Angie Dodge - Ten Year KPVI Update

Tuesday June 13, 2006

UNSOLVED MURDER

Tomorrow marks ten years since a brutal murder took place. The body of 18-year-old Angie Dodge was found in her Idaho Falls home the morning of June 13th, 1996. Police say she probably knew her attackers, but not all have been caught and brought to justice. Christopher Tapp was convicted on first-degree murder charges. He is serving 25 years to life, but police say he didn't act alone. He also isn't talking about who was with him.

Suzanne Hobbs spoke with the lead investigator assigned to the case in 1996 and Angie's mother. Those closest to the case say they want it solved. Idaho Falls has one to two homicides a year, but there hasn't been a brutal murder like the one that took place at 441 I Street since then and it has been difficult to solve.

On the morning of June 13, 1996, 18-year-old Angie Dodge didn't show up for work at Beauty for All Seasons. Her co-workers called numerous times and eventually went to her home. Angie was dead. She had been stabbed, her throat and other parts of her body cut, and she had been raped. The lead detective on the case was Ken Brown. He's now a lieutenant and head of the Idaho Falls Detective Division. The Dodge case is one that Brown thinks about on a weekly basis.

Lt. Ken Brown: "But to lose them at the force of somebody else's hands, you know, intentionally going out and brutally killing somebody else like this is very difficult."

He's assigned Detective Jim Hoffman to stay on the case and follow up on any leads. The arrest and conviction of Chris Tapp is not the end to the investigation.

Lt. Ken Brown: "Grabbing the one - having Chris Tapp go through trial and be convicted - was a huge step, but it's only a piece of the pie and we want the whole pie. We're not satisfied with just a piece of it."

Angie was Carole's only daughter. There's a memorial for her in Freeman Park along the river - a place where she spent the evening before she died. She says her daughter touched many lives.

Carole Dodge, Angie's mother: "For such a young girl, at the age of 18, to leave the footprints she left in so many lives, she's a great girl to be admired."

Carole thinks of Angie everyday and knows others can help solve this case.

Carole Dodge, Angie's mother: "But they do have answers. They may not realize that they have the answers, because a lot of people think it's a solved murder, but they need to do the right thing."

Police know Tapp didn't act alone and even have DNA evidence taken from the crime scene.

Lt. Ken Brown: "We're suspecting at least three - Chris Tapp, and possibly two others. We know of one other for sure because we have a DNA that we don't have a match for yet."

That DNA from a yet-unidentified person is entered in a databank and hopefully someday a match will be found.

Another mystery is why Chris Tapp, who is not eligible for parole until the year 2027, hasn't come forward with the names of those who were also involved in Angie's murder. Carole Dodge says for those who know something, it's not too late to share what you know and help solve this case.