Sex offender charged in Dru Sjodin's death
Rodriguez pleads not guilty; faces possible death penalty
FARGO, North Dakota (CNN) -- A federal grand jury has charged Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., with kidnapping University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin, leading to her death, a federal official said Wednesday.
If convicted, he could face the death penalty. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, said Charlotte Berg, an assistant to U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley.
Sjodin's body was discovered last month in a ditch northwest of Crookston, Minnesota.
According to the indictment, Rodriguez, 51, a convicted sex offender, "knowingly and unlawfully seized, confined, inveigled, decoyed, kidnapped, abducted, carried away, and willfully transported Dru Katrina Sjodin in interstate commerce from the state of North Dakota to the state of Minnesota, and held her for the purpose of sexually assaulting her, and otherwise, resulting in the death of Dru Katrina Sjodin."
The indictment said Rodriguez killed Sjodin "in an especially heinous, cruel, and depraved manner, in that it involved torture and serious physical abuse" and that the killing was carried out "after substantial planning."
The 22-year-old disappeared November 22 after leaving her job at a Victoria's Secret store in a Grand Forks, North Dakota, mall. She was on the telephone with her boyfriend when the phone went dead.
Rodriguez was charged December 1 with her kidnapping after authorities found a knife and blood matching Sjodin's DNA in his car. Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to the kidnapping.
Later, a knife sheath was found near Sjodin's car in the mall parking lot. The sheath was sold at a local store and only with a knife of the type found in Rodriguez's car.
After her disappearance, a shoe belonging to Sjodin was found beneath a bridge along the bank of the Red Lake River. The bridge was on a highway heading into Crookston, Rodriguez's hometown, about 25 miles east of Grand Forks.
Wrigley estimated that Rodriguez' trial would last three or four weeks, according to a report from The Associated Press. The trial was set for July 19.
Northeast Central District Judge Lawrence Jahnke has issued a gag order barring attorneys on both sides from talking about the state case, the AP reported.
Allan Sjodin, Dru's father, said he has no preference on where the case is tried.
 Dru Sjodin disappeared November 22. |  |
"I really haven't sat down and thought about the whole process," he said Wednesday in an AP report. "We're just going to follow the process. They're going to handle the case, and we believe in the justice system."
Federal charges had been expected because authorities believe Rodriguez crossed state lines while committing the crime.
Rodriguez was released from prison last May, after serving a 23-year sentence for attempted kidnapping, assault and other convictions for attempted rape and aggravated rape.
Investigators said they found traces of Sjodin's DNA in blood in Rodriguez's car, according to the AP. They also found a knife in the trunk that matched a sheath found near Sjodin's car.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
