Since my initial post on the ‘Hinterkaifeck massacre’, I've published a Reddit post to introduce Wyzard Explain. It didn't take long before I received a response beneath the post, from someone self-claiming as an expert in criminal psychology, striving to solve an unresolved case. She also mentioned that both of them were final-year students in 1998; the girl was beloved by everyone as per their account. However, the user also suggested that the culprit might have used fire to conceal something following the girl's demise. Nevertheless,she stated there's no way to investigate the case as they lack contact with anyone relevant and there's no evidence of the fire...
Upon reading the response, I clicked on the link provided by the Reddit user, leading me to a Bring Me The News article about the murder case of a woman named April Sorensen and her mysterious death. I skimmed through it and realized that... the article was very short (I'll provide the link below, I'm not kidding, it's really short). Due to this reason and at that time, I focused on writing the second post, temporarily setting aside April's case and concentrating on the new article. It wasn't until after "Death with Lead Masks" was posted that I had time to delve into and investigate this much perplexing case. After searching for April Sorensen's name on the internet, I gathered more information and an overview of this case (thanks to NBC, link at the end of the post) hoping to find more details. However, life is a pool of disappointments; although I gathered more information than the Bring Me The News article, the ultimate result was still a case of fire.
At this point, I remembered the user’s words on Reddit - "the fire." I quickly made up my mind to write an article about this case (because this is Wyzard Explain), with two goals: one is to make people more aware and the other is to summarize the whole thing in a single post on internet. The hope behind doing these things was that it could lead us towards new discoveries about what happened here.
To the Sorensen family, if they read this article, I am truly sorry for your immeasurable loss. I hope that justice comes quickly and please never lose hope.
This is: ‘A Nap in the Fire’ by Wyzard Explain.
A Sweet Girl with Sweet Life
April Jean Larson was born on March 26, 1980 in Albert Lea, Minnesota, United States. Her parents are Jon and Sandy Stadheim Larson. She lived a mostly normal life with no major abnormalities or unusual occurrences. Her place of birth is also her hometown. April completed her high school education at Albert Lea High School in 1998. From people who knew April, it was learned that she was a lively person who enjoyed sports greatly and took part in activities like volleyball and basketball.
Once April finished her high school education from Albert Lea High School, she went to Nova Beauty School and started working at J.C. Penney salon for 3 years. Both places are in Makoto which is around an hour's drive away from Albert Lea. She later moved on to take more education and job chances in life; she got a job at UPS Inc., located in Rochester, Minnesota. At the same time, she was attending Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) where she studied to get her degree as a dental hygienist student there too.
April got married to Joshua J. Sorensen on August 24, 2003. After this, she changed her last name to Sorensen; both moved to Rochester and she kept working at UPS and J.C. Penney for about 2 years more. As per the reports and testimonies of people linked with them, April was involved in social activities and liked outdoor stuff like skiing or running.
This was not on the Appointment List
On April 17, 2007 around 12:30 in the afternoon, Rochester police got a phone call about smoke seen at a house in the area of 4800 block on 22nd Avenue Northwest. When a cable TV technician who had an appointment for service came to that house, they noticed haze through its door and also heard sound from inside like it was coming from smoke alarm.
The cable TV technician quickly informed the authorities. After the fire was put out firefighters discovered the body of a woman later identified as April Sorensen by law enforcement. She had been a victim of a homicide. The culprit had tried to erase all evidence by setting fire to the room.
The suspicion of arson intensified when investigators discovered that the perpetrator had tried to block the bedroom door, allowing the fire to engulf everything inside. Authorities confirmed that the fire was confined within an upstairs bedroom, where April's body was found on the bedroom floor, positioned at the epicentre of the fire. Despite the intense heat that destroyed significant evidence, investigators managed to collect hundreds of pieces of evidence from the residence. Some of this evidence contained human DNA, but as of yet, no match has been found.
Neighbours' statements indicated no unusual activity on the morning of April 17. Despite limited information, investigators continue sifting through fire remnants for clues. They suspect April was assaulted and fatally stabbed with a sharp object, possibly a knife, though the weapon remains elusive.
Post-autopsy, it was revealed April Sorensen was strangled and fatally stabbed. Capt. John Sherwin of the Rochester Police Department disclosed in 2017 that they revisited the crime scene, re-evaluating evidence collected. Sherwin, a patrol sergeant during Sorensen's murder, was the first responder at the house where she lived with her husband.
Big Man steps in. The Great Search Begins
After a detailed investigation and gathering of evidence, law enforcement laid out the events that happened before the fire: April Sorensen left her house on Tuesday morning from 4:00 a.m. to travel for work at UPS until 8:00 a.m. She drove her 2001 white Buick Regal after finishing shift to RCTC where she studied part-time in a class.
April, she left the college campus at 10:50 a.m. But law enforcement didn't have any details about what April was doing or where she could be before and after 12:30 p.m., which is when they found out about the fire.
In late 2007, Captain Brian Winters described the investigation process. He said: "In Rochester, we worked with FBI to find out who did this. The person who did it might be a man who can mix into community without making anyone doubt him and he probably acted alone." Winters said that evidence showed the person felt comfortable entering someone's home without an invitation. This indicates they may have broken into or stolen things from other houses before this occurrence.
"The police are yet to conclude if April was a planned target or just an unfortunate scapegoat," shared Roger Peterson, who used to be a chief of police.
At first, the cable technician and April's husband were interviewed by law enforcement. But, they had alibis that showed they were not associated with the woman's death as Joshua was working during the time of murder, and the cable technician has just arrived to the scene based on his work scheldule. This caused police to let go of them and cross their names off from suspects list.
"There are a number of individuals that we've never been able to fully eliminate," Winters said about a possible suspect. "then there's always the potential that there are individuals that we don't know about — somebody passing through, or that we can't even connect to the neighbourhood."
He also accepted that every year, it's necessary to bring back the memory of Sorensen's death.
Winters said, "Anything we can do to refresh the public's memory that this is out there. The hope is that somebody will remember something, and that it'll be the thing that breaks the case."
Despite the efforts and the reminder, no arrests has been made so far.
In Memoriam
In the ten years after her killing, Sorensen's family started an every year memory run from Albert Lea to Hayward. This gathering collects money for scholarships given to students in that area and also helps keep Blazing Star State Trail nice.
Sorensen had a passion for various sports.
"A marathon website mentioned that April liked running and has finished three marathons by herself, two with her dad and sister, plus taking part in relay marathons and many smaller races. April was full of life and she would always go the extra mile to be kind to everyone. It's a big loss not just for her family but also for the communities where April lived." She ... leaves behind a lasting memory with so many."
Author’s Note
Certainly, explaining a topic that still has many unknown elements after 14 years since the happening of the incident is truly difficult. Yet, it's better to have some information rather than none at all. This article is important to me because it was my first encounter with a subject introduced by someone on social media that not many people know about (I also didn't know much about it), and during writing this piece I had deep thoughts; who might be behind this crime and for what reason would they attack Sorensen who is known as gentle, energetic and well-liked woman?
In my view, I think the person who did this might have had some sort of connection with April. Maybe, they knew her and could have been dealing with strong feelings for her. But, perhaps April rejected their interest and this triggered their anger that later turned into personal animosity towards her. I don't believe there's a random reason why a criminal would pick on April in such way: Rochester is known to have relatively low crime rate and both cable technician as well as Joshua possess no criminal records. Furthermore, April was not someone you could hate. She participated in public activities - a character that we can't live without, the ones who always want to outdo us.
In the end, April Sorensen's family is the one to feel more sympathy for. They not only had to go through their daughter's funeral service but also have been waiting for a time period of 14 years in which they can seek justice for her. I try to imagine myself as April and understand how big this pain is...
Again, if April's family sees this article, I feel sorrow for your loss and I sincerely wish that a special sign will come to help you find the truth about April Sorensen's fate.
Tip line
If you have information about the murder of April Jean Sorensen, contact:
Rochester Police Department investigator Anne Johnson 507-328-6921.
www.rochesterolmstedcrimestoppers.org
Requiescat In Pace.
Link to pages:
Great post. This is Beth the original commenter who posted on Reddit. I got a crim psych degree but am not a professional or detective. I did evaluate the case with my limited experience and also feel as a hunch they were let in or wandered in freely (Minnesotans esp in rochester leave doors unlocked) and was looking for her. The bedroom I think was towards back of the house? So it was away from windows and being seen by people. Hard to believe nobody saw anything. But I wonder with her various jobs did she run into someone who made her uncomfortable or was after her and she didn't know it or a stalker of some kind. This was before social media so likely not from there. Such a curious case and I knew her only a little bit. We were not friends outside class. Those who did know her knew her sweet kind demeanor and tough attitude as a runner got her thru cross country runs etc. She was well liked. Hope her family finds closure. Thanks for the article.
Minor edit: The town mentioned early on is Mankato MN. It was misspelled.