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 said, "I was the person at the back of the car that night.  I was the person who looked at the cleaning lady and said, 'Get help. Someone is hurt'."

This statement can be found in his June 2005 deposition and Ryan's trial.

In this same deposition Chuck also said he was wearing a hooded pullover sweatshirt. Chuck has black hair.  According to medical records he was about 5 feet 5-6 inches tall, weighed 145 to 150 pounds and was only 17 years old.

Now we can see why the description given by Shawan Ornt, the eyewitness, does not come close to describing Chuck. Chuck Erickson was not at the crime scene.

Charles Erickson's story did not begin to evolve until the second anniversary (October 2003) of the murder when an article about the crime appeared in the local newspaper.

This followed a two-year period in which he had no recollection or thoughts of the murder. He did not remember the murder the next day, the next week, the next month or the next year. (June 05 deposition and October 05 trial)

Erickson said it was the information he got out of the newspaper that triggered thoughts in his mind about the possibility that he may have had something to do with the murder even though he had had no previous thoughts or any evidence that suggested he had been involved before this date.

This seemed to be the starting point for Erickson. He had vague feelings; vague dreamlike thoughts.

Once Charles Erickson was arrested, the police enhanced his dream by feeding him crucial details not known by the public as can be seen in the first video with Detective Short.