Ferguson and Erickson

Ryan Ferguson and Chuck Erickson were convicted of the brutal murder of Columbia Daily Tribune Sports Editor Kent Heitholt. The crime occurred on November 1, 2001 in Columbia, Missouri. At the time of the crime, a janitor, Jerry Trump, caught a glimpse of two young white men running away from Heitholt’s car around the time of the murder but the 911 tape indicates Jerry Trump was mainly relaying information given to him by a female coworker who actually saw the two young white men. The female coworker testified on appeal that neither of the two young men she saw near Heitholt's car were Erickson or Ferguson. Two years after the crime, Erickson began telling friends he dreamed he had killed Heitholt. When police questioned him later, Erickson confessed and named his friend Ryan Ferguson as his accomplice. Erickson said that following the murder, he and Ferguson went back to the bar they had been at earlier after briefly speaking to Dennis Mallory who was stopped at a red light. Mallory has testified that he did not own any car at the time, had no drivers license at the time, was not driving any car that night and that the light in question is flashing yellow which would mean that no vehicle would be stopped at it. No other witness has ever been produced who testified that the bar was actually open at that time which would have been several hours after its mandatory closing. The police officer present on a routine matter in the adjoining parking lot was not called by the prosecutor to substantiate there having been any noticeable after-hours activity at the bar that night. A review of citation records by the defense attorney failed to reveal any citations for after-hours activity at that bar. After having received considerable police assistance with 'recalling' the facts of the case and the location of the murder, and after having made repeated statements that he simply did not remember anything about the crime, Erickson confessed, that he, then 17, beat the 6'3", 315 lb. Heitholt with a tire iron just once. Erickson said that afterwards, Ferguson, also 17, strangled the victim with the victim's belt. Police reports indicate that the use of the victim's own belt as a ligature was a fact initially withheld from the press but that the use of the belt was revealed by the police interrogator to Erickson during his interrogation. There was no physical evidence linking either defendant to the crime despite the crime scene having been described as very bloody. Cell phone records indicate Ryan Ferguson was making and receiving a variety of cell phone calls at or about the time of the murder but records no longer existed which would indicate which cell towers handled the calls. Erickson pled guilty to the crime, and was the state's star witness at trial against Ferguson. During appeal proceedings, an inmate at the county detention facility testified that Erickson repeatedly stated he did not think he had committed the murder. The inmate also testified that Erickson voluntarily and falsely confessed to the jailor that he was solely responsibile for some minor jail-cell damage that he had not at all been involved in. Ferguson and Erickson were seniors at Rock Bridge High School at the time of the crime. [ [http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2003/apr/20030405news003.asp Police issue new likeness in open case ] ] Prosecutor Kevin Crane is currently a circuit court judge. Ellen Roper who presided over the trial has retired. Bill Ferguson the defendants father continues to pursue his sons case and has expressed confidence that he knows who the "real" killer is.

Notes

References

* [http://truthinjustice.org/Ryan-Ferguson.htm 48 Hours]
* [http://www.crimemagazine.com/07/ryan_ferguson,0722-7.htm Crime Magazine]
* [http://www.freeryanferguson.com Free Ryan Ferguson]