Meanwhile,
at the offices of
the Columbia
Daily Tribune,
Kent Heitholt logged
off his computer at
2:08 a.m.
He was a big man,
standing six
foot-three inches
and weighing 315
pounds. He was a
former college
football player
before becoming the
Sports Editor at the
Tribune. He was
known for working
late.
He would have said
good night to
employees and
colleagues and then
walked to his car in
the newspaper's
parking
lot. That would
have taken him
approximately four
or five minutes,
which would have put
him at his car at
about 2:13
a.m.
At
2:26 a.m., employees
at the Tribune
called 911 to report
an assault in the
parking lot.
According
to police reports,
Michael Boyd, a
Columbia Tribune
colleague, talked to
Kent Heitholt for
about three to five
minutes in the
parking lot.
Boyd
said that after his
conversation with
Heitholt, he then
continued driving,
turning west into
the alley leading to
Providence at
approximately 2:20am
and went home.
This
was documented in
Police report No. 18 &
report No. 25.
But
it is important to
note that this
conversation between
the victim and Boyd
was never mentioned
by Erickson who said
he had been hiding
just a few feet
away, behind a brick
enclosure while
watching the victim.
During
the trial, Erickson
told the court that
just before arriving
at the crime scene
while walking on
Providence Road, he
and Ryan spotted the
victim exit the
northern door of the
Tribune building and
walk to his car.
Erickson
said they then
walked east up the
alley keeping an eye
on the victim.
In
fact, it is very
difficult if not
impossible to see
anyone exit the
Tribune doors from
this location due to
the way the alley is
laid out. At the
time of the crime
there was a large
brick enclosure
which has since been
removed.
This
enclosure blocked
the parking lot from
view to anyone who
happened to be in
the alley or anyone
walking along
Providence Road.
During
the trial Erickson
mentioned seeing a
second man (Michael
Boyd) come out of
the building, walk
past the victim's
car and through the
parking lot to his
own car which was
located further
north in the same
parking lot.
It
was at this time
that he said they
hid behind the brick
enclosure until Boyd
depart.
(Map of Tribune parking lot layout)
Erickson
said that once Boyd
had departed, he
attacked the victim.
Again,
Erickson NEVER
mentioned Boyd
stopping to have
this 3-5 minute
conversation with
the victim!
Erickson
never mentioned
seeing the victim
pouring cat food
from a Friskies's
box into the short
wall 4 feet from
where Chuck says he
was hiding before he
attacked the victim.
See
police report 82 and
crime scene photo A.
Did
Boyd get it wrong?
Boyd was the last
person to see the
victim alive.
During
the trial Erickson
described this
second man as a
middle-aged
white man.
He
said he was of
medium height and
build, and had brown
hair. There's just
one problem with
this. Boyd is a
black man with short
cropped black hair.
It's
interesting to note
that Erickson did
not mention seeing
Boyd the day of his
arrest or in any of
his video-taped
interviews; not even
during his Proffer
in October, 2004
(Police Report 332).
He
did not mention this
until his
June 2005
Deposition,
over 15 months after
his arrest and after
he'd had plenty of
time to read through
discovery
information which
was provided to him
by the prosecutor.
It
is at this time that
Chuck first says he
remembers someone
leaving the parking
lot driving a red
car.
According
to one of the
prosecutor's
reports, written in
July 2005, Mr. Boyd
said that he drove a
red car the night of
the murder (July
2005).
Yet
in another report
taken by a private
investigator several
months earlier, on
February 14 2005,
Boyd said he drove a
blue car.
There
seems to be
something very odd
about the cars.
Which car was it?
Blue or red?
It's
also interesting to
take a close look at
police reports 18
and 25.
Boyd's
account of what
happened that night
was written into
these two reports
yet they tell two
conflicting stories.
Very odd!
So,
who is Michael Boyd?
At
the time of the
murder, he was a
Columbia Tribune
sports-writer who
got his job through
his connection with
Heitholt. He worked
directly under the
supervision of the
victim.
Boyd
stated in an article
written by the
Tribune that he and
Heitholt had been
friends.
They
had met while Boyd
was working at a
newspaper in
southern Missouri.
When he was
reporting on events
in Columbia the
victim would allow
him to use the
Tribune office.
This
is when they became
friends and the
victim hired Boyd to
work in the sports
department with him.
So
why would there be
these gaps in
Erickson's eye
witness account?
Chuck
would have been made
aware of the fact
that Mr. Boyd exited
the Tribune building
as a result of his
access to
'discovery' which
contained statements
in police reports
about Boyd having
been in the parking
lot just prior to
Heitholt's death.
(Police Report 18
and 25)
It's
crucial to also note
that the cover page
of the police
reports that are
written up on each
person who gets
interviewed, usually
lists information
such as age,
address, etc., to
include race. On
Michael Boyd's
report it was
incorrectly
documented that he
was "white".
Oops!
This may be why
Erickson got it
wrong!
According
to testimony during
the trial, Erickson
had spent many days
prior to the start
of the trial,
rehearsing his
testimony which was
coached by the
prosecutor. This was
stated in court.
Apparently
the police as well
as the prosecutor's
office were unaware
of Boyd's race.
Why
else would the cover
page of Police
Reports 18 and 25,
state that Boyd's
race was "white"?
Why
else would Chuck
state in court that
Boyd was a "white
man"?
Bear
in mind, according
to Chuck's story,
he would have been
less than 10 feet
away from Boyd when
he walked from the
Tribune building to
his car.
Chuck
was allegedly hiding
behind the brick
enclosure where he
would have had an
excellent,
unobstructed view of
the victim, victim's
car, Michael Boyd,
the pile of cat food
and the driveway
between the Tribune
building and Ash
Street.
It
was a well lit
parking lot and he
would have had a
good view of most of
the area.
The
simple answer to
these questions is
that Chuck was NOT
in the parking lot
the night of the
murder.
*If you are interested in reading
the depositions please email
us: [email protected]
At
2:22 a.m. in the
early morning hours
of the murder,
Shawna Ornt, a
Tribune janitor,
walked out the back
door of the Tribune
building to take a
cigarette break and
was the first to
notice suspicious
activity near Kent
Heitholt's car.
She
was frightened and
ran back into the
building through the
open bay door to
alert Jerry Trump,
her supervisor.
According
to their
testimonies,(Ornt's and Trump's June 2005 deposition)
they
went back together
to the open bay
doors looking into
the parking lot in
the direction of Mr.
Heitholt's car.
Both
of the people
crouched behind the
car stood up. The
person at the back
of the car allegedly
said, "Get help.
Someone's hurt.",
In her June 2005 deposition,
Shawna
Ornt stated that the
person who spoke to
her had blond hair,
was wearing a
short-sleeved
T-shirt, and was
standing at the back
of the car.
She
remembered it had
been a warm night as
she too had been
wearing a T-shirt.
She can be seen in
the crime scene
video wearing a
short sleeved
T-shirt.
In
his June 2005
deposition, Chuck
stated that he was
the one who said
these words to the
cleaning lady.
This
would have made him
the one standing at
the back of the car.
Yet
Chuck stated in his
deposition that he
had been wearing a
long sleeved hooded
sweatshirt.
Chuck
also has black hair.
Of
these two eye
witnesses (Ornt and
Trump), Ornt was
considered by police
to have been the
only credible
witness.
The
police immediately
solicited her help
in drawing up a
composite of the
person she had seen
at the back of the
car; the one who had
spoken to her.
Almost
a year and a half
after the murder
Shawna Ornt helped
Officer Nichols draw
a second composite
which was completed
on 3-25-03.
The
Columbia Tribune
quoted Sgt.
Monticelli of the
Columbia Police
Department as saying
the department
developed a new
composite drawing
�because the sole
witness in the case
was never happy with
the original,
computer-generated
composite",.
Please
notice that there
was no mention of
Jerry Trump as a
witness. This story
can be accessed by
clicking on the link
below:
http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2003/apr/20030405news003.asp
In
police report #10
Detective Liebhart
said "Trump could
not provide a
detailed description
of either of the
individuals",.
As
can be seen, Trump
did not have any
credibility with the
police and did not
assist in developing
either of the
composites of the
person who had been
seen at the rear of
the victim's car.
Click
onto the link below
and listen to the
911 tape. You can
hear Jerry Trump's
own words. He knew
very little on the
night of the murder
even when the
details would have
been fresh in his
mind. You can
distinctively hear
Shawna Ornt in the
background providing
Trump with the
information that he
himself was unable
to give.
http://www.freeryanferguson.com/911tape.shtml
The
description given by
Ornt does not fit
that of Erickson.
Yet Erickson is the
one who insisted
that he was the
person who spoke to
Ornt. Erickson has
always contended
that he was the one
standing at the back
of the victim's
car.
He
said he had been
wearing a long
sleeved hooded
sweatshirt when he
left Ryan's car to
walk to the crime
scene. He stated
that it was cold,
but
meteorological reports
from
that evening show
that the temperature
was unseasonably
warm at 60 degrees.
Ornt
and Trump both said
that the two men
they saw behind the
car were around 200
pounds, six feet
tall, and in their
early twenties.
These
descriptions DO NOT
match Ryan or Chuck.
At
the time of the
crime Ryan and Chuck
were approximately
five foot six or
seven, 145 to155
lbs., and barely 17
years old.
Please
note that according
to Chuck's own
statements during
his deposition, he
says he had dark
hair. His statements
can be found on page
229 of his June 2006
deposition.
Janitorial
supervisor, Jerry
Trump was called to
testify during the
trial.
He
said that while
standing on the
loading dock, after
being summoned by
Ornt, he looked out
at Mr. Heitholt's
car and shouted Kent
Heitholt's name
several times,
"Kent!
Kent!",
According
to Trump's
testimony in court,
there was no
response, so he
continued shouting,
"I see you. Come
on out.",
At
this point, he
testified that two
men stood up from
behind the car and
walked briskly (one
from the rear and
one from the front),
up the alley heading
east toward Fourth
Street.
Trump
closed the bay door
and instructed
Shawna Ornt to call
911. The police
department received
this 911 call at
2:26 a.m.
Note:
Chuck Erickson never
mentioned that Mr.
Trump called Kent
Heitholt's name or
yelled, "I see
you. Come on out",.
His statements to
police and his
courtroom testimony
did not include this
information.
Trump's
account of what he
said was never
written into any
police report. It
was not a part of
pre-trial discovery
- two
major sources for
Chuck's
ever-changing story.
Therefore
Chuck was unaware of
these details.
Also,
Chuck thought
Michael Boyd, the
last person to see
the victim alive,
was a white man
because that's
what was written on
the cover page of
Boyd's police
reports.
The
words Chuck Erickson
allegedly said to
the cleaning lady
were given to him by
Detective Short
(police report 254)
Detective
Short stated on page
5, "I told
Erickson that the
cleaning lady told
the police that
someone asked for
help",. These are
Short's own words
- NOT Erickson's.
Short told Chuck
what the cleaning
lady had said. You
will also discover
later how he told
Chuck the number of
strikes to the
victim's head.
He
told Erickson the
fact that a belt was
used as the weapon.
All of this came
from Detective Short
- NOT from Erickson.
Detective
Short shamefully
spoon-fed Erickson
all of this
information and
Erickson took
ownership. This can
be seen on the
YouTube video and
the DVDs of Erickson's
interview with
Detective Short.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCyKnc1BVV8&mode=related&search
No
one knows exactly
what happened in the
parking lot between
the time Mr.
Heitholt arrived at
his car and when the
janitorial staff saw
something
suspicious. The
victim logged off
his computer at 2:08
a.m. and 911 was
called at 2:26 a.m.
We
do know that Mr.
Heitholt was beaten
and choked to death.
It was a very bloody
murder. Twenty-nine
months later, on
March 10, 2004, Ryan
Ferguson was charged
with the murder.
The
one and only "witness",
was Chuck Erickson,
who was arrested
earlier that same
morning. Erickson
did not turn himself
in or come by the
police station to
confess.
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