TRANSCRIPT 🔗
riverside edit krystle krystle's studio: Hello and welcome to Unsolved Midwest. And I am your host, Crystal Lay. In today's episode, we will be discussing the Amana Holiday Inn double homicide and trigger warnings for today's episode. We will go into topics of violence, gore, child essay, stalking, and animal cruelty. So if any of those are difficult for you to listen to, please go ahead and skip this episode and come back. And the opinions In today's episode, our opinions only. No one has been charged in relation to today's case. And then just one high housekeeping item. I really would like to see what the listeners have in regards to good news. And I would like to utilize that for the peak of the week. So if you all could start thinking about positive things that you would like just to go out into the airwaves. Please let me know. I'm thinking more towards my Instagram account that I will link that in the show, my next show. And if you could record a quick voice memo, then I would like to utilize that as the peak of the week. So just flirting with that idea. I think I'll have it short down by next episode. So just putting that out there in the ether for everyone to just think about it. And also, there's been some issues with the sound quality on Spotify. And I apologize for that. It is an issue with the app that I record my podcast on. So I'm working on getting that updated and trying to work to update the sound quality on those episodes that have already been streamed. And that is all I have. So let's get into today's episode. So the Amana Holiday Double homicides is one of Iowa's most notorious cult cases involving the brutal unsolved murders of Rose Bukert and Roger Atkinson. And they were murdered on September 12th or 13th of 1980. So for the background, Robert Atkinson, a married telephone installer in Rose Burkert, a single mother and a nursing student, both from St. Joseph, Missouri. Had driven roughly 270 miles to the Holiday Inn off Interstate 80 in Williamsburg, Iowa, for a second romantic getaway and landed at the Amana Holiday Inn. The Amana Colonies are one of America's longest and most successful historic communal societies. And it's located in East Central Iowa. And it's very unique and it Is comprised of seven historic villages and it g spreads along 26,000 scenic acres. So there's main Amana, East Amana, West Amana, South Amana, High Amana, Mil Middle Amana, and Homestead. And today they are designated as a National Historic Landmark and they blend German heritage with a lot of contemporary artists and commerce and Agriculture. And when they checked in or attempted to check in, the hotel was heavily crowded that weekend due to a ongoing morticians convention. And they were initially told that there were no rooms available. And then a last-minute cancellation allowed for them to check into room 260 at 7:40 p.m. on Friday, September 12th. Now the next morning on September 13th, shortly after 1 p.m. A hotel housekeeper entered the room when the couple missed checkout and they failed to answer the door after she attempted to get someone to answer the door. She could hear the television, and upon entry, she discovered a gruesome scene, instantly reporting it to management who called law enforcement. Now, let me provide some background on Roger and Rose's relationship. The exact reason why they picked this hotel for their getaway was never confirmed. But Roger was working on a two-week assignment with a six-man crew as a telephone installer repairman for General Telephone Company, also known as GTE, in Savannah, Missouri. And he had informed his wife that he would not be returning home on the weekends during this stretch. Which was fine because Roger's wife was actually house sitting slash babysitting for friends while he was away for work. And by all accounts, Rose met Roger when he was performing a telephone repair for her. And that's how the whole affair started. Rose spent the previous weekend that Roger was away at the hotel he was staying at with the work crew. And again, I'm unsure why the change, because if you stayed the previous weekend, Then if people are there and the crew's there, they already know that you're there, unless maybe the crew wasn't there. But that I was not able to clarify what happened, why the change. But obviously, if anything, it's just to cover their tracks and avoid being caught. Now, the crime scene, both victims were found face down in bed, and they had been brutally bumped bludgeoned to death with a sharp. heavily bladed weapon and it was later determined by investigators to be an axe or a roofing hatchet. Atchinson had defensive wounds, including a sever like, well actually not a severed, multiple severed fingers. And Roger was in his shorts, according to some source material, or in his underwear. But either way, he didn't have a shirt on, but he had some type of underwear or shorts. And then while Burkert had been covered up with the bed sheet after the killing and she was fully closed. Now there's some really strange clues. Now get ready, you guys, because these are some weird clues. This is a weird rabbit hole we're going to go down. So there's no sign of forced entry or sexual assault. But strangely, two chairs had been pulled up close and angled towards the bed, almost suggesting that the killer had sat down and spoken with the couple before the attack. And then there were heel prints on the end tables. Super strange. And then there's some ritualistic details. And there's some mystery about what was taken. And this is one of my questions. And I would love to get clarity on this. So approximately $200 was stolen. And again, how would you know how much was stolen? Because it's the 80s. So I'm wondering if maybe based on big banking record records, that is where they are getting that amount from. And his Adjuston's wallet had been rifled through with all the contents strewn across the floor. And Burkert's wallet was left untouched.
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And in the bathroom, the word this was written on the door slash like the mirror area using soap. And soap carvings were left on the floor, ground into the floor. And toothpaste stranely, like really strangely squirted in the bathtub. Now remember the toothpaste, because that's going to come back. Now there was a towel that DNA was extracted from in 2015, and it appeared to be used to clean the blood off of a murder weapon. And Investigators have noted that the killer was in no hurry to leave. Now, not to trash the police, like in the way that they processed the crime scene, but it's reported that detectives did not secure the crime scene originally, but it was 1980, so times were totally different. But the one thing I really scrunched up my face while reading is that they were smoking cigarettes. And filling the ashtray without extracting any cigarette butts that were pre-existent in the room upon discovery of the crime scene. And again, not to trash them, and I get it times were different, but could you imagine if they could have possibly gotten DNA off of a cigarette butt? just different times. But both of their skulls were caved in with extreme force and overkill and leaving investigators to believe that this was a personal attack. Berker was hit 12 times and Actorson was hit seven times. But no one heard or reported anything, which is odd, since the hotel was at full capacity. And to this day, no one ever has come forward and said that they heard something, they saw something, but I just find that hard to believe again if you're at full capacity. Because remember, they almost didn't get a broom because of the Morticians Convention. Now Marcella Atkinson, Roger's wife, since 1973 and his high school sweetheart was in disbelief and heartbroken, obviously for a multitude of reasons. You find out your husband's cheating on you, and you find your husband find out your husband dies in such a violent way. The police had to really convince her because she was not believing it when they initially broke the news to her or the content or the circumstances circum the circumstances around the events that took her husband's life. And it appears that Roger and Rose's children both prefer to remain private. So I won't reference their names or anything like that in going forward, but they both did have children. Now, as far as the investigation, the theories and the potential serial killer links that were generated. So initially, law local law enforcement leaned towards a personal motive or a crime of passion linked to the couple's affair, heavily focusing on a stalker like an ex-boyfriend at Burkert's. And over the years, other prominent suspects were floated, including convicted killer Charles Hatcher. However, after following up on multiple leads and 400 interviews, no charges were ever filed. Now, here are a few people who did pique law enforcement's interest. Danny Burton is Rose's ex boyfriend. And he has my like mind blown when I read what happened between them. So it was a very documented history of abuse and stalking. Rose even told the sheriffs. Office, if something were to happen to me, look into him when she filed a report against him. There was another incident where Rose purchased a dog for protection, and when she returned home one day, she found her dog hanging from a tree. Not a coincidence, but I mean there's that speaks volumes to me. But Danny was actually cleared in relation to the homicide. They don't state how he was cleared, but he was cleared. Then there was a bartender at the hotel. And the night of their death, Burkert supposedly had a heated exchange with the bartender, but it was never confirmed what the exchange was over. And immediately following the murders, the bartender disappeared, like out of town. Now I get conflicted reports. One said that he left so fast he didn't even collect his last paycheck. And then another account is that he did collect his last paycheck, but he did leave his truck behind. Authorities were finally able to track him down and confirm that he had joined the Air Force and was living in Germany. It was never confirmed if he was interviewed or investigated. I'm like Interpol much, like I mean that that's a gruesome murder. We need to get on that. And then Charles Hatcher, the serial killer. This is like dragged me down a really strange like rabbit hole. And I'm like of all the people. So Charles Hatcher was a serial killer, very violent. And he was actually related to Roger's wife, Marcella. He was her uncle. And he was actually on the run at the time of the murders. So automatically everybody thinks murder solved. He had escaped from a psychiatric facility in Nebraska just days before the double murder took place. So obviously his sudden disappearance right before the crimes made him a very compelling suspect. For investigators, but it was later confirmed that he was not the culprit. Now the alibi, he did what they were able to say that he is not the killer. And when Hatcher was captured the following month. And then Hatcher had remained in the state of Nebraska under an alias during that time. So with Hatcher's history of multiple murders, escapes, molestation, just over all troublesome behavior, again, but he couldn't be. He was he wasn't in the area. He was out and escaped, but he wasn't in the area. And he is going to commit suicide December seventh of nineteen eighty-four in a prison cell because Justice Justice had finally caught up with him. I don't normally do episodes on serial killers, but if I were to do a series, I would definitely do one on him because I feel like he is not a very well known serial killer in the sense that I don't see many stories about him. But if you are a true crime sleuth, definitely look into him. And then Marcella's father, Floyd Hatcher, he was another person of interest. And the police wondered if maybe he discovered the affair and decided to get even. And even though that was originally a speculate
speculated, there's some doubt because Her father was rumored to be carrying on numerous affairs and to be a little bit of a playboy. But I could see that from both sides, you know, the for me, but not for thee type of logic. Like, how dare you step out on my daughter, even though I'm stepping out on her mother? So he was a person of interest, but it was never like clarified if he was able to provide an alibi or anything like that. Other potential people of interest, Roger's co-workers on his assignment. So there's no documented altercations between Roger and his team members, but they did use a hatchet to work and clear brush. So a very viable option. And the team was aware of Rose and Rose was with Roger. So it did something happen. Was there an earlier disagreement within the week? But no one was ever again charged. And then another mystery man, he was a handyman in the area where Rose lived. And he was reportedly making people in the area very uncomfortable. And there was actually a call or a report to the police about this man breaking into a woman's home and standing over her while she slept in her bed and then letting himself out. Now we were never provided with his name, but there was a this was a person of interest. And then after the police investigated all these people, did 400 interviews, there just were no arrests, and the case just became stagnant. But the case gained renewed national attention when investigators, including a retired detective by the name of Paul Holes, on the television program, The DNA of Murder, proposed that the couple fell victim victim to a highway serial killer. And web slaves on Reddit have widely discussed. The consensus among experts regarding the striking similarities between other motel murders near major interstates. So this was an interesting group of people that again that have met horrible endings at motels. So in Meridian, Mississippi, in October of 1970, Jack McDonald 23 was similarly bludgeoned at a roadside motel with money taken and then the unusual toothplay toothpaste placement at the scene. And then in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1980 or July of 1980, just 10 weeks prior to the amount of murders, traveling salesman William Kyle28, was hacked to death with a hatchet at a Sheridan Motor Inn off of I-74. His wallet was also emptied under a chair, and toothpaste was squeezed onto the carpet. Stephen Fisher and Melissa, and Stephen Fisher was 20 at the time, and Melissa Gregory was 17, were bludgeoned to death on March 3rd, 1983, at the Copper Dollar Ranch near Newton, Iowa. Stephen Fisher worked as a horse at the horse ranch and was dating Melissa, and their bodies were discovered. Outside they were outside though. That's the one difference with head injuries, and they were initially mistaken for gunshot wounds. And then 30 years later, Fisher's Estrange Wife, Terry Supina, was arrested on March 3rd, 2014 and charged with two counts of first-degree murder following the reinvestigation aided by the television series Cold Justice. But Following a trial in February 2015, Terry Subpoena was acquitted by the jury on February 21st, 2015. A primary suspect for this traveling serial killer theory was Raimundo Esparza. He was a vagrant and he was a heroin addict who died in 1983. And a criminal criminal profiler suggested the bizarre toothpaste pattern. may have been a and I apologize in advance because it gave me the ick when I read it so just to give you heads up the toothpaste theory is that it may have been a substitution for a behavioral ritual for an offender to expi who is experiencing drug induced erectile dysfunction so to I'm just gonna say it To mimic the act of release or ejaculation, they're saying that this is a not so well known thing is to squeeze the toothpaste out as a ritual and to mimic the act of climaxing. There we go. And however though, recent updates. From the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigators have cast significant doubt on his direct involvement. And case records from the Iowa cold the Iowa Cold Cases platform revealed that DNA testing, they ruled him out as a match for evidence left at the crime scene. Like he just seemed too perfect. But this is the thing that always happens: you can't get tunnel vision because without DNA. I would have completely been like, this is the guy. So there's other motives to why they were murdered. And my first thought was, was it jealousy? Was it maybe somebody from Rose's life or Roger's? Because by all accounts, Roger was a serial cheater and had a history of carrying on multiple affairs. So maybe a woman from his past. decided to bludgeon Rose and make him watch? I don't know. Did someone maybe that's the other thing, my other opinion. I go back and forth. Even if it was a lover of Rogers, physically would they be able to not be restrained by having Rose by being outnumbered? So is it more than one killer? Is my question. And I lean more towards I think that there's more than one. Can this case be solved? Yes. Since we have DNA on the towel, I think we will find a killer eventually or who the culprit is. But since most of the detectives on the case are retired, have passed away, I think it'll take a new set of eyes to find something that would open the case wide open and provide some resolution. I do think that most likely that the killer is deceased. And if we do find out, it'll be because of some type of familial DNA that'll hit in some database somewhere. And again, I do think I lean more towards that there's more than one perpetrator. I just think if it was two on one, they would have been able to subdue the killer. And then I go back and forth. If the killer is a stranger or not. There are too many coincidence coincidences from the cases mentioned earlier with the toothpaste. So I don't know. I keep I know they said that they ruled him out, but that's just too many coincidences. And it makes me think that they're they might be somehow connected. But the level of violence makes
me think that this is personal and that this murder might have just been an offshoot. Because it's almost like the Chicago murders that I went over in October and that there are all these women being found and being murdered. And then you had those handful of cases that were offshoots that weren't. And you had the outliers. So I do That's what makes me go back and forth, but I'm pretty set on leaning more towards there's more than one, and we can't rule out the as far as the connection. So what happened to Marcella? So she is an author, and you can purchase her book Axe, the 1980 Amana, Iowa, Axe Murders, and it was released in 2024 on Amazon. She is remarried, and it sounds like she she's happy. And it details the crime and the decades-long unstopped investigation and the personal impact of discovering the affair through murder and her belief that the crime was personal rather than random. Now, the current status of the case, again, in 2015, the Iowa County Sheriff's Office re-examined the case and successfully extracted unknown male DNA preserved from the bathroom towel. While it did not immediately yield a match in law enforcement's database, the DNA does remain a crucial crucial piece of evidence and it just has not been matched to anyone yet, as of yet. And and that is that. Again, this case remains unsolved, but it is solvable. We have DNA. So that gives me hope that we will find out who the culprit is. If you have any information or tips regarding the 1980 unsolved murders of Rose Berger or Roger Atkinson, you please just call the Iowa County Sheriff's Office at 319-642-7307. And yeah, I mean, this is solvable. And I will add or provide more numbers in the show notes. And let's get into our peak of the week. James Munson, a 42-year-old cyclist, survived a sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest on a Monday morning while commuting on the Springwater Corridor Trail near Portland, Oregon. So he was doing his regular seven-mile commute bike ride to work. And he blocked out and suffered a sudden cardiac arrest due to a severely blocked artery. And they're saying it was 90% blockage. Holy cow. So the medical emergency occurred in a remote area of the trail and paramedics could not immediately reach him. And a total stranger, a bystander who wants to remain anonymous, performed critical life saving CPR on the trail until emergency medical. services arrived. And he was rushed by ambulance to Adventist Hot Health Portland, where he underwent an emergency life saving procedure performed by cardiologist Dr. Mark Hart. And he woke up in the hospital a few days later with no memory of the event itself. That is wild. And hats off and kudos to the Good Samaritan who stopped and saved him because that is amazing. And that says a lot about the person. Because they don't even want us to know who they are and they don't want any credits. So if you're listening by chance, you're a hero and you rock. And the credits for today's episode are Parcast, Crime Will Tell, The Des Moines Register, FBI.gov, The Deck, Oxygen Network, Adventist Health.com, K G A N, and The Medium. And that is all for today's episode. Please, please, please, if you are interested, I would love to share your peak of the week. So I will start working on that and hopefully drop that on Sunday's episode. And again, thank you so much for listening to me go on about true crime and let's get these cases out here. Let's get these people's story out there because they mattered and they were important and no matter what. They deserve justice. So if you know something, say something. If you see something, do something. And if you're ever in a situation where you feel uncomfortable or you feel like somebody's a little too close or you're just not feeling right, be a weirdo. It's okay. Be the strange person. Like let your freak flag fly because it is crazy out here in this world. So be safe. And have a good rest of your week. And I will see you all Sunday. Bye.