Site icon KonnieMoments

North Dakota police arrest man, 21, suspected of ‘heinous and diabolical murder’ of girlfriend, 25, who vanished without a trace after New Year’s Day

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2923d966fe04f6756467b5e6caef12de wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;1c0505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Authorities in Fargo&comma; North Dakota last week&comma; announced they had arrested 21-year-old Joshua Alexander Hite&comma; in connection with the murder of his girlfriend who disappeared in January <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8de59e0f2de68ca8887dd63a1ece067a wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;1c0505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Isadora Wengel&comma; 25&comma; who was staying over at boyfriend&&num;8217&semi;s apt&period; for the New Year&comma; was last seen at a Walmart in Fargo on January 3&comma; with her family members reporting her missing four days later <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-be857b6bf4e43e50bc740ed719b89a2c wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;1c0505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>She has not been seen since&comma; despite the massive search effort&comma; and presumed dead <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b3029799046ffa63bbbc04351532b363 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;1c0505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Hite and Wengel had been dating since August&comma; and he admitted she had been staying with him since New Year&&num;8217&semi;s Day&comma; but they argued and he took her home<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d0d4429aff908f1674321f33c5eb0495 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;1c0505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>However&comma; he still had her phone and p<strong>olice recovered her DNA from cutting equipment and cleaning agents in his apartment <&sol;strong> <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6cb3fffc17e25d298be9895cfd88498b wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;1c0505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Investigators discovered that he had ordered cutting&comma; cleaning and disposal items&comma; along with incriminating goggle searches <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a8d12f35aeda825ba62328dc41b2d4b3 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;1c0505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>&&num;8216&semi;We do not believe that Isadora is not alive&comma; &&num;8230&semi; &lbrack;she&rsqb; was heinously murdered&comma;&&num;8217&semi; <strong>Fargo Police said&comma; <strong>&&num;8216&semi;We believe this to be a heinous and diabolical crime&comma; &&num;8230&semi;&period;&period; may be some dismemberment &lbrack;was&rsqb; involved&&num;8217&semi; <&sol;strong> <&sol;strong> <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-709615edeebb184090f6b6bb6a64a621 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;1c0505&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong> Hite is being held for murder&comma; tampering with physical evidence and providing false information&comma; with bond set at &dollar;5 million <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;02&sol;Isadora-Wengel-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-493614" style&equals;"width&colon;831px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Isadora Wengel&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; 25&comma; <strong>was last seen at a Walmart in Fargo&comma; ND&comma; on January 3&period; Police working on circumstantial evidence<&sol;strong> believe she was &&num;8216&semi;heinously murdered&&num;8217&semi; by her boyfriend<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">A North Dakota woman who mysteriously disappeared last month is now feared to have been &&num;8216&semi;heinously murdered&&num;8217&semi; and dismembered by her boyfriend&comma; cops said&period;<br>Isadora Wengel&comma; 25&comma; was last seen at a Walmart in Fargo on January 3&period; After her family filed a missing person&&num;8217&semi;s report with Fargo police four days later&comma; sparking a massive search effort across the metropolitan region&comma; with officers at one point working 12-hour shifts for 10 days straight as they searched a landfill&period;<br>But last week&comma; authorities announced they had arrested Wengel&&num;8217&semi;s boyfriend&comma; 21-year-old Joshua Alexander Hite&comma; in connection with her murder&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;We do not believe that Isadora is alive&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski said at a news conference&period; <br>&&num;8216&semi;We believe that Isadora was heinously murdered&period;<br>According to Chief Zibolski&comma; police &&num;8216&semi;have probable cause to believe that Josh Hite&comma; her boyfriend&comma; is the person who murdered and tampered with evidence related to the disposal of her body&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;We believe this to be a heinous and diabolical crime&comma; and we believe there may be some dismemberment involved&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Zibolski said as he urged residents between Fargo and Otter Tail County&comma; Minnesota to remain on the lookout for Wengel&&num;8217&semi;s remains&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;02&sol;Joshua-Alexander-Hite-3&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-493615" style&equals;"aspect-ratio&colon;1&period;043048589081071&semi;width&colon;818px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Joshua Alexander Hite&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb; 21&comma; accused of killing and dismembering Wengel&comma; He was arrested for the murder&comma; tampering with physical evidence and providing false information&period; He is being held on &dollar;5 million bond<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">&&num;8216&semi;Based on the fact that we know the disposal of her body occurred in extremely cold weather with significant snow on the ground&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the police chief said&comma; &&num;8216&semi;we now found ourselves in the midst of a mid-winter thaw&comma; which may reveal her whereabouts&comma;&&num;8217&semi; adding&comma; &&num;8216&semi;We&&num;8217&semi;re committed to justice for the family and accountability for the perpetrator&period;&&num;8217&semi; <br>Hite and Wengel had been dating since August&comma; and he told authorities she had been staying with him since New Year&&num;8217&semi;s Day&comma; according to court documents&period; <br>He claimed he and Wengel had an argument on January 4&comma; because he wanted to end their relationship&period; Hite claims he took Wengel back to her home the day after their row&period;<br>In his police interview he also told investigators that Wengel left her cellphone in his car&comma; and he went back to her home later that day to return it&comma; but nobody answered the door so he left the phone on Wengel&&num;8217&semi;s deck&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;02&sol;Isadora-Wengel-3&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-493616" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Isadora Wengel was last seen &lbrack;image&rsqb;&comma; at a Walmart in Fargo&comma; North Dakota on January 3&period; Four days later&comma; her family filed a missing persons report&period; She remains missing&comma; believed dead <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Investigators described Hite in the court documents as &&num;8217&semi;emotionless&&num;8217&semi; and &&num;8216&semi;not forthcoming&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br>They also detailed how phone data recovered from Wengel&&num;8217&semi;s phone showed some unusual Snapchat activity on January 4&comma; with photos of ceilings and walls inside Hite&&num;8217&semi;s apartment sent to her mother and another contact&period;<br>Family members later told investigators the photos were &&num;8216&semi;odd and not common photographs they would receive from Wengel&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br>Executing a search of Hite&&num;8217&semi;s apartment&comma; investigators seized plastic sheeting&comma; a bathroom mat&comma; bloody gauze and saw blade all containing Wengel&&num;8217&semi;s DNA&period; Court documents reveal investigators found a saw blade containing Wengel’s DNA&comma; along with biological evidence&period; <br>Detectives also recovered a blue latex glove that investigators said contained &&num;8216&semi;a mixed DNA profile with majority matching Wengel and a partial sample matching Hite&period;&&num;8217&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;02&sol;David-Zibolski-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-493618" style&equals;"aspect-ratio&colon;1&period;2732218162190891&semi;width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>&&num;8216&semi;We do not believe that Isadora is alive&comma;&&num;8217&semi; Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski has said&period; &&num;8216&semi;We believe that Isadora was heinously murdered&period;&&num;8217&semi; Zibolski also believes that her body may have been dismembered<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;02&sol;HDX-27-gallon-tough-storage-tote-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-493619" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Chief Zibolski urged residents between the Fargo metropolitan area and Otter Tail County&comma; Minnesota to remain on the lookout for HDX 27-gallon tough storage tote&comma; similar to the image&comma; in which police believe Hite may have disposed of Wengel&&num;8217&semi;s body<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">As the investigation continued&comma; officers also allegedly discovered Hite made some suspicious Google searches on January 4 including&colon; &&num;8216&semi;home depot Sawzall&comma;&&num;8217&semi; &&num;8216&semi;junk removal near me&comma;&&num;8217&semi; &&num;8216&semi;Dumpster&&num;8217&semi; and &&num;8216&semi;how to register for a legal alias&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br>That same day&comma; police said&comma; Hite also ordered a reciprocating saw&comma; plastic sheeting&comma; trash bags and duct tape through DoorDash&period;<br>By the time of his arrest&comma; investigators also noticed and photographed recent injuries on Hite&&num;8217&semi;s body &&num;8211&semi; including cuts to his hands&comma; wrists&comma; knees&comma; thighs and bruising on his lower back&period;<br>Zibolski confirmed Hite is the only person charged in the case&period; Now facing charges of murder&comma; tampering with physical evidence and providing false information&comma; Hite remains in custody with his bail bond set at &dollar;5 million&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;02&sol;Isadora-Wengel-right-with-her-mother-Heather-Wengel-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-493617" style&equals;"width&colon;827px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>An online fundraiser to help Isadora Wengel&&num;8217&semi;s mother&comma; Heather Fones seen left with her daughter Isadora&comma; and her older sister&comma; Callista&comma; has raised over &dollar;14&comma;200<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Chief Zibolski said his quest for justice is not complete&comma; as the search for Wengel&&num;8217&semi;s remains continues&period; <br>He told the public last week to be on the lookout for an HDX 27-gallon tough storage tote&comma; where he believes Hite may have disposed of Wengel&&num;8217&semi;s body&period;<br>&&num;8216&semi;We know that Mr&period; Hite had received a specific type of black tote&comma;&&num;8217&semi; the police chief said&period; &&num;8216&semi;There were actually two of those delivered to his apartment&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br>One of the totes was recovered in January&comma; but the other is still missing&period;<br>In the meantime an <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;gofundme&period;com&sol;f&sol;support-for-heather-callista-during-search" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener">online fundraiser<&sol;a> to help Wengel&&num;8217&semi;s mother&comma; Heather&comma; and sister&comma; Callista&comma; has earned over &dollar;14&comma;200<&sol;p>&NewLine;

Exit mobile version