On the evening of March 28, 1980, Kaysie Sorensen, a 33-year-old Caucasian female, was at Bill's Lounge in Magna, Utah. Witnesses described her as being intoxicated, singing along with the jukebox, and dancing by herself. Later in the evening, she approached 23-year-old John Charles Bolsinger. The two were seen leaving the bar together shortly before 10:00 p.m.
The following day, on March 29, 1980, Sorensen's boyfriend, Mark Anger, discovered her deceased in his apartment upon returning
from his 24-hour shift as a firefighter. She was found on the bed with the cord of a clock radio around her neck. The scene appeared to have been staged as a burglary, with the contents of Sorensen's purse scattered on the floor and a stereo missing.
An investigation led police to John Charles Bolsinger, who was arrested on April 1, 1980. During interrogation, Bolsinger gave conflicting stories. Initially, he claimed he wrapped the clock radio cord around her neck after she "got kinda weird." At trial, he changed his story, testifying that Sorensen had wrapped the cord around her own neck during consensual sexual activity and asked him to pull it.
Bolsinger was convicted of second-degree murder. However, his conviction was later overturned on appeal, and he was instead found guilty of manslaughter, with the court reasoning there was insufficient evidence to prove intent to kill. Years later, DNA evidence would link Bolsinger to the unsolved murders of three other women in Oregon, which occurred after his release from prison for the death of Kaysie Sorensen. Bolsinger himself was never charged in those cases as he had died by suicide years before the connection was made.
