Kollie found guilty on all counts in killing of teen Jupiter Paulsen

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Jurors have reached a verdict in the case of a teenager who was stabbed and strangled to death in a Fargo parking lot last summer.

Arthur Kollie has been found guilty in the murder of 14-year-old Jupiter Paulsen in the Party City parking lot in June of 2021. Emotions ran high both inside and outside of the court room after the verdict was read Thursday afternoon. It took less than two hours for jurors to find Kollie guilty on all three counts of murder, robbery and aggravated assault.

“We got him. We got him and it’s over,” said Jupiter’s mother Antonia Johnson. “Rest. Just know that justice was served. Justice for Jupiter.”

“You very much feel these cases. These are the kinds of cases that do leave a mark and you just have to deal with that and incorporate it in, but certainly there are times that are harder than others to be fully professional. I think that was an important thing for the jury to see as we often times will get lost in the law, and get lost in the other aspects of a case. Here, to bring the victim front and center was very important,” Cass County Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Younggren said.

Paulsen was skateboarding from her dad’s home to her mom’s home on the morning of June 4, 2021, when she was attacked. Her parents said she made the trek several times without any issues.

Paulsen was found by a City of Fargo garbage truck driver while she was lying on the ground with Kollie kneeling over her in the Party City parking lot.

Prosecutors say the attack began shortly after 6:30 a.m. and ended just before 7:00 a.m. Prosecutors say Jupiter was stabbed 25 times, strangled and stomped on. Medical examiners ruled her death a homicide caused by manual strangulation.

“I’m going to go home and hug my kids because this has been a long road. I’m taking each day not for granted, just taking each day for what it is and living life as fully as possible,” Johnson said.

Kollie will be sentenced later this year, if not in early 2023. He faces a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutor Ryan Younggren said while Kollie’s sentence is ultimately up to the judge, the state will be pushing for the maximum sentence.

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