PART 1: The 1980 Murder of Rose Burkert & Roger Atkison, The Crime Scene

On September 13, 1980, a housekeeper at the Holiday Inn in Williamsburg, Iowa, discovered a horrifying scene: Rose Burkert and Roger Atkison had been brutally murdered in their hotel room bed. More than four decades later, their case remains unsolved. But could the answers be closer than ever?

In part one, we dive deep into the crime scene itself, piecing together details from decades of media coverage and released crime scene photos. The scene is puzzling, but hidden within it may be critical clues about who committed this violent crime.

Later in this series we will talk the investigation, suspects, and two other cases that could be linked. 

PART ONE SOURCES: 

• “Hotel Homicide”, The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes, October 12, 2019, Oxygen
• FBI, VICAP ALERT # 2020-03-03, March 25, 2020
• Smith, Rick & Burnham, Jeff, Motel ‘fling’ deadly, March 15, 1992, Cedar Rapids Gazette
• Autopsies: Head blows killed 2, September 18, 1980, The Des Moines Tribune
• Sherman, Cymphanie, Iowa’s Unsolved: Hotel murders still haunt Amana community, 40 years later, May 25, 2021, KGAN
• Hayden, Aly, Is a Serial Killer Responsible For 4 Brutal Hotel Murders?, October 12, 2019, Oxygen
• 300 motel guests sought for double-murder clues, September 15, 1980, Quad City Times
• Owen, Mike, Inn’s bustle hides shock of slayings, September 16, 1980, Quad City Times
• Public’s help sought in tracing couple, September 20, 1980, Quad City Times
• Darr, Kent, One year ago - horror in Room 260, September 14, 1981, Quad City Times
• Shannon, Vicki, 2 MURDER VICTIMS IDENTIFIED, September 15, 1980, The Des Moines Register