Decades after ‘Scriver’ Olson murder: Friend hopes killer will be identified

BELGRADE - Sigfred Lundgren was of the first to arrive at Joseph “Scriver” Olson’s rural Belgrade home Feb. 18, 1983, to discover that Olson was dead.
Immediately after hearing the bad news, Lundgren’s first thought was that his 75-year-old friend possibly suffered from a heart attack. He later discovered that Olson had been brutally murdered, beaten and stabbed multiple times, the knife left at the scene.
Decades later, the murder remains a mystery and the Belgrade community still hopes that law enforcement will catch the killer.
“It would help an awful lot in our area. (Olson) was so well known in our area. He was good to many people, a kind person,” Lundgren said.
Lundgren said he does not know who would have murdered Olson, as the man was a bachelor who kept to himself. He, along with law enforcement, suspects that a burglary may have been involved with Olson’s death.
“He liked to visit with people. He got along really well with people. We still don’t have a clue who did it,” Lundgren said.
Lundgren described Olson as a kind person and a smart businessman, known throughout the community because he sold seed for a living. Besides being a businessman, Olson was devoted to his faith, an active member of the Crow River Lutheran Church.
“It was a real shock to the community. Their doors were locked and they never were before,” Lundgren said.
Law enforcement suspected Olson was murdered three days before he was found, the night Olson usually attended choir practice at his church. Lundgren was also a member of the church choir and said some of the members thought about going to check up on Olson the night he did not show up to practice.  
“It’s too bad we didn’t. It was really foggy that night,” Lundgren said.  
Days later, while he was performing chores around the house, Lundgren was again alerted that something might be wrong.
After he received a call from a concerned neighbor who said there had not been an answer at Olson’s door, Lundgren went with a neighbor to check on Olson.
Lundgren was greeted at the house by Ludvig Olson, Olson’s brother, who had made the trip to Olson’s house to deliver news that a relative had died. He arrived to find his brother dead.  
Lundgren also spotted a broken window and Olson’s dog, that was acting strange and had its tail between its legs.
While Lundgren hopes a suspect in the murder will be eventually identified, he said he tries not to spend time dwelling on the tragedy.
“There were some people in our area that were very angry…I’m more calm. There isn’t much you can do about it if (law enforcement) can’t figure it out,” Lundgren said.