Sex Offender Charged in Student’s Death
A federal grand jury in Fargo charged a convicted sex offender in the kidnapping and death of University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin, 22.
Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 51, appeared in federal court and pleaded not guilty to a charge of kidnapping resulting in death. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Federal prosecutors took the case to allow authorities to pursue the death penalty if Rodriguez is convicted. Neither North Dakota nor Minnesota, the two states involved in the case, have death penalty laws of their own.
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