Woman Facing Murder Charges After Body Found At Grand Forks Travel Center

A Grand Forks woman is in custody and an investigation is underway after police discover a dead body at a travel plaza there early this morning.

Police booked 31–year–old Krystal Feist into the Grand Forks County Jail on AA felony murder charges this afternoon.

The victim’s family has yet to be fully notified, but we can tell you, people in Grand Forks are scared.

It happened sometime before daybreak, but even then, the scene at the Flying J wouldn’t have looked too different from the way it looked Friday, just before noon than it did while the killing was underway.

That’s because the Flying J Travel Plaza is always busy, night or day.

“To have this happen, here?” asked Tasha Cash of East Grand Forks, who stood by watching police and Bureau of Criminal Investigation officials work the scene. “I can’t believe no one heard the gunshot, or even seen [anything].”

In spite of the appearance of the car, which sports a distinctive gunshot-like hole in the driver’s side window, police aren’t confirming how the victim died.

People asleep in their semi trucks awoke to get some breakfast at the plaza’s all-hours restaurant, and instead found their path blocked by crime scene tape.  The place overrun with police.

“I was shocked, very shocked,” said Lorena Hill, of Waterloo, Iowa, here on business travel with her trucker boyfriend. “I said, this is North Dakota?”

Both Hill and her companion pulled in about half past midnight Friday and slept through the incident, called in shortly after five that morning.

It’s a strange place to commit a crime, since between the fact it’s right off the interstate and it’s open 24 hours, the travel plaza is one of the busiest stops in Grand Forks.

Police haven’t released a motive yet, or the name of a victim in the alleged murder, but since taking Feist into custody, have backed away from their statement early Friday saying they were unclear as to the potential threat to the public’s safety.

Nevertheless, travelers said, they’re still unsettled, with so many questions remaining unanswered.

“We come eat here for lunch. Now, I don’t know,” said Cash.