Sioux Falls Police are investigating a homicide death in the central part of the city. Police arrived at a house on Sunday evening to find 56-year old Kari Ann Kirkegaard dead. Authorities says she lived alone. Officer Sam Clemens says a family member called police about a possible drowning. That person found Kirkegaard in the bathroom. Clemens says police didn’t suspect homicide when they arrived.
"Yeah, there are quite a few different things that are unusual. We go to a lot of different deaths, unattended deaths, where somebody dies in the home. Sometimes there's medical issues, sometimes it's just a natural death. I think probably on the outset that's what this seemed to be, was just another unattended death where somebody passed at their home. Once the autopsy was done, that's when things changed," Officer Clemens say.
A full autopsy is underway, but it could take weeks. Clemens says police are looking for bedding that was missing from Kirkegaard’s home. He says police don’t know if the bedding is connected to the homicide. So far authorities have no suspects, but they encourage anyone with information to call police. This is the first homicide in Sioux Falls in 2014.
