The murder of Regina Krieger
Burley, Cassia County, Idaho · 1995
Overview
Regina "Gina" Krieger, 14, was reported missing on the morning of February 28, 1995, when her father went downstairs to wake her for school in their Burley, Idaho home and found a trail of blood leading from her basement bedroom into the backyard. Her body was found on the bank of the Snake River east of Rupert in April, and an autopsy showed she had been stabbed. No one was charged for more than two decades. A 1996 newspaper report had named Gilberto Flores Rodriguez as a suspect, but the case went cold, and a former sheriff later said detectives had made mistakes in the early investigation. In 2017 the FBI joined the Cassia County Sheriff's Office, and on February 20, 2019 Rodriguez, then 56, was arrested after at least three witnesses, according to court documents, linked him to the killing. A Cassia County jury convicted him of first-degree murder in May 2021 after deliberating less than four hours, and on October 15, 2021 he was sentenced to life in prison. The case rested on witness testimony; the murder weapon was never found. His attorney told jurors the witnesses were liars, said DNA evidence in the case does not match Rodriguez, and said he would appeal. Rodriguez says he did not kill her.
How it was solved
The case was solved by witnesses, not by physical evidence. Gina Krieger disappeared in February 1995 and her body was found in the Snake River that April. A newspaper reported in 1996 that Rodriguez was considered a suspect, but former sheriff Randy Kidd later said detectives had made mistakes and that, although rumors circulated, police never found an eyewitness willing to talk; he cited a "fear factor" among the teenagers who had heard about it. In 2017 the FBI said it was assisting the Cassia County Sheriff's Office because of new evidence it would not describe. Rodriguez was arrested on February 20, 2019. Court documents obtained by East Idaho News described three witnesses who were not named in the papers. The first said he was with Rodriguez the night she died and helped dispose of her body; the second, a woman, said Rodriguez and the first witness arrived at a party upset and covered in blood and buried a knife; the third said Rodriguez described a struggle with her. At the April 26, 2019 preliminary hearing, KMVT reported, a witness said he helped Rodriguez put a bloody, blanket-wrapped body into the Snake River. The defense asked why he had lied in earlier reports to law enforcement, and he said he had lied out of fear for his family and had committed perjury in another case about Regina. Oxygen reported that, according to court records, the first witness was 16 at the time, that two other witnesses supported his account at trial, and that the murder weapon was never recovered. The defense called the witnesses liars. On Tuesday, May 25, 2021, after deliberating less than four hours, the jury convicted Rodriguez of first-degree murder. At sentencing Rodriguez said he did not do this, and his attorney said DNA evidence in the case does not match him and that the conviction was based on lies told to the jury. The conviction rests on the jury's judgment of those witnesses.
Sources
- Still No Suspects In Girl's Murder (April 20, 1995)
“Authorities are investigating whether a trail of blood in Regina Krieger's home means the 14-year-old Burley girl died there.”
- FBI steps in to help with 1995 Idaho murder of teen girl (April 13, 2017)
“Detectives made mistakes handling the case, former Cassia County sheriff Randy Kidd said in 2015. Investigators initially did not consider it a murder but one where Regina had killed herself or run away.”
- Authorities arrest man in 1995 death of Idaho teen (February 22, 2019)
“The South Idaho Press, a newspaper that closed in 2008, reported in 1996 that Rodriguez was considered a suspect in Regina's death. Still, the case went cold until 2017, when Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Chris Sheehan in Boise said he and another investigator had been assigned to the case.”
- Agents arrest Burley man on 24-year-old murder case (February 20, 2019)
“Rodriguez was taken into custody without incident in Minidoka County and was taken to the Mini-Cassia Justice Center where he is being held without bond.”
- Man pleads not guilty to murder charge in 1995 death of Burley girl; family speaks out (February 21, 2019)
“Gilberto Flores Rodriguez, 56, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in a Cassia County courthouse.”
- Defendant showed up at party covered in blood after teen's death 24 years ago, witness claims (February 22, 2019)
“At least three witnesses have come forward linking a 56-year-old Burley man to the violent killing of a teenage girl 24 years ago, according to court documents obtained by EastIdahoNews.com.”
- Cassia County court hears from witnesses in 24-year-old Burley murder case (April 26, 2019)
“The man accused of killing a 14-year-old Burley girl 24 years ago, appeared in court Friday for his preliminary hearing.”
- Jury convicts man in 1995 cold case murder in Burley, Idaho (May 28, 2021)
“The Times-News reported that a jury found Gilberto Flores Rodriguez guilty on Tuesday of killing Regina Krieger after deliberating for less than four hours.”
- Burley man has been found guilty in 1995 cold case murder (May 26, 2021)
“A Burley man has been found guilty for the first-degree murder charges in the death of a 14-year-old girl in a more than two-decade-old case Tuesday.”
- Jailhouse Confession Leads to Conviction of 1995 Murder of Snake River Teenager (June 1, 2021)
“The murder weapon has never been recovered. Several people claimed that Rodriguez often bragged about the murder.”
- Idaho man convicted in 1995 killing gets life sentence (October 16, 2021)
“he will appeal the conviction because DNA evidence in the case doesn't match Rodriguez, and the conviction was based on lies told to the jury.”
- Idaho man convicted in 1995 killing gets life sentence (October 16, 2021)
“Fifty-nine-year-old Gilberto Flores Rodriguez received the sentence Friday in Fifth District Court.”