your heart, free coffee is better than coffee paid for. Well, that's a given. Free anything.

Free anything. Free anything. No matter if it's good, bad, if it's free, it's for me. I've heard you say that many times. That's why on Sunday, Saturdays and Sundays, I sneak into Costco's and Sam's Club for my free dinners. Why do you have to sneak in? Because I don't want to pay the membership fee.

Oh, I got you. According to police chief Chuck Rummel, who was a patrolman in 1981, Priscilla was found face down in the lobby of the motel. her hands were bound with an electrical cord, and she suffered a blow to the head with a blunt object. Danelle was found in the office sleeping quarters. She was laying on the bed and was not bound, but there was evidence showing she was tied up at one point. Danelle suffered a skull fracture. Both.

Priscilla and Danelle were strangled to death with electrical cords taken from appliances inside the office. Well, that's brutal. It's brutal, but what do you make of that? To me, it's that this person maybe didn't come with a murder kit. They found and used something that was laying around. It makes me wonder, did they come there even thinking that they were going to murder? Or did they get angry and frustrated and it elevated to that point? Right. And I think that's something to keep in mind. Both victims were found in their pajamas,

suggesting they were attacked sometime overnight. The office was not ransacked, but $100 was missing from the cash box. Okay, do you make anything from that? Yeah, it doesn't sound like the intention was robbery, but maybe. Well, I kind of had a thought that if the office is a, ransacked, but there's money missing. Does that mean that the perpetrator already knew exactly where the cash box was and therefore, you know, didn't need to ransack the office because they went straight to it? Yeah, either they knew where it was or was already out in sight. Yeah, or they just happened to find it very quickly. Start County coroner Dennis Wolfe determined the victims might have been dead for more than eight hours, estimating that they were killed between

11 p.m. on November 15th and 3 a.m. on November 16th. A couple days after the bodies were found, the coroner Dennis Wolfe revealed that Dinell was sexually assaulted. And similar tests were being conducted on Priscilla's body. And all of this is hard, right? Nasty stuff. But the sexual assault of a seven-year-old girl, Gibbs. It's just sick. Yeah, it's, it has to get to everyone listening. Now, she's also going to be killed, and that's brutal. Investigators had no immediate suspects.

Chief Gerald Barnhart said, is quoted by the forum of paper based in Fargo. I don't think we've ever had a dual murder situation like this here in Dick. this was just something you read about in the papers. And we've heard similar statements to that in many of the cases that we've done that have occurred in smaller towns. And there's always somebody saying, well, we never thought that that would happen here. Yeah. You know, that's a, a murder or a crime that happens in other places, but not here. But not here. And that's why, you know, we don't lock our doors. That's why we don't take the precautions that you would if you lived in a bigger city because we don't live in the big city. But as we've often said, you know,

once you have something like this happen in your small town, it's like the town loses its innocence. It sure does. Everybody starts locking their door. Maybe people are a little more where either a little less trusting. A lot more standoffish. On November 19th, the coroner announced Priscilla was not sexually assaulted. Which is really disturbing. I'm glad she was not.

But the fact that the individual concentrated on a seven-year-old, it's really disturbing. Well, I think when you're analyzing a case like this, you have to take all of these details into account. What does that mean? Does it mean that the perpetrator was attracted to very young girls, which would say a lot about that person? Sure. Or does it mean that Danelle and not Priscilla

was the target, so to say. I hate to use that word, but I don't know what other word to use. authorities sent fingerprints and other physical evidence to the state crime laboratory in hopes of getting additional leads. In January, 1982, the Dickinson police revealed they had some suspects in the case. But the state crime lab was still not done analyzing evidence. Police chief Gerald Barnhart noted that most of the fingerprints found at the crime scene belong to people who had valid reasons to be in the motel office. So people who either work there or maybe guests coming and going.

And does it make it tougher when, you know, a crime occurs in a setting like this versus, let's say somebody's home where you wouldn't expect to find as many fingerprints. There's not going to be as much traffic as there would be in a motel. office for sure. And if that was the case, then you would be able to start zoning in on somebody. A little easier, I would think.

In March 1982, it was reported that a half dozen police departments around the country were questioning potential suspects. Other departments reported to Dickinson authorities that they had suspects already in custody or suspects

being investigated who admitted to act similar. to the Dickinson murders, some of those suspects also pass through the Dickinson area. So it sounds like they have some potential leads. Well, I mean, I think if you've got somebody who committed a similar act,

are you going to look at them? Yes. But if they were also known to have passed through the Dickinson area, then I think you've got to bump them up on the list a little bit. Yeah. But it also has me concern that if it wasn't, them. What the heck is going on with these individuals out there? That they're doing things similar in other areas. Well, let's face it. I just think, and I always think, that there are people

looking to do these types of things all over the place at any one time. It's a scary thought, but I think it's true. Chief Barnhart also revealed that so far, fingerprints had not been helpful in identifying suspense. And we have to think about the time frame, right? 1981, 1982, you're not messing around with any DNA at that point in time.

So fingerprints were a big deal. Sure. In May 1982, a new detective was signed to the case. Former detective in charge Jim Rice told the Bismarck Tribune after six months, you should probably have somebody new come in

and take a look and dig into it because you become so much a part of the thing that it's easy to overlook something that somebody new might see. And I completely understand that way of thinking. I think we've touched on it before, but no matter what you're doing, whether it's looking into a heinous crime or, you know, overseeing a project at work, is there a chance that you could, you know, get too close to it, that you're unable to, uh, kind of step back and see what's really going on. Yeah, I think sometimes you've got to have that fresh set of eyes on something. Can be very helpful.

Absolutely. In February 1983, news outlets reported that the police were looking at a psychological portrait of the killer in hopes of identifying a suspect. Well, that would be an interesting portrait to put together. It would be, but my thought is 83? FBI profiles couldn't have been around all that long. It had to still have been, you know, relatively new. Chief Gerald Barnhart told the forum,

we've checked out hundreds of people, the possibility of relatives and shirt tell relatives, everybody within two to three blocks of the place, including hitchhikers known to be out on the road. We had a list of page long at one time of suspects. So, you know, they're looking at a lot of different people. I don't know what a shirt-tail relative is. I imagine you have some of those.

Some shirt-tale relatives? Yeah, I don't know exactly what those are. I just imagine you have some. We all have some. But it does sound like they're looking at a lot of different people. What I take away from it is him saying, we had a list a page long at one time of suspects. Yeah.

Meaning at a certain point, that list had been, you know, narrowed down, it dwindled down as people got excluded. Barnhart explained that they sent details about the crime to a psychological expert with the FBI. And like I said earlier, FBI profiles were still fairly new concepts at this time. Chief Barnhart added, what we have found in the past with this type of crime is that there is a certain amount. of passion involved. If someone commits more than one crime, we think he will do it in the same manner. And I think, you know, more often than not, that is true. People who commit multiple crimes or serial killers, they often, you know, commit those

with a similar M.O. It doesn't mean they don't change it up, but. No, but I think they go with what they know. Or with what they know work. Exactly. And that they've gotten away with. Authorities hope the profile would tell them something about the killer or their family, which they could then match with potential suspects in their family.

Barnhart said that Priscilla and Dannell's families had been eliminated to suspects, adding from there, where it goes is whoever was in the city of Dickinson. It was at our energy boom period. There were numbers and numbers of people in town that nobody knew. It's still pretty much wide open. We aren't looking for any one individual right at the moment. The case has gotten pretty cold on us. And I think this energy boom fact is pretty important.

You think about some of the small towns around here, Gibbs. Growing up, yeah, people left, people moved in, but it wasn't like huge influxes. No. But in a boom area, you can see major influxes of, people, meaning at one point you might have known everyone in town and now you know a fraction because there's so many new faces. We haven't been part of that, but we hear about it now and then.

Yeah, I don't know that the place that we live has ever been booming in our lifetime. Yeah. It may have boomed at one time, but that boom has been over for many, many years. I wanted to boom when I'm ready to sell my house. That would be great. Yeah. That's when it needs to boom. To drive the sale price.

though. Yes. In November 1983, the police provided an update on the investigation. The Dickinson police were looking at a man in Texas who confessed to committing over 100 murders across the country, but he had no connection to the Dickinson murders. In 1987, the Bismarck-Tribune reported that the police had followed leads all the way to Texas and New Mexico, mostly comparing similar cases. The police said they had a definite suspect, but there was not enough evidence to press charges.

Well, they're definitely active in the investigation, and they feel like they're getting close, but can't lock anything down. And it didn't come out and say it, but it's hard not to think that in November of 1983, if you're looking at somebody in Texas who is admitted to committing over 100 murders, that most likely was Henry Lee Lucas. Yeah. He liked to boast about what he did. But it sounds like, you know, they looked at him, as did a lot of different agencies who had unsolved murder cases. But they found that he had no connection, right, to the Dickinson murders. It's also interesting that in 1987, they come out and say they have a definite suspect. They just don't have enough evidence to press charges. Around 1990, Dickinson Police Commissioner Walter Relling revived interest in the case and asked police chief Paul Bazano to take another look at it.

Bazano assigned Chuck Rommel, who was a detective at this time, to review the cold case and develop new leads. It was designated a priority investigation with the department. So for whatever reason, it sounds like this police commissioner really wanted to get this case solved. Yeah, I mean, let's face it, the authorities want to solve every case. But a lot of cases go cold. But it did seem like this one in particular. The police commissioner was really adamant about, you know, reopening or getting other people to take a look at it. You know, even this designation of a priority investigation.

That's a big deal. I think so. After reviewing the FBI profile, Detective Rommel. identified 48-year-old taxi driver William Rieger as the prime suspect. Within days, Detective Ramell and a representative from the State Bureau of Criminal Investigations traveled to Batesville, Arkansas. To speak to Rieger, according to the forum, Rieger was described as a drifter, who worked as a truck driver and Carnival employed. Rieger lived in other states, and there were times authorities lost track. track of it.

There comes our carnies. Yeah. Well, I know you at one point drove a truck. At one point, you were also a carnival worker. And much like this guy, you lived in a lot of different states, and it's well known that the authorities lost track of you at certain points in time. You move around a lot. During the interview, Detective Ramele noticed Rieger fit many traits of the FBI profile.

And after hours of questioning, Rieger confessed to the Swanson Motel murders and gave details only law enforcement or the killer would know. He also confessed to a 1988 murder in Batesville, Arkansas. He folded it pretty quick. It sounds like, right? A few hours, he starts confessing. But here again, something that you and I talk about in a lot of unsolved cases. why do authorities not release every detail they have? And here's the reason why.

You have somebody who confesses. You need to make sure that that confession is truthful. And a great way to do that is when this person is telling you something only the authorities or the killer could know. You know, they couldn't have seen it on the news. They couldn't have read it in the paper. because it wasn't out there. Rieger claimed that he wanted to date Priscilla Dinkle's daughter, Melody.

But Priscilla didn't approve of the relationship. So he's so upset that he decides to kill Priscilla and kill and sexually assault Melody's daughter? Well, you're saying that as if it doesn't make sense. And you know why? Because it doesn't make sense. Absolutely, it doesn't. But isn't that what we see time after time? What is going through these people's minds?

How can they make the decision that, okay, I'm upset with the fact that this woman won't let me see her daughter. I'm going to start killing. Yeah, I'll show them. On March 1st, 1991, Rieger was charged with two counts of murder for the North Dakota cases. Priscilla's husband, Frank Dinkle, said he was released. by the arrest and told the Bismarck Tribune that he and Bill Rieger worked on oil rigs together. So Rieger was acquainted with the family. Dinkle added, I wish I could be put in the same prison.

I bet he does. And I think about that often. You know, the surviving family members, you know, here you have a man whose wife was murdered. His granddaughter was both murder. and sexually assaulted. How could you not want vengeance? How could you not be thinking in all of your waking hours? What you would do to this person if you could just get them alone in a room?

Yeah. It's kind of like that. I know I mentioned it before, that movie with Sean Penn, where he makes sure that he goes to the same prison that is, I think it was his girlfriend's, killer, rapist, and he made sure he got to the same prison, and that's where he fills up his pillowcase with Coke cans, and then finds the guy, like in a corner of the prison and just

wails on him? Yeah. Yeah, I know you've mentioned that before. What's it called? I'm not going to remember. That's why I asked you. But you did have quite a few details. We did.

I did. Coroner Dennis Wolfe also said he had known Rieger for 25 years. At one point, Rieger was employed by the city of Dickinson, and it was said that he left town shortly after the homicide. Okay. Well, that makes me want to ask the question, why did it take so long for him to be on the radar? Yeah, you think there should have been some flags that popped up.

Yeah, he wasn't a stranger to the family. He was well known to them. And then this idea of somebody just leaving town just after the murders occurred, maybe a little red flag. I think so. Arkansas authorities soon charged Rieger with capital murder for the 1988 death of 77-year-old Della Harding. Della was a retired seamstress and widow who lived in Batesville. Her husband died over a decade before her. Della had a chronic heart condition and was hospitalized.

in early 1988. On June 18th of that year, Della's body was found under a bridge on Highway 122 near Newark. A driver thought he saw something and stopped to check it out. Investigators determined Della's body was thrown off the bridge

and fell 35 feet. Wow. Della was reported missing around 8.30 a.m. On June 18th, one of the last people to see Della was Dorothy Chummer. A friend and nurse who took her blood pressure almost every day. She saw Della on the morning of June 17th while she was out walking.

She didn't take Della's blood pressure that day because she had a doctor's appointment. However, a nurse at the office said Della didn't come in. Sergeant John Baum of the Independence County Sheriff's Department said there were signs of forced entry and an abduction in Della's home. Her missing car was found on June 19th, parked beside a nightclub in Newport. The nightclub owner said he first saw it there around noon the day before. So investigators believed Del is killer, left her residence and drove her car through Batesville to Newark. At Newark, the killer turned on to Highway 122 and threw her body over the bridge. The assailant then drove the car to the nightclub and abandoned it.

And this one is tough as well. I mean, you know, we're talking about a 77-year-old widow who, let's face it, Gibbs, is no threat to anyone, I'm sure. No. How many enemies could this woman possibly have outside of maybe a bingo or, you know, something like that? Bingo can't get kind of vicious. It can. But, you know, the thought that's running through. my head is, okay, not only did he kill this one, but then you put her in her own car,

drive her car, at some point, stop at a bridge, remove the body from the car, and throw it over the side of the bridge where she lands 35 feet below. You're treating her body like a piece of trash. Yeah, and I can only imagine what injuries she's sustained from that type of. fall, even though maybe they were post-mortem, it's still hard to picture. There was no obvious motive. Authorities didn't release many additional details about the case or Della's autopsy to protect the investigation.

However, the state medical examiner later said Della was strangled to death. Later that month, Detective Lieutenant Bill Hall issued a statement from the Sheriff's Department assuring the public, they were utilizing all resources to try to solve the crime, because they were unsure how releasing additional information would affect the investigation, they chose not to make any details public. And again, it never surprises me when we hear that. In addition to these cases, Bill Rieger was considered a suspect in murders in Texas, California, Ohio, and Missouri.

I'm sure it opened the gate once he was. was arrested for these other murders. Well, and we said it, right? This is a guy who moved around a lot. And, you know, I think some of those people who kill, you know, they're scary in a number of ways. And anybody who kills is scary. But when you think about someone who travels around the country frequently, then you're

getting into an area where, okay, they're killing people, let's say they don't know, they have no connection to they're not in that area very long those are tough murders to solve and tough cases to lump together yeah because they're so random yeah and they're all over the the place after the arrest 32 year old patricia rigger told the AP that she met bill in batesville Arkansas in february 1989 they got married just a few months later and they're divorce was finalized in April 1991. Authority said Rieger had another wife

and four kids in North Dakota. Patricia said that at first, he was more of a gentleman than any man I ever knew. They're few and far between. He never acted like he wanted anything in return. Patricia traveled with Rieger

and eventually became suspicious about his past, saying he kept lying to me about everything. And he told me he could never go back to North Dakota. You know, that's what happens when you have to tell lies about your past. And then you got to keep telling more lies to cover up those lies. It's not surprising that she became very suspicious. Well, and, you know, let's break down what she said, right? At first, you know, he was a gentleman. And then there's there's also this

statement. He said he could never go back to North Dakota. Well, what would be the reason why you could never return somewhere? To me, it's either you've committed some crimes that, you know, you don't want to go back and face or put yourself back on the radar for, but also in his case, it might have been because he was still married with a family. So he needed to stay away. Yeah, I don't know. It almost made it sound without coming out and saying it, that he was married to two different

women at the same time. Patricia added, it was easier for him to lie than tell the truth. And Gibbs, I think there are some people out there like that. I think there's more people than we realize out there like that. They lie so easily, right? It comes so naturally to them that it's easier for them to lie than to actually tell the truth, especially when some of their truths are things that they know. people would be upset by. Because they want to avoid confrontation

in one sense. The other thing is they also don't want to have to admit that they did something horrific. Or put themselves in jeopardy of going to jail for said horrific crime. Rieger refused to say why he wouldn't return

to North Dakota. But Patricia said she put two and two together. She explained, the only reason you can't go back is if you're running from the law. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. I think I was the one who just said that. So obviously I'm no genius. Well, we know that. Well, yeah, we do that. You didn't. Not compared to you. Well, there's a big difference in our IQ scores. Mensa. Non-Minsa. You're triple digits. I'm double digits. Right?

That's what you're saying. I get it. I'm just saying minza. In April 1991, Dinell Leitz's mother, Melody Mattson told the Dickinson press that after the murderer, she told the police. She believed Bill Rieger was responsible. She first met Rieger in October 1981. Soon after she moved to Dickinson, she said, I told them it was Bill Rieger, but no one would listen. I'm still bitter about the whole thing. Why wouldn't she be?

You know, when you tell the authorities, hey, I know who did this. It's this person. And here's why. And then they kind of push it off. Blow it off. Don't seem to investigate it. But then it turns out later that you're 100% right or you were right. Yeah, you're going to be bitter about that.

Absolutely. You are. Melody claimed the police told her Rieger failed a lie detector test. That's going to frustrate you even more. Yeah. So it's like, all right, obviously they must have talked to him. They must have grilled him at least. somewhat to the point where he took a lie detector test.

If he really did fail it, how did he just kind of fall off the radar so easily? Melody added, I want to see Bill Rieger died for what he did to Danny and my mom. He took what was most precious to me, my baby and my mom. I want him to lose what is most precious to him his life. But first, I want him to come back to Dickinson,

to be tried. after that, I hope he gets the death penalty in Arkansas. Well, she's not shy about how she feels, and nor should she be. You think about what she lost. You know, two of the absolutely most important people in her life. And to lose a seven-year-old, that, you know, that just cannot be overstated, the devastation that that must cause for a parent. authorities determined Rieger would be tried in North Dakota first.

In April 1991, a judge denied a request by Rieger's defense attorneys for $1,400 to secure an alibi witness in the Arkansas murder case. They had reason to believe Rieger was in Texas at the time of the murder. Prosecutors originally said Della was murdered on June 17th or 18th, 1988. 1988, the defense asked the prosecution to narrow their timeline, and prosecutors provided two documents, fulfilling that request. They had a statement from a grocery store clerk who said he helped Della with her groceries around 6.30 p.m. on June 17. The other statement came from a police dispatcher who indicated Della's body was found around 3 p.m. on June 18th. So, I mean, it does narrow it down somewhat. It's still a pretty good span of time, you know, 20, 21 hours. On September 3rd, 1991, Arkansas dropped the capital murder charge against Rieger.

Prosecutors had the option to file new charges, but that seemed unlikely. Batesville prosecutor Don McSpatten accused the sheriff's department of and properly investigate in the case from the beginning, he said, investigators did not give him all the information. They had in question the validity of Rieger's March confession. He said, as quoted by the Bismarck Tribune, we were told that he confessed. There were a lot of errors with what investigator John Baum said could be corroborated. McSpadden then cited several weaknesses in the investigation. Few photographs were taken to the investigation.

victim's house and investigators didn't dust for prints. Unfortunately. Well, you're starting to get a sense of why, you know, the prosecutor felt as though he couldn't move forward with this case. Yeah, you got a confession, but is it real? How good is it? Rieger told the police, he got into Della Harding's house through a bedroom window and used hedge clippers to cut the screen, but the screen wasn't.

cut. That's kind of falling apart now. Well, you can imagine a defense attorney having a field day, right? Poking holes undermining this confession. How can you say this is a valid confession when what my client confessed to doesn't even line up with the known evidence? Yeah. Sergeant Baum said, Rieger lived a mile from Della's house and worked for Batesville Trucking Company at the time of the murder. However, Rieger didn't start working for the trucking company until six weeks after the murder and didn't live near Della's house until a year later. Well, that's a gap. It's to me more than a gap. These are incorrect statements by police officials, right? Things that they thought tied him to the murder turned out not to be true. Finally, witnesses were not.

not made available to the prosecution and some interviews were not revealed until after the defense notified the state. Rieger was transported to North Dakota later that month. And again, let's go back to this case in Arkansas. I know I've said it before. What is the job of a prosecutor? And to me, it's to get to the bottom or to seek the truth. Right. If a person is guilty and you have the evidence to back that up, pour it on, right? Put it in front of a jury and see what happens. But I think there are a lot of times where, you know, prosecutors move forward with the case when they don't really have the case. Yeah, sometimes they just need to wait, make sure they get everything they need. Or they may never get everything they need. I guess what I'm saying is this guy

took a look at everything and said, hey, I don't think we can move forward with this. First of all, some of the stuff that you've told me turns out not to be correct. You know, the case weakened from what it started out as. I think the more he found that was incorrect. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he thought, if I can't win this case, there's no reason to take it forward. And I don't want to spend the people's money if we can't win the case either. Well, and that's not justice, right? If you don't have the evidence, that's not fair to the person on trial.

I'm all for putting bad people away. Don't get me wrong. On January 17, 1992, after two delays, Bill Rieger waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was bound over for trial. Despite his earlier confession, on February 4th, Rieger pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder. Rieger's trial was set for June 16th, 1992. His attorney requested that his trial be moved out of Dickinson due to local media coverage, but a judge denied their motion.

Rieger attended a hearing in late April, where the prosecution and defense discussed what evidence would be presented at trial. By the spring of 1992, it seemed like the case was on track, and there would be no delays with the trial. But then William Rieger died in his jail cell on June 9, 1992, just one week before he was set for trial. He was 49 years old. The coroner determined he died of a massive heart attack in his sleep. Rieger went to bed around midnight after finishing the jail's laundered. He had not complained of any health problems recently.

He was found dead by a guard at 6.39 a.m. No one else was in his cell. Jell administrator Norbert Sickler said he probably never knew what hit him. Yeah, I'm sure he probably didn't. Yeah, I mean, if you have a massive heart attack in your sleep, probably not. After Rieger's death, state attorney Owen Mayer announced, per the forum, I and my staff and investigators had no doubt whatsoever that we had the right person here, and we could prove it.

He explained, essentially, the case was simple. There was a confession, and that confession was not suppressed. It was valid legally. The state's case was going to consist of the introduction of the confession and follow up with evidence that would firmly corroborate the confession as authentic. And that all sounds good to me, right? A confession is one thing, but a confession by itself without corroborating evidence can be problematic. Sure, good.

Mayor moved to dismiss the case on June 17th and made the transcript of Rieger's confession public record. Rieger gave his confession in March 1991 with Police Lieutenant Chuck Ramell and Jerry Thieson from the North Dakota Crime Bureau. According to the forum, he said he had dinner with Priscilla Dinkle, her daughter, Melody Mattson and Dinell Leitz on the night of November 15, 1981. he returned later to talk to Priscilla about dating melody, but she said no. Rieger said, I was hurt and angry.

When asked what happened next, he said, I exploded. I went completely berserk. I went out of my mind and did some nasty things that I swear to God I wished I was dead on. I killed the woman and an innocent baby. And he confessed the details that were not public knowledge. For example, he said he unscrued. a light bulb. So no light could be seen from the street. Investigators did find an unscrewed bulb at the crime scene. Investigators also found a stick from the table that Rieger said he used to

hit Priscilla. He also admitted to strangling Dinell with a vacuum cleaner court and sexually assaulting him. Sick guy. Yeah, he's a sick individual. But again, I think unlike the case that they were building against him in Arkansas. This case seemed much more solid, right? You had the confession and within the confession, you had a bunch of details that not only lined up with the evidence found at the scene, but had never been made public, which I think, you know, would give the statements made by Rieger, you know, much more validity, right, that he's telling the truth. He's the killer. Rieger was asked whether he stole anything and he said he took a

picture of Dineau and her mother and a platter that was hanging on the wall. And both of these items were listed as missing. Got to make sure he gets that platter. It seems so strange. It does. You have killed two people and you've sexually assaulted a poor young seven-year-old. And you're going to take as a souvenir, a picture of this little girl and her mother, and then a platter off the wall. So random. Well, it makes me kind of wonder what his state of mind was after committing these murders. Although Rieger was never convicted of the crimes, authorities consider the case closed based on his confession because he traveled around the country.

It's possible he committed additional crimes that have not been officially linked in. Well, clearly he was a killer, so I'm sure he did have other crimes out there. Yeah, you know, as we wrap this one up, it's an interesting case for true crime all the time. Because technically there was no conviction. But it's hard not to think that he would have been convicted had he, you know, lived to go to trial. It's also so strange that he died just one week before the trial was set to begin. And maybe that's because he deserved it for what he did to Patricia and the little girl. Yeah, I'm not going to argue with you that maybe he deserved to die.

But I do think it could be looked at in a couple of different ways from the standpoint of the family. Right. You could look at it as, I'm glad he's gone. He deserved what he got. Yeah. You could also look at it as we never actually got to see him face justice. We never got to hear a jury stand up and say, you're guilty of these murders and the sexual assault. So, I mean, depending on how the family looked at it,

it could have been good or it could have been not good. Yeah, I get it. They might have wanted to have their time in court with them. I was just thinking about what we said earlier. Could he have done other murders? I'm thinking if you can do what he did to a seven-year-old and also what he did to a 77-year-old woman. Well, and let's not forget the murder in Arkansas. I know he wasn't convicted of it, but...

Yeah, but she was 77 years old. They thought that he did. It's hard for me, and it always is, to think that, especially when you have a person who is known to have traveled the country, lived in a bunch of different states, driven through a bunch of states, someone who's capable of doing that, did they only do it two or three times?

And the rest of their life, they were walking the straight and narrow. Now, that's just hard for me to believe. Yeah, same here. What's more likely is that you have other unsolved murders in jurisdictions, and they've just never been able to put things together. You know, maybe they don't have DNA from those cases.

Maybe they couldn't put him in the area. This guy was a piece of shit. He's done more than what he did here. I think you and I are both in agreement on that. But that's it for our episode on the Swanson Motel murders. We got some voicemails, Gibbs. You want to check those out? Let's hear them.

Hey there. This is Sarah B from Oregon. I'm trying to catch up on your true crime all the time. Stories have to start from day one. I've been listening on and off for a couple of years now. I'm on February 4th, 2024, so I'm starting to get there, listening to Rod Matthews. And I wonder if you did this on purpose or if it was a slip-up. But at about 23 minutes and 10 seconds, you're doing an advertisement for time.

and you say crime checking account required. Be sure to apply for a time, blah, blah, blah. And I just thought that was funny. Like, do we have to have a crime checking account? Because I never had one of those. And I guess they'll have to commit a crime to be able to qualify. So anyway, I thought that was funny. And I was just wondering if you did that on purpose or not.

All right, stay safe and keep your own time ticking. Well, I would say definitely not on purpose. And I'm sure it was chime checking account and I switched it to crime because I'm so used to saying crime. But it's what's funny is that that episode was a long time ago. It was. And I don't remember anyone ever reaching out about it, meaning people aren't listening to the ads or they're not listening that closely. But that's, it's kind of funny. Maybe that was what you call like a little Freudian slip.

I think it was because we're always thinking about crime. It's on your mind. Hi, my name is Bree. Hi, New York, Texas. I'm in Detroit, Michigan. I mean, I would tell y'all about the crime fair, but, you know, it's Detroit. But I like being while I'm listening to the podcast for about a few months. During the day, I'm a postal worker, so I'm listening through it throughout my day at the postal work.

And through the evening, I guess at the front desk of the hotel. So to hear it and to get my stay through because I can work 16 hours is day. I am a, a sexualized from the age of 5 to about 24. I'm 31 now. But I really like the way y'all banter. It makes the podcast funny, and it makes the storytelling a lot less serious. So I'm just happy I get the big It took me a long time to figure out how to do this

But stay safe Keep your own town ticket Keep your head on the phone I very much appreciate the voicemail Yeah Always love to hear from people in Detroit I know I've said it before But I used to live in Detroit

For a number of years And he used to be a postal worker I was a postal worker not a full-fledged one, but for a summer when I was home from college, and I'll say it again. Best job I ever had. Hey, it plays. You did it. It plays.

It plays. You're good. Postal worker, Mike. I did it. I've had a lot of jobs, some of them not for all that long. But, you know, to me, those were all experiences. Yeah. You know, I had to go get my government driver's license.

I'm driving on the left side of the vehicle, but on the right side of the road. And, you know, I'm like 19 years old. Aren't all driver licensed government? But you know what I mean? No, I don't. It's like a special government driver's license to drive that. To drive the, yeah, backwards. Technically, you are correct.

I think they're all good. All right, buddy. No mailbag. So that's it for another episode of true crime all the time. So for Mike, stay safe and keep your own. time ticking.