Kryger indicted on murder charges

A man accused of raping and killing a woman in her home in March has been formally indicted on murder, rape and burglary charges.

Christopher Dean Kryger, 40, also faces charges as a habitual criminal based on arson and aggravated assault charges.

Kryger was arrested on murder charges nearly two weeks after 56-year-old Kari Anne Kirkegaard was found naked and strangled in her bathtub by a family member.

Police circulated surveillance video of a man on bike, taken from a local mosque, to gather tips from the public.

Officers interviewed and took DNA from Kryger, a parolee, a week after the murder, and arrested him on the murder charge when state lab test results showed a match between it and DNA found in Kirkegaard’s body.

A grand jury indicted Kryger on Wednesday on five alternate counts of first-degree murder, one alternate count of second-degree murder, separate counts of second- and third-degree rape and two alternate counts of first-degree burglary.

The indictment came after jurors heard testimony from two officers, the Minneheha County Coroner and the woman who found Kirkegaard’s body on March 16.

Kryger also was indicted as a habitual criminal based on prior convictions for aggravated assault and arson.

A conviction for first-degree murder carries a sentence of death or life without the possibility of parole.

Because he’s indicted as a habitual criminal, a conviction on any of the counts could result in a life sentence for Kryger.

Kryger remains in custody at the Minnehaha County Jail on no bond.