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The murder of Jan Kruse in 2015 was investigated for a while before her husband, Chris Kruse, was arrested for her murder. Chris' arrest came almost four years after Jan's shooting death. With the evidence of the existence of a weapon similar to the murder weapon in Chris' shop and his inconsistent alibi, Chris was tried for first-degree premeditated murder.
However, the jury found him not guilty of all charges, and his trial records were later expunged. Chris, a free man now, has since moved to Worthington and lives a low-profile life. The Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode, titled Far From Spider Lake, chronicles the confounding murder case of Jan Kruse as it airs on July 10, 2024, at 8 pm EST 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? Details explored
Season 13 episode 6 of Dateline looks into the horrific murder of Jan Kruse as her husband and daughter were present inside the house the night of the murder. Jan was reportedly found with a bullet to her chest as two 12 gauge shell casings lay on the bedroom floor.
The 911 call from the Kruse household was from Chris as he reported their back door being wide open and hearing gunshots around 2:30 am local time, according to The Worthington Globe. The authorities found a broken window in the basement but saw no signs of a burglary or break-in.
As the investigators found no enemies, they suspected Chris Kruse, which they solidified with inconsistencies in his alibi. Chris had reportedly mentioned laying Jan's body on the bed on the 911 call as she was full of blood, but the blood pattern on his clothes did not match the description of events.
The authorities also recovered a .12-gauge shotgun from his shop, kept without a case or in a cupboard, according to The Globe.
Read more: Five key details of Jan Kruse's murder explored
Where is Chris Kruse now?
Chris Kruse was arrested and charged with first-degree premeditated murder of Jan Kruse in April 2019, according to The Globe. The arrest took place over three years after Jan's death in August 2015. Chris went to trial in January 2020 after he was interviewed for eight hours, a total of six times, per the prosecution.
Kruse's trial took place over eight days and had 41 witnesses take the stand, per the Worthington Globe. The jury took 12 hours to come up with the decision of finding Chris Kruse not guilty of first or second-degree murder. Moreover, this ensured that Chris would not be eligible to be tried under the same charges in case of new evidence, per the Fifth Amendment.
In due course, the Jan Kruse murder case was closed as the state mentioned not finding any new leads or evidence to continue the investigation. A request made by Kruse to have his record of being tried for first-degree murder expunged was granted by the Fifth Judicial District Judge Terry Vajgrt on August 20, 2020.
He lives to be a free man and has moved to Worthington since, according to The Worthington Globe.
Read more: Dateline: Secrets Uncovered - Was Jan Kruse's murder solved?
Watch all the details of Jan Kruse's murder as the Dateline episode airs on Oxygen on Wednesday.
