By Janice Gregorson
gregor@postbulletin.com
A woman stopped at the law enforcement counter recently, looked at the picture of the smiling blond woman and started crying.
She recognized the woman as an acquaintance. But it was the first she knew that April Jean Sorensen had been killed.
This week marks the one-year anniversary of that murder. The killer remains at large.
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The 27-year-old woman was found dead in her northwest Rochester house about 12:30 p.m. April 17.
Firefighters were called when a service repair person arrived at the home for an appointment and noticed smoke.
Firefighters found Sorensen’s body at the center of the fire, which was isolated to one room. Authorities say the fire was started to cover up the homicide.
The young woman had been stabbed several times and strangled. Her husband, Josh, was at work at the time and isn’t a suspect.
A year later, the investigation remains open and active, according to Lt. Dan Muyres, who heads the violent crimes investigation unit for the Rochester Police Department.
Last year, investigators turned to FBI experts to obtain a suspect profile, hoping to get a better picture of who they might be dealing with — and to get tips from the public.
A $100,000 reward for information remains in place. The reward is the result of contributions from friends of the Sorensen family, and the city of Rochester.
Posters also are sprinkled throughout the city.
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"Having these posters out just might help,’’ Muyres said, in getting someone to call with some piece of information that might crack the case.
