Local law enforcement on Saturday responded to what they deemed a probable homicide at the El-Vu Motel in Bowman.
By BRYCE MARTIN
Pioneer Editor | [email protected]
Local law enforcement on Saturday responded to what they called a homicide at the El-Vu Motel in Bowman.
Bowman Police Chief Chuck Headley told The Pioneer at the scene Saturday that the department received a state radio call around noon requesting an ambulance and police to respond to the motel at the corner of Highways 85 and 12.
Headley confirmed that a deceased male, who was later identified as Nicholas Johnson, 23, of Rhame, was found lying on the floor of a motel room.
El-Vu Motel owner Colette Haines, who resides in Colorado, happened to be at the motel for the weekend. She told The Pioneer that she was waiting to be questioned by authorities but indicated that she and an employee of the motel were the first to discover the body on Saturday.
Haines said there were two people that lived in that room, Room No. 25, and were employed by the motel as housekeepers. They did not report to work Saturday morning so Haines and another employee were cleaning the rooms.
She said she entered the room to discover a body, in a pool of blood, and immediately dialed 911.
Bowman Officer Larry Fischer was the first on the scene and later contacted Headley, who contacted the North Dakota Bureau of Investigation.
The lead investigator from the bureau, Tim Erickson, then initiated the state’s crime lab. Several investigators were later on the scene, dressed in white forensics suits, examining the room for physical evidence.
The scene was quickly cordoned off by yellow police tape, with one evidence marker indicating potential evidence about 100 feet from the scene in the parking lot.
“It’s a long, arduous process,” Headley said.
Because of the disarray of the room and the condition of the body, Headley said it was likely to be a homicide, which was later confirmed by the state’s medical examiner. Though Headley did not comment on how the individual had died.
