Composite  information:

  by the Free Ryan Ferguson Committee
  extended version

There were two men seen near Kent Heitholt's car the night of his murder at approximately 2:20-2:25 a.m. on November 1, 2001. There were two witnesses who saw these men, Shawna Ornt and Jerry Trump, part of the custodial staff working at the Tribune that night.

Shawna Ornt had been standing on the Tribune's loading dock just after the murder occurred.  Her description of the man she saw that night, was that he was in his early twenties, college age, stood 6 feet tall, weighed around 200 pounds and was wearing a short sleeved T-shirt. His hair was blond.

Chuck Erickson, who stated "I was the person at the back of the car that night." was wearing a hooded pullover sweatshirt.  According to medical records he was about 5 feet 5-6 inches tall, weighed 145 to 150 pounds and was only 17 years old.  Chuck also has black hair.

Shawna Ornt was the witness asked to help Detective Nichols construct two composites by providing the details of the person she had observed near the rear of the car.  This was the person who spoke to her and said, "Get help. Someone is hurt".  She got a good look at this man, while he spoke to her.

Ornt rated this composite as an 8.5 out of a rating of 10.  She felt that it was a very close representation of the 'blonde haired' person she saw that night. 

Jerry Trump was unable to provide any information of legitimate value detailing the description of either of the two men, to assist in constructing a composite drawing.
Incredibly forty-seven months later during Ryan's trial, Trump pointed out Ryan as the person he saw at the back of the victim's car. Shawna Ornt, who provided the detailed information for constructing the composites did not even acknowledge that she recognized Ryan as a person that she had ever seen before.

We believe that the two men seen near Kent Heitholt's car the night of his murder may have stumbled upon the victim while passing through the parking lot heading towards the dorms at the university. We do not believe that they had anything to do with the murder.

We need your help finding this man in the composite.