CONVICTION OVERTURNED MO - Kent Heitholt, 48, found murdered, Columbia, 1 Nov 2001

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I don't know whether these guys did it or not but it sounds like a classic case of cops deciding that they know who did it and then manipulating the evidence to fit, rather than proving the case - and eventually this might hand the defendant a reasonable doubt a more thorough case might have avoided.
 
I have a question for those following this case ...

Where did Chuck get the tire tool to beat Kent Heitholt, if it was proven Ryan's had no evidence on it and nothing to do with the crime ? I don't think (2) teenagers are smart enough to clean up after themselves, especially if they had been drinking.
 
And I will add my opinion as well ... I think someone had it in for Kent Heitholt and wonder if LE investigated Heitholt and any possible enemies ? Gambling debts, personal vendettas, a newspaper column that someone didn't like ...
 
I just watched the 48 hours show on this, I have not heard of this case before. It really does seem like something is off here. I haven't gone into a lot of depth with the case yet, but with just seeing an overview, there are definitely more questions than answers. I am not convinced that these young men commited this crime. Usually, I am in agreement with the state, on almost every case I follow, this one I feel is different.
 
Mysterious said:
I have a question for those following this case ...

Where did Chuck get the tire tool to beat Kent Heitholt, if it was proven Ryan's had no evidence on it and nothing to do with the crime ? I don't think (2) teenagers are smart enough to clean up after themselves, especially if they had been drinking.
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I just saw this episode on 48 Hours last night (rerun) and I have to say, I don't think R Ferguson is guilty. There is no forensic evidence whatsoever to support that he was even there. According to a court document I just read (reasons for denying the appeal for a new trial), it states that the tire iron was taken from the trunk of Ferguson's car. Here is the link to the story and the pdf of the court document

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/06/15/ferguson-denied-new-trial/
 
This is a very unusual case. Anyone interested in crime "mysteries" should look into it. False confessions do happen although I'm not convinced that this is what has happened in this case.

In the 48 Hours Documentry, it was reported that the Clolumbia PD withheld, from new reports, the fact that the victim had be "strangled with a belt". Chuck knew that the victrim was strangled but he didn't know with what. What was not clear to me is whether it was the fact that the victim had been strangled, or the fact that it was a belt that was used that had been withheld, (and the fact that the victim has strangled was included in the news reporting). Does anyone know the answer?
 
Thanks for your comment.
The papers did mention the victim was strangled but they did not tell the public what was used. The police kept this information to themselves in case someone came forward and falsely confessed. This is a procedure the police typically follow in order to determine true fullness of witnesses.

If you saw the police video tape you would have seen Charles Erickson first say he saw Ryan strangle the victim his hands while the victim was face up, a few minutes later Erickson changed his story to say Ryan used a shirt taken from the victim's car and the victim was face down. Detective Short once again told Erickson no, it was not hands or a shirt. Next Erickson guessed a bungee cord again Detective Short told him no.

You can clearly see Chuck Erickson had no idea what was used. Only the police and the murder knew.
Finally Detective Short him it was a belt.
The victim's belt.
The Detective asked Erickson if he saw that.
Erickson clearly stated he did not see that at all.You can see the police interrogation video tape taken the day of his arrest at:
YouTube - Have you ever had a cop in your face?
 
spoonfed said:
Thanks for your comment.
The papers did mention the victim was strangled but they did not tell the public what was used. The police kept this information to themselves in case someone came forward and falsely confessed. This is a procedure the police typically follow in order to determine true fullness of witnesses.

If you saw the police video tape you would have seen Charles Erickson first say he saw Ryan strangle the victim his hands while the victim was face up, a few minutes later Erickson changed his story to say Ryan used a shirt taken from the victim's car and the victim was face down. Detective Short once again told Erickson no, it was not hands or a shirt. Next Erickson guessed a bungee cord again Detective Short told him no.

You can clearly see Chuck Erickson had no idea what was used. Only the police and the murder knew.
Finally Detective Short him it was a belt.
The victim's belt.
The Detective asked Erickson if he saw that.
Erickson clearly stated he did not see that at all.You can see the police interrogation video tape taken the day of his arrest at:
YouTube - Have you ever had a cop in your face?
Click to expand...

It's amazing that there was not a mistrial given all the information the LE passed on during the interrogation, just to get the information so that it would be the same as the evidence they had.
 
Murder verdict against Ryan Ferguson relied on confused confessor
By Chris Hamby
Special to The Star

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. | The Jefferson City Correctional Center is tucked against a hillside at the end of No More Victims Road.

Encircled by layers of chain-link fence and razor wire, the maximum security prison is home to Ryan Ferguson, who at 26 still has ahead of him most of the sentence he received for a 2001 murder and robbery he says he didn’t commit.

And others believe him.

They point to virtually the only evidence against Ferguson — the bizarre and muddled statements of his former high-school classmate and alleged accomplice.

“There’s almost nothing weirder than the Ryan Ferguson case,” said Richard Leo, one of the nation’s leading false confessions experts and a witness in a 2008 hearing, in an interview.

“I am convinced that Ferguson is innocent.”
---

lengthy and fascinating new article, first in a series, at
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/12/04/2497671/ferguson-day-one.html
 
A snippet from the article wfgodot posted.

In jury selection, during a discussion of the presumption of innocence, one man said: “They just don’t pick a person off of a street, just an innocent person. … So I got to believe there could be just a smidgeon of guilt.”

He became Juror No. 1.
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Wow! This case stinks from the beginning to the end. That "confession" was bad enough but now we have jurors with this mindset?
 
Kent Heitholt was born Jan. 4th 1953 to Do and Bill Heitholt. Kent made his home in Columbia, MO with his wife Deborah and their two children, Vincent and Kali. He was the beloved sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune from 1996-2001. On the evening of October 31, 2001 Kent was brutally murdered in the Tribune parking lot as a seemingly random act of violence. We remember Kent as a carefree and happy person who loved to laugh. Kent impacted the lives of everyone he ever met and his legacy inspires us to be the very best people we can be.

Additional Information from poster Allusonz:

There are a number of links so i have included the actual show, the transcript, article on Erickson recanting his confession, and one article in a series of articles :)


48 hours Transcript

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/16/48hours/main1322783.shtml

Series of Articles (this is just one)

http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2010/12/is-ryan-ferguson-guilty-of-murder.html

Erickson Recants

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2010/02/08/erickson-says-he-acted-alone-heitholt-slaying/
 
This has been a story i have been following for some time. I dont believe it got alot of press coverage but would love the thoughts of other forum members with respect to this case
 
Allusonz said:
This has been a story i have been following for some time. I dont believe it got alot of press coverage but would love the thoughts of other forum members with respect to this case
Click to expand...

48 Hours Dream Killer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NapmUOkWbNQ&feature=related Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=587FfqbpAN0&feature=related Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9Sgpl1fQe0&feature=related Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ5A7cxiRVY&feature=related Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWV3yKwtZ3M&feature=related Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb3YZsPzxO0&feature=related Part 6
 
alsmom said:
A snippet from the article wfgodot posted.



Wow! This case stinks from the beginning to the end. That "confession" was bad enough but now we have jurors with this mindset?
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I cant believe the police were allowed to feed Chuck Erickson so much information with respect to this crime

The one part they did not was the fact that the last person known to of seen him alive was actually African-American not white as per LE notes
 
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