PART 2: The 1980 Murder of Rose Burkert & Roger Atkison, The Investigation

On September 12, 1980, Rose Burkert and Roger Atkison were brutally murdered at a Holiday Inn in Williamsburg, Iowa. To this day, this case remains unsolved. In part one, we went through the crime scene in detail. 

Today, in part two, we step beyond the crime scene and into the investigation that followed. Who were Rose Burkert and Roger Atkison, and what brought them to that Holiday Inn room on the night of their deaths? We trace their final movements, reconstruct the timeline, and examine how investigators first pursued the case. 

SOURCES (Full list of sources available upon request; the character limit was reached for this description)

• Hatcher-Atkison, Marcella, Axed! The 1980 Amana, Iowa Ax Murders, 2023
• Cooper, RJ, Rumors surround 1980 killings, September 20, 2009, St. Joseph News-Press
• Hermiston, Lee, Keeping cold cases alive, August 16, 2015, The Gazette
• Blume, Jim, Investigators look for break on ax murders, May 31, 1981, The Des Moines Register
• “Hotel Homicide”, The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes, October 12, 2019, Oxygen
• FBI, VICAP ALERT # 2020-03-03, March 25, 2020
• Smith, Rick & Burnham, Jeff, Motel ‘fling’ deadly, March 15, 1992, Cedar Rapids Gazette
• Autopsies: Head blows killed 2, September 18, 1980, The Des Moines Tribune
• Fowler, Cornell, Public help sought in murder cases, September 19, 1980, The Des Moines Tribune
• Highway 30 murder victim identified, September 22, 1980, Iowa City Press Citizen
• Muller, Lyle, Authorities probe link between murder suspect, motel slayings, May 16, 1983, Iowa City Press Citizen
• Seery, Tom, Court rules on suit involving double murder in Amana, October 18, 1984, Iowa City Press Citizen
• Sherman, Cymphanie, Iowa’s Unsolved: Hotel murders still haunt Amana community, 40 years later, May 25, 2021, KGAN
• Hayden, Aly, Is a Serial Killer Responsible For 4 Brutal Hotel Murders?, October 12, 2019, Oxygen
• 300 motel guests sought for double-murder clues, September 15, 1980, Quad City Times
• Owen, Mike, Inn’s bustle hides shock of slayings, September 16, 1980, Quad City Times
• Dodd, D’Anne, Galesburg link to deaths probed, September 16, 1980, Quad City Times
• Arpy, Jim, Unsolved slayings form pockets of fear, September 19, 1980, Quad City Times
• Public’s help sought in tracing couple, September 20, 1980, Quad City Times
• Mystery woman’s sketch draws flood of calls to Cedar sheriff, September 20, 1980, Quad City Times
• Cunningham, Rusty, Motel murders linked, October 1, 1980, Quad City Times
• Darr, Kent, One year ago - horror in Room 260, September 14, 1981, Quad City Times
• Davidson, Tom, Hatcher checked in ax murder, May 16, 1983, Quad City Times

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If you have any information on any of the cold cases covered, you can submit a tip here:

https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/for-crime-victims/iowa-cold-case/cold-case-tip-form

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