Dateline: Secrets Uncovered - Was Jan Kruse's murder solved?

The new Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode focused on the murder of Jan Kruse, who was killed in her sleep in her home in Brewster, Minnesota. Investigators looked into all angles, from home invasion to a burglary gone wrong, before charging Jan's husband, Chris Kruse, with her murder.

Chris stood trial over three years later, but he was acquitted of all charges by the jury. Jan Kruse's murder case was subsequently closed due to a lack of leads and evidence. It is currently unsolved.

The Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode titled Far From Spider Lake chronicled Jan Kruse's unsolved murder when it aired at 8 pm ET on July 10, 2024, on Oxygen. The official synopsis reads:

"A 40-year-old Minnesota woman is shot to death in her bed while her husband and teenage daughter are home, leaving investigators to wonder who would want her dead."

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Why was Chris Kruse arrested for Jan Kruse's murder?

Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode 6, season 13, titled Far From Spider Lake, aired on Oxygen on July 10, 2024, at 8 pm ET. The episode brought to light the unsolved murder of Jan Kruse. The 40-year-old was shot in the chest while she was asleep in her Brewster, Minnesota, home on August 19, 2015

She was reportedly shot with a shotgun while her husband, Chris, slept in the bed next to her. Chris made a 911 call at 2:39 am local time after hearing a gunshot at 2:30 am, which also woke up their daughter, Bailey, who was in the basement.

The crime scene seemed to look like a home invasion, with the back door wide open and the basement window broken. However, there were no footprints inside or outside the house.

The investigators from the Nobles County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension initially had three suspects. They included Chris and Bailey, along with Bailey's boyfriend, Jeremy Majerus.

Jan and Chris had forbidden the then-15-year-old Bailey from dating the then-19-year-old Jeremy. However, the two teens remained friends and spent time together. Both Jeremy and Bailey were ruled out based on interrogation and cellphone records.

At the time of her death, Jan and Chris were reportedly planning to buy a resort in Spider Lake, a destination they visited often. They had plans to move and had also made an offer, but fell short of funds to make a deal a few days before Jan's death.

Chris, who had been married to Jan for over 20 years, was charged with her murder. He was charged after a ballistics expert determined that the 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun found without a case at Chris' shop was identical to the spent shell casings at their house. It is to be noted that the ballistics test came back inconclusive in the first run.

Apart from that, a blood splatter analysis of the stains on Chris' clothes determined discrepancies. He had claimed that he laid Jan on the bed after she was shot. Chris also told the 911 operator that Jan Kruse was very bloody after she was shot.

According to Chris' 911 call, which was recorded, he never asked for an ambulance or performed CPR on his wife. However, he did mention it in his interrogation. The prosecutors alleged that Chris Kruse had killed Jan to get through to her life insurance money to secure the Spider Lake Resort.

The prosecution charged Chris Kruse with Jan's murder, but he was acquitted of all charges as the state failed to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The murder case was eventually closed in an unsolved state.

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All the details of Jan Kruse's murder as the Dateline episode aired on Oxygen on Wednesday.