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The Brewster, Minnesota resident and mother of two, Jan Kruse, was shot to death in August 2015 and led the investigators on the run for evidence to solve the case in the following years. While the case remained unsolved, the investigators struggled to find a suspect and a plausible motive for the crime.
Jan's husband, Chris Kruse, was initially arrested for her murder while the prosecution argued that he had been after her life insurance payout to secure the property of Spider Lake Resort in Marcell Minnesota which allegedly served as the motive behind the act. After a long trial, he was acquitted of all charges due to the lack of substantial evidence.
The Dateline: Secrets Uncovered episode titled Far From Spider Lake chronicles Jan Kruse's murder as it aired on July 10, 2024, at 8 p.m. EST on Oxygen. The official synopsis reads,
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"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."
Was Chris Kruse convicted of Jan Kruse's murder?
The mother of two from Brewster, Janette Krista Pigman-Kruse, was found shot in the chest with a 12 gauge shotgun in the middle of the night on August 19, 2015, according to The Globe. The investigations into the murder case took place over three years and ended with her husband, Chris Kruse. The other two suspects, Bailey and her boyfriend, Jeremy, were ruled out early on.
Per The Globe, Chris Kruse was arrested and charged with the first-degree premeditated murder of his wife almost four years after the tragedy in March 2019. Chris went through a long trial in early 2020 when the prosecutors made the details of the case including evidence and motive available to the public.
Chris Kruse was accused of killing his wife for the life insurance payout that would enable him to purchase a property in Spider Lake. Chris and Jan were married for 20 years and the couple had plans to move to Spider Lake. According to Oxygen, the couple had placed an offer on Spider Lake Resort a few days before Jan Kruse's murder.
The owner of the Spider Lake Resort testified that he had had a 57-minute phone conversation with Chris Kruse on August 17, 2016, wherein the latter made an offer of $700,000. The couple had been unable to secure a loan of the amount earlier. The Globe reported that Jan had $150,000 in life insurance aside from a total of $550,000 in assets.
The prosecution argued premeditation and brought forth circumstantial evidence to the jury who found Chris not guilty of first or second-degree murder charges due to lack of evidence and improper portrayal of the case timeline. The Nobles County Attorney Joseph Sanow put out a statement after the verdict sharing,
“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict of not guilty. We continue to believe that on Aug. 19, 2015, Christopher Kruse intentionally shot and killed Janette Pigman-Kruse in the bedroom of their Brewster home."
He further added,
However, we are sworn to support the federal and state constitutions, both of which give individuals accused of a crime the right to have their guilt or innocence determined by a jury. We support that right, regardless of the outcome.”
Episode 6 of Season 13 will bring Chris Kruse on record after his acquittal of Jan Kruse's murder charges.
Watch all the details of Jan Kruse's murder trial as the Dateline episode streams on NBC.
