The Roseville Police Department is releasing new information in the 1987 unsolved killing of a 22-year-old Roseville woman, and they’re asking for the public’s help to solve the case.
Sue Capistrant was discovered deceased behind a Roseville grocery store around 7:30 a.m. on April 8, 1987. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner determined the manner of death was homicide.
Capistrant was last seen at her parents’ Roseville home, where she lived, around 1 a.m. on April 8, 1987. She received a phone call from an unknown caller in the early morning hours and indicated she was going to leave. For the last four decades, police have investigated more than a dozen possible suspects, interviewed more than 100 witnesses, and scrutinized evidence in an attempt to retrace Capistrant’s final hours.
For the first time in the history of the case, Roseville Police is identifying a new person of interest in the case. Roseville Det. Brady Martin said they have evidence linking Capistrant to deceased Roseville man Robert Osborne, born in 1963.
“We know Ms. Capistrant was in contact with Mr. Osborne on April 7 or 8, 1987,” Martin said. ‘We are seeking the public’s assistance in connecting the lives of Capistrant and Osborne. Cases like these are often solved by information that someone deems too small or inconsequential to provide. We are asking the public to call (651) 792-7008 or email rvpoliceinvest@cityofroseville.com to provide any information they might have.”
Other than being roughly the same age and both living in Roseville, police cannot find any connection between the two, he said. Martin declined to share specifics about the evidence linking Capistrant with Osborne, who died in 1996.
“We don’t want to jeopardize the integrity of the case by revealing too much information. If a member of the public knew these two individuals or saw them together, we are asking that they contact police,” Martin said.
Detective Martin said he believes more than one individual may have been involved in Capistrant’s death and stressed that Osborne’s involvement is unclear.
Case background
Capistrant spent the evening prior to her death, at Patrick’s Lounge, at Larpenteur and Hamline avenues in St. Paul, with her brother and a friend. Capistrant and the friend returned to the Capistrant family home in the 1300 block of Garden Ave. Around midnight on April 8, 1987, Capistrant received a phone call while the two were together.
Capistrant had a short conversation with the caller and then left the house around 1 a.m.
The friend said he also left the house at that time. Police were never able to determine who called Capistrant. An 11-year-old girl found Capistrant’s body behind a Roseville grocery store, at the corner of Dale Street and County Road B.
Police investigated both the brother and the friend, and determined they were not involved in Capistrant’s death.
Many witnesses in the case, including Capistrant’s parents, have since died, but police and the community have not forgotten Capistrant. Roseville detectives have actively investigated the case since 1987. A Facebook page established in 2020 reignited the public’s interest in the case, Martin said.
“I have been in contact with the Facebook group organizers, providing as much information as I can,” Martin said. “Roseville Police has also continued to investigate, combing through evidence and files. We want to solve Capistrant’s murder and give her family and the community closure.”