In September 1980, a Holiday Inn hotel in rural Iowa became the scene of a shocking double murder: a couple was found dead in their hotel bed covered in lacerations. And the scene around them is one of the strangest and most puzzling I’ve ever come across in all my work. It’s one of the reasons this case has gained notoriety over time: I mean, to this day, the hotel where the couple lost their lives is still visited by true crime fanatics.
Despite multiple suspects – and three agencies contributing to the investigation – no one has ever been arrested or charged in connection with Rose and Roger’s deaths.
But… we have an exclusive update – something is about to happen in the Rose and Roger case that just might solve this nearly 50-year-old mystery.
Courtesy of the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office
Episode Info
If you have any information about the murders of Roger Atkison and Rose Burkert, you can call the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office at 319-642-7307.
A photo of Marcella and Roger. Courtesy of Marcella Shat.
A photo of Marcella and Roger on their wedding day. Courtesy of Marcella Shat.
A photo of Roger repairing a phone. Courtesy of Marcella Shat.
A photo of Marcella and Roger. Courtesy of Marcella Shat.
A photo of Rose. Credit: Burkert Family Photo via Justice for Rosie Facebook Page.
A photo of Rose.
A photo of Rose as a child. Credit: Burkert Family Photo via Justice for Rosie Facebook Page.
A photo of Jack McDonald. Credit: McDonald Family Photo via Find a Grave
A photo of William Kyle. Credit: Kyle Family Photo via Ancestry.com
Mug shots of Raimundo Esparza. Courtesy of the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office.
A photo of the toothpaste in the bathtub of room 260. Courtesy of the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office.
A photo of the chairs in room 260. Courtesy of the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office.
A photo of “This” written in soap on the bathroom door in room 260. Courtesy of the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office.
The ransacked hotel room. Courtesy of the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office.
A photo of the Holiday Inn Amana. Courtesy of the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office.
Episode Source Material
Original reporting by Laura Frater
- Iowa County Sheriff’s Police File on Roger Atkison and Rose Burkert
- Interview with Marcella Shat by Laura Frater
- Interview with Larry Atkison by Laura Frater
- Interview with retired Sgt. William Horton by Laura Frater