Ferguson found guilty of murder
By Shawn Davis, posted 10.28.05

Guilty. That one word was all it took to change the life of Ryan Ferguson. Ferguson, who stood trial last week for the murder of Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor, Kent Heitholt, was convicted Oct. 21 of second-degree murder and first-degree robbery. Sentencing has been set for Dec. 6.

The trial lasted five days, with testimony from detectives, psychologists and eyewitness's; including star witness Charles "Chuck" Erickson. Erickson was also involved in the murder and accepted a plea bargain almost a year ago to testify against Ferguson. Erickson is currently serving a 25-year sentence for second-degree murder. The trial concluded late Friday after five and a half hours of deliberation by the Lincoln County jury.

The defense, led by Charles Rogers, a defense attorney out of Kansas City argued that the story that Erickson told detectives changed each time he told it, and that detectives coaxed Erickson into confessing. Rogers also argued that Erickson dreamed that he and Ferguson were involved in the murder. Rogers called the detectives responsible for interviewing Erickson into question. Rogers also questioned the lack of forensic evidence at the scene, and focused particularly on a hair that did not match either Ferguson or Erickson.

State prosecuting attorney Kevin Crane argued that although some small details had changed, the one that never changed was that he and Ferguson were there when Heitholt was killed.   With the lack of forensic evidence, the Erickson's testimony is what Crane was banking on the most to convict Ferguson.

Once the verdict was known, Ferguson's family defended their son in order to get him the lightest sentence possible. Ferguson's current sentence has him serving 30 years for the murder and 10 years for the robbery. During sentencing in December, Judge Ellen Roper will decide if the sentences will overlap or be served consecutively. Bill Ferguson, Ryan's father, is already planning an appeal.

Erickson said in his testimony that the two of them, who were then juniors at Rock Bridge High School, had been out drinking on Halloween at By George, a former nightclub in Columbia. The two ran out of money and decided to rob someone in order to keep drinking. That's when they saw Heitholt.

"I was young, I was stupid and I was drunk." Erickson said in his testimony.

After hiding behind a dumpster for several minutes, Erickson, with a tire iron given to him by Ferguson, walked up behind Heitholt and hit him several times until Heitholt was on the ground. Ferguson then removed Heitholt's belt and strangled him with it. The two then fled the scene not mentioning it again.

After anonymous tips in March of 2004, the Columbia Police were led to Erickson, who had been openly admitting to the murder. The two were arrested on March 4, 2004.

The guilty verdict served as frustration for the Ferguson family and closure for Heitholt's family. It also put and end to a case that has been the focus of a community for almost four years, and more importantly gave two kids many years to think about a tragic mistake that they made.

> Back to Corner Post Home