FILE 412 / 5 August 2023 / 71 MIN / express

The Bloody Basement Breakfast Club

Bismarck, North DakotaListen

The town

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We're going to Bismarck, North Dakota... it's the capital of North Dakota... in southern North Dakota. about 0:03:36

History, in brief

Town note

Lewis and Clark travelled through this area, following the Missouri River as far as they could by boat.

about 0:04:51

Town note

The area was a Mandan Indian settlement before other towns came in.

about 0:04:55

Town note

Edwin Ferry Johnson, a Northern Pacific railway man, had the place called Edwinton after him for a while.

about 0:05:02

1873

In 1873 the railway named the city Bismarck in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

about 0:05:41
All 6 history facts

Town note

Lewis and Clark travelled through this area, following the Missouri River as far as they could by boat.

about 0:04:51

Town note

The area was a Mandan Indian settlement before other towns came in.

about 0:04:55

Town note

Edwin Ferry Johnson, a Northern Pacific railway man, had the place called Edwinton after him for a while.

about 0:05:02

1873

In 1873 the railway named the city Bismarck in honour of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

about 0:05:41

Town note

The naming was intended to attract German immigrants and German investment in the railroad.

about 0:05:53

Town note

Bismarck is the only US state capital named for a foreign statesman.

about 0:06:14

The figures, as told

Money

Median home value$318,500
Median household income$57,660
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2023

Population

"73,321"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:03:50

Median household income

"$57,660"

Comparison: "slightly above the national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:04:18

Median home price

"$318,500"

Comparison: "slightly below the national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:04:26

The reviews

3.0 / 5 · average of 4

5 stars

“A resident loves the simple town that has become her home, full of the friendliest people she has ever met, many of them friends and family; the rolling hills, farmland and natural resources make it a place that produces much and consumes little.”
about 0:06:28

3 stars

“If you want to be an everyday person this is the perfect city; if you are afraid of death you will be comfy here, because there is little to do beyond work, school, practice, dinner and sleep.”
about 0:07:19

2 stars

“Most kids turn to alcohol and drugs in middle school for lack of things to do; people are closed minded, stagnant and hostile to growth, the food is bland and will give you diarrhoea, everything closes early on Sundays, and the religious people are hypocrites who frequent bars.”
about 0:08:03

2 stars

“I do not like this town.”
about 0:09:03

In North Dakota

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The story

Gordon Kent Erickstad was born in 1945 in Devils Lake, North Dakota. He left school in 1963, served a tour in Korea with the army, was discharged in 1967 and trained at Dakota Aerotech in Fargo as a helicopter mechanic. Barbara Marie Heckman was born four years later in North Dakota, went to school in Valley City and graduated from Dakota Business College in Fargo in 1969. She and Gordy met in Fargo that year and married in Valley City on 10 January 1970. Gordy rose to master sergeant and aircraft maintenance supervisor with the North Dakota National Guard; Barbara worked for the Bismarck Tribune and later in the deli at Dan's Supermarket. The family lived at Loreto Drive, in a comfortable neighbourhood, and by 1998 the couple were planning retirement and had bought a larger cabin at Lake Isabel for their grandchildren.

He was drinking and smoking cannabis by 13 and using methamphetamine, acid, pills and PCP by 16. His parents posted a $250 bond and wrote to the court promising to supervise him at home; a week later he was stopped again, for driving without a licence or insurance and possessing marijuana.

Their mother, Pam Stocker, let a group of teenagers and two adult men live in the basement. The basement was where the group drank, smoked cannabis and used methamphetamine.

Ryan thought it was a joke and went back to sleep. Gordy had 13 stab wounds to the head and neck and eight to his arms and hands, defence wounds among them. Barbara had nine wounds in her back and many more elsewhere, her throat slashed repeatedly, bruises and a fractured rib. The killers put both bodies in Gordy's pickup, drove them to a field near Selfridge about 50 miles south of Mandan, dumped them, washed the truck and went back.

Police searching the Sweet Avenue house found a bloodstained towel and latex gloves; Ryan, questioned over his truancy, handed over a bag of bloody clothes and shoes hidden behind a chair. A girl who had driven the pair to the house first lied, then led police to the bodies.

The case

Murders of Gordon and Barbara Erickstad

Victims

Gordon 'Gordy' Erickstad (53). helicopter mechanic and master sergeant with the North Dakota National Guard; adoptive father
Barbara Marie Erickstad (49). worked for the Bismarck Tribune and then in the deli at Dan's Supermarket; adoptive mother

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 5 August 2023.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Amy Werner. girlfriend, 16, lived at the Sweet Avenue house
Michelle Werner. girlfriend, Amy's 18-year-old sister
Naomi Werner. Amy and Michelle's 15-year-old sister
Ryan Werner. the girls' brother; woken and told of the plan, later handed over the bloody clothes
Rick Storehog. had been drinking with and through the day before the murders

The timeline

  1. 1945 Gordon Erickstad is born in Devils Lake, North Dakota. (Devils Lake)about 0:12:34
  2. 1949 Barbara Heckman is born, four years after Gordon.about 0:13:03
  3. 1963 Gordon graduates from school.about 0:12:45
  4. 1967 Gordon is discharged from the army after a tour in Korea and goes to Dakota Aerotech in Fargo. (Dakota Aerotech)about 0:12:45
  5. 1969 Barbara graduates from Dakota Business College in Fargo; she and Gordy meet there. (Dakota Business College)about 0:13:03
  6. January 10th, 1970 Gordy and Barbara marry in Valley City. (Valley City)about 0:13:40
  7. 1973 The couple settle in Mandan after spells in Nebraska, Alaska and Fargo. (Mandan)about 0:13:56
  8. 1980 Their adopted son is born; they adopt him as a baby.about 0:17:19
  9. July 5th, 1998 turns 18.about 0:25:29
  10. July 29th, 1998 Gordy and Barbara write to the court allowing to live at Loreto Drive under their rules. (Erickstad house)about 0:29:11
  11. September 16th, 1998, 10am and start drinking and smoking cannabis at the Sweet Avenue house. (Sweet Avenue house)about 0:43:08
  12. the early hours of September 17th, 1998 wakes Ryan Werner and tells him they are going to kill parents. (Sweet Avenue house)about 0:44:30
  13. September 17th, 1998 Gordy and Barbara Erickstad are stabbed to death in their home. (Erickstad house)about 0:47:35

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode