Pack a gun. It’s your life against what millions of idiots feel towards guns. No contest.
Thanks for the input and responses, everyone. And I didn’t intend to spark debate about account protocols. I knew it was a huge longshot that the OP was still around under another name, but I thought I’d revive the thread in case he or someone else who knew the victim he posted about was still reading.
It’s really quite sad - once they arrested the wrong guys, this whole thing really went off the rails. In fact we’re nearing the 10-year anniversary of when those arrests were made. So for nearly a decade we’ve had all kinds of things happen - arrests, pleas, press conferences, trials, appeals, etc. But none of it has gotten us any closer to knowing the truth of who committed the heinous act that took the OP’s friend’s life on Halloween night in 2001.
This investigation was a mess. The police left enough stones unturned to build a cathedral.
They are reviewing the matter now and will make a decision on how to proceed. Hopefully they do the right thing, reopen the investigation, and find the true killer. It’s the only way to properly resolve this sad, strange saga, and just as importantly, it would get a dangerous person off the streets.
God only knows what else the nutbag who did this has done since. The Innocence Project has put together some numbers on crimes committed by the true perpetrators in wrongful conviction cases - and they are pretty alarming.
We assume not. If they had charged another suspect, then his name would be reported in the press, even those stories updated today (but the old suspect’s name would appear inside someone else’s post if they had quoted an old news item). If they arrested a suspect without proper evidence, that would be cause for dismissal without prejudice, and he probably would not admit to it even if he had successfully hidden it from the law up until now.
It is theoretically possible that he could have applied to POTUS for amnesty to avoid prosecution for reasons that they agreed were so compelling that no-one would know about it, but - so far as we know - this has never been done.
Apologies to Fenris
----No, no other suspects have been charged. We know that. The Columbia, MO police department issued a press release saying that they have assigned a detective to review the case, and then will make a determination as to how to proceed. So we are awaiting the outcome of that.
Further complicating things is that Ryan Ferguson’s attorney has, as expected, announced plans to file a civil suit.
(And no, that last thing is not theoretically possible. The POTUS has no authority to grant any such thing in a state criminal proceeding.)
Thanks to all who replied for helping breathe some life back into this ancient thread.
I couldn’t believe that I actually found something posted by a friend of the victim the day after the murder, which took place in 2001.
I’ve read a lot of tributes to Kent as I’ve research this case over the years, but this one is quite unique. It’s not a response to a reporter’s question, or simply trying to say the right thing. It’s unprompted, unfiltered raw emotion.
Thanks, schief, wherever you are.
For those interested, the 48 Hours update was moved to Saturday, March 29th.
Cheers, all.
J4KH, splatterpunk was writing a parody, blending two of the themes of this fascinating thread (username change protocols, and the injustice suffered by Ferguson.)
Wow, that jury makes the OJ one look like a bunch of geniuses. The detailed article linked to upthread dies a good job of being dispassionate (it discusses the legally-defined mistakes made by the court-appointed defense lawyer and others, without saying things like “this idiot should be fired immediately”)…but it’s pretty clear things went like this:
Some confused dude: “I think I might have done something wrong, but I’m not sure…it’s all kind of fuzzy. [After reading newspaper account of the crime – ] Oh, and there was this other guy, too.”
Jury of morons*: “Okay, sounds good to us! You’re both going to jail forever.”
Wow. The other guy loses SEVEN YEARS of his life, before a judge wakes up. But what about the first idiot, the one who “confessed”? Shouldn’t his conviction be vacated as well? (Although I suppose he did deserve to do SOME time, for how his lies/confusion/gullibility caused the second guy to be unjustly imprisoned for seven years.)
Wow.
(*I’m not just calling them morons because I’m from Kansas and they’re from Missouri.)
Thanks, JKelly, and apologies to splatterpunk.
There too many bizarre details, twists and turns in this case, it’s really hard to boil it down to a short summary, but what you said is essentially correct.
Charles Erickson was a troubled kid with a history of mental illness and drug use. He plead guilty and implicated Ryan under threat of the death penalty.
In November, Ryan was released after nearly a decade in prison. Charles has a new lawyer and will start his legal battle to get out I actually feel bad for him, I think he was a confused kid who was manipulated by people he trusted.
And yes, the jurors were idiots. Ryan Ferguson’s attorney (Kathleen Zellner) once remarked that this jury decided Ryan was guilty when they saw him sitting in the defendant’s chair. I think she’s probably right. Ryan’s lawyers at trial made mistakes, including a couple of big ones, but they were not completely incompetent. Certainly they did enough that most folks would have concluded there was at least reasonable doubt.
But due to the intense local press coverage in Columbia, which was very pro-law enforcement and anti-Ryan, jurors were taken not from Boone County, but nearby Lincoln County, which has a poorer, less educated population.
There are a couple of things which have led to this case being a mild recreational obsession of mine.
One is the way that the justice system, with so many safeguards in place to ensure that innocent people aren’t convicted, completely broke down and failed Ryan Ferguson at every possible turn for almost 10 years.
The second is the crime itself. The question of who killed Kent Heitholt and why has always haunted me. It was a bizarre crime. Unknown to the OP because it had not been released publicly, Kent was beaten, then strangled to death with his own belt.
Strangulation is one of the less common methods of murder. And most victims are female (often accompanied by sexual assault.) It’s a very personal way to kill someone, and the killer often is motivated by or even derives pleasure from their ability to exert power over the victim and watch them struggle.
So a homicide by strangulation of a male victim, especially a guy who is 6’3" 315lbs, is really unusual.
Kent Heitholt logged of his computer at 2:08am and left the building.
At 2:26am, a janitor called 911 to report that his co-workers found him in the parking lot lying in a pool of blood next to his car.
The story of what happened in between those two events - who did this? and why? - remains a mystery to this day. Sadly, we may never know.
Ryan’s biggest complaint should be against his friend and drinking buddy who accused him of the murder.
The latest news is that Ryan has filed a $100 million dollar lawsuit:
Obv question; you’ve tried to message the schief2 via ICQ and AIM ?
—I had planned to. I started several messages, but chucked them all, couldn’t really find anything to say that didn’t sound insensitive and lame. And having no idea who schief or what has happened to him (or her, but he comes across as a dude) in the years since, but hearing from me may do little more than stir up a painful memory.
Also, with the civil suit mentioned above being filed and the murder perhaps still under investigation, it’s probably wiser for random outsiders to start contacting folks who are potential witnesses in this case. I think it’s fine for folks like me to sit in the stands, observe and make comments, but not to try and enter the field of play - know what I mean?
Anyway, thanks again for all the responses. As I said, the victim as been forgotten, and trivial though it may be, I feel like reviving this thread helped keep his memory alive in some small way.
The case is far from over. There are some damning allegations in the civil suit, and Charles Erickson has a new lawyer who will be working to get him out of prison.
So more to come.
Cheers, all.
—Ryan doesn’t blame Charles, and I think he’s right not do. Charles was a scared, confused kid who was manipulated into thinking he was involved in the murder. He’s not entirely blameless, but the police and prosecutors who orchestrated this mess are the ones who need to be held accountable.
False confessions happen a lot more than folks realize. In the DNA exoneration cases handled by The Innocence Project, 25% of those wrongfully convicted actually confessed to the crime.