40 years later, ‘no-body’ murder case haunts Lopez Island

LOPEZ ISLAND, Wash. - This October marks 40 years since what is believed to be Washington State’s first murder conviction without a body. Decades later, the Neslund case remains a topic of conversation on the islands — a story of suspicion, rumor, and a historic conviction that left many questions unanswered.

Residents and historians alike still debate what really happened when Rolf Neslund disappeared and his wife, Ruth Neslund, was convicted in 1985 of premeditated murder despite the absence of physical remains.

What they're saying:

"I think a lot of it is just rumors that have gone around this island over and over again," said Ronnie Becker, a Lopez resident who worked for Ruth as a teenager.

For Amy Frost of the Lopez Island Historical Society, the case remains one of the most no