Murder in the Heartland is examining the murder of cattle farmer Robin Enockson, who was gunned down at his home by Edward Reitan in the small town of Driscoll, North Dakota.
On December 20, 1990, the father of 34-year-old Enockson found the body of his son lying at his mobile home. He had been shot in the head multiple times by a .22-caliber rifle. He had been dead for one or two days.
For fourteen years, the murder remained unsolved. The investigation had been hampered by a snow blizzard, which, according to Sheriff Capt. Les Witkowski had obliterated most of the evidence.
The police did have a number of people of interest, including Edward Reitan, but they didn’t have enough evidence to prosecute anyone.
Enockson’s family was determined to discover what happened and issued a $20,000 reward. But as the years passed and no new evidence came to light, the case grew cold, and the reward was withdrawn.
Fourteen years later Edward Reitan confessed to killing Robin Enockson
However, in May 2004, Reitan drove from his home in Washington state to the Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department in Bismarck, ND. He stopped at a pay phone opposite the sheriff’s department and confessed to killing Enockson.
At the time of the killing, Reitan was living in Driscoll at Enockson’s mother-in-law’s house when he heard that Enockson had been arguing with his wife. For unclear reasons, Reitan confronted Enockson at the latter’s home, and the pair began arguing.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelReitan said he got angry when Enockson went back to bed, so he, in his own words, said, “I grabbed a gun, and I shot him.”
The killer had a lengthy criminal record dating back to the 1970s that included kidnapping, rape, robbery, domestic violence, and forgery.
Edward Reitan given a lengthy sentence for Robin Enockson murder
Reitan was sentenced to life imprisonment, but as part of a deal for pleading guilty, he was granted the possibility of parole after 30 years. That could be reduced to 20 years for good behavior.
Judge Robert Wefald said the seriousness of the crime and Reitan’s criminal history meant the sentence was lenient. Wefald also told the killer, “You’ve robbed him [Enockson] of his life. You’ve robbed him of the joys and sorrows that come with living.”
Reitan was asked if he wanted to comment on the sentence, but he replied, “No comment. I accept it.”
In 2010, construction workers unearthed a piece of tarp containing four weapons. The police claimed Reitan had used them in the Enockson murder; at the time, Sheriff Maj. Witkowski said they were “the last piece of the puzzle.” The find did not affect Reitan’s sentence.
Murder in the Heartland airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.