Jolene Haas

Jolene Haas, a 22-year-old woman from Iowa, was trying to build a new life under the protection of law enforcement when she was brutally murdered in the fall of 1975. Her story is a harrowing look at the dangerous intersection of the criminal underworld and the fight for justice. Jolene had grown up in Iowa and, after moving from Fort Dodge to Sioux City, became deeply entangled in a world of prostitution, narcotics, and outlaw motorcycle gangs. Seeking a way out, she made the courageous and perilous decision to become an informant for the Sioux Falls Police Department and other state and local narcotics investigators.

Jolene's cooperation proved to be incredibly effective. Her testimony and information led to the arrests and eventual incarceration of numerous offenders, including a man she had moved to Sioux City with, A.J. Rippatoe. By the autumn of 1975, she was scheduled to testify against several more suspects. Recognizing the immense danger she was in, authorities relocated her to Sturgis, South Dakota. The move, however, did not guarantee her safety. While in Sturgis, Jolene was beaten and raped by three men who had attempted to purchase drugs from her. That violent crime also remains unsolved.

Just two days after the assault, investigators moved Jolene again, this time to the Delroy Motel at 3737 Sturgis Road in Rapid City, where she lived for about a month under the alias Jolene Schutt. But on November 10, 1975, the protection surrounding her failed. A detective from the Rapid City Police Department and an agent from the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) went to the motel to check on their witness. They discovered Jolene’s body in her room. She had been strangled with a rope and had suffered multiple stab wounds from a weapon investigators believed may have been a switchblade.

The investigation into her homicide was a joint effort between the Rapid City Police Department, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, and the DCI. Investigators believed she may have been spotted by someone connected to her past when she went out to eat shortly before her death. Initially, police withheld the fact that she was an informant, hoping someone would brag about killing a "narc." At least one investigator theorized it was a contract killing, ordered by one of the many people she had helped put behind bars. The case generated several leads, but none led to an arrest. One man bragged that he had killed Jolene for money, but he later denied it to police and passed a polygraph test. Another potential suspect was himself found murdered and buried in a cornfield in 1977.

Decades have passed, but the murder of Jolene Haas has never been solved. All credible leads were eventually exhausted, and her case grew cold. The violent death of a young woman who risked her life to help law enforcement remains a stark reminder of the cost of justice.

As of January 2023, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation continues to list Jolene’s murder as an active, unresolved case. Investigators hope that with the passage of time, someone with knowledge of the crime might finally come forward. The DCI encourages anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to contact their tip line at 605-394-1884 or email them at [email protected].