Joli Truelson – Still looking for her killer 33 years later
July 3rd, 2005
For the last month or so, every time I blink, someone or something from the distant past resurfaces, and the timing isn’t right for Saturn return — but the good news is that it’s usually good news, reconnecting has been good. Today, though, it was a sad memory. Joli Truelson resurfaced, I knew her through friends back in junior and senior high school. Her family owned Porky’s, then Nora’s and now Tryg’s. She was murdered while hitchiking on a summer evening at the age of 16, and her killer was never caught. Now, 33 years later, her family has offered a $50,000 reward. Here’s the article:
Unsolved murder wears on Minneapolis mother
A quote of her mother’s view of her triggered some memories, though I’d couch it quite differently! She said:
“Joli was artistic,” Truelson said. “She had a flair for the ridiculous.”
Minneapolis police are reviewing the file, and if you have information, call them at 612-692-8477 (TIPS).
March 23rd, 2017 at 3:24 pm
Hello,I am Joli’s friend,we met in jr.High.We did a few things that we shouldn’t have. One thing was hitch hiking. I am not proud of it,it was not smart or safe. We had made a promise not to do it alone but I guess we did sometimes.I was hitching one day to meet Joli at a hospital in St Paul and the guy that stopped for me was driving a large gold luxury car with gold interior.He was a much older man. He locked all the doors so I could not get out and grabbed me and tried to make me do falatio with a knife at my neck,but I told him that if he killed me that God would not let him get away! He let me go,but he said I will get your friend. I haven’t told very many people about that day. Maybe that guy killed Joli,I don’t know. Sincerely Teresa Joli’s friend.
April 4th, 2018 at 12:48 pm
Teresa…you need to contact the police about what you experienced. You say you have not shared this info about that day,but you need to. Call crime stoppers or the cops and tell them everything. You owe it to Joli and her family.
December 8th, 2023 at 3:08 pm
Three Lifetimes Ago
In memory of Joli Truleson
I saw her in the summer heat,
we sat under the willow’s ever calming water.
We made faces in the mirror just because.
We were without watches and clocks
because time couldn’t hold us.
Ours was the defining youth,
ours were the horses
that could not be corralled.
Freedom was a way of life,
a rite of passage,
the eternal, Inextinguishable flame
that no one could steal.
Joli was a tumble of wildflowers,
engaging smiles and a gentle breeze
chasing dream whispers on barefoot rocks.
I rose in her enthusiasm.
She cared so warmly
and took the hurting in her bosom
and sung a lullaby.
Pain was burrowed deep in scared memory
but she stole its power
and delighted in the company of friends,
she smiled so easily,
despite her phantom menace.
Jolie cannot be found in time or space anymore
because space minus time equals eternity,
where God cradles her in His arms,
in the meadows where wild flowers
tumble in a gentle breeze.
– sjyamauchi
December 8th, 2023 at 3:18 pm
I spoke to my brother-in-law Tim Davison, who is a retired Minneapolis police officer, about the murder of my friend, Jolie Truelson. He told me that the officers who investigated her murder are now all dead. A cold Case is very hard to investigate I’m sure, and with the defunding of the police department, there is very little manpower that can be lent to such an old cold case, or so it seems. If, in fact, an officer could be found that has a passion for Justice, of which I’m sure there are many, and with the technology that we possess today, I am positive that answers can be found. Nevertheless, God will judge that man or woman who murdered Jolie. God will have the last word, and final justice will be done.