The Murder of Kent Heitholt and The Wrongful Imprisonment of Ryan Ferguson
I just recently watched the documentary dream/killer, which focuses on Kent Heitholt’s murder, the false confession by Charles Erickson, and about how Ryan Ferguson finally got out of prison. I also picked this case because we’re 10 days away from Halloween, and this case took place on October 31, into the morning hours of November 1, 2001. I highly recommend the documentary, it’s really well made. You can find the documentary on YouTube or Amazon Prime.
First, I’m going to take you through the key people that this case is about:
Kent Heitholt
Kent Heitholt was 48 years old, and worked at The Columbia Daily Tribune as a sports editor. He was last seen by his co-worker, Michael Boyd, when they left work around 2:12am on November 1, 2001.
Kent
Ryan Ferguson
Ryan was a 17 year old high school student at the time of the crime. He lived in Columbia, Missouri.
Ryan Ferguson
Ryan was out at Halloween parties around the area with a friend named Charles Erickson.
It’s been reported many times that Ryan and Charles weren’t close friends, and were more acquaintances.
Charles Erickson
Charles Erickson is the friend of Ryan’s that made false claims that he and Ryan killed Kent. Charles was under the influence of cocaine, Adderall and alcohol.
When he was first questioned by the police, he said that he had no memory of what happened, and then later spun a story that landed him and Ryan in prison.
Charles Erickson at trial
Murder
Kent left work around 2:12 and 2:20am on November 1, 2001. He left after talking to his co-worker Michael Boyd.
A janitor named Shawna Ornt was outside taking a smoke break when she reportedly saw a few shadowy figures near Kent’s car. She went back inside to report it to her supervisor, a man named Jerry Trump. They both said that there were 2 attackers, that looked like they were college aged, and they reported that one of them said “someone’s hurt out here, man,” and then they both left. Shawna and Jerry told other employees, and the police were called at 2:26am.
Kent was found beaten with a blunt object, and he was also strangled.
Investigation
The police talked to Shawna and Jerry. Shawna said that she got a good look at the attackers, but Jerry said he didn't. Shawna gave the police a description, and they put out a composite sketch.
The police found fingerprints in and on Kent’s car, that were unidentified, they also found a hair in Kent’s hand. There was also footprints in the blood around the crime scene.
The case went away for about 2 years, until October 2003. According to Charles Erickson, he had dreams about the case and after seeing an article in the newspaper, he brought it up to Ryan. He was clearly troubled that he couldn’t remember anything that happened, but Ryan probably being a good friend, said he couldn’t have been involved.
In November 2003, Charles saw the composite sketch, and thought it resembled him. He told his friends Nick Gilpin and Art Figueroa, and they reported it to the police. I’ve also heard that Charles brought it up to many friends, and seemingly wouldn't shut up about it.
NOW WE ARE AT THE PART OF THIS CASE THAT MAKES ME SOOO MAD. Charles went in to talk to the police, and he even says that he doesn’t remember anything, even stating that “it’s just so foggy, I could be fabricating all of it.”
The police continued to ask him questions, and ask him about what the murder weapon was. Charles first says he thinks it was a shirt, the police say no and Charles guesses a bungee cord next. The police eventually tell him that Kent was strangled with his own belt, and Charles says “I don’t remember that at all.”
Charles finally says that it was him and Ryan Ferguson that went to rob someone to get money for drinks and found Kent and ended up killing him.
In March 2004, Ryan and Charles are arrested and charged with Kent’s murder.
Trial
Ryan’s trial took place in 2005, and Charles was offered a plea deal for his testimony against Ryan.
Jerry Trump also testified and said that he was in prison (for unrelated charges), and his wife sent him an article about the case. He said when he saw the pictures of Ryan and Charles, he recognized them as the people standing over Kent on the night of the murder. I 100% hate this guy, and think he’s a liar, he originally said he could not make out the attackers. (WHY ARE ALL PEOPLE WITH THE LAST NAME TRUMP SOOOO AWFUL?)
When Charles testified, he went into detail about watching Ryan strangle Kent. Ryan’s defense said that none of the evidence, blood, hair or fingerprints matched Ryan or even Charles, and that Kent’s blood was not found in Ryan’s car.
Ryan was still convicted of second degree murder and robbery, and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Ryan at trial
ALL HAIL QUEEN KATHLEEN ZELLNER
After Ryan was convicted, he gained a following with wrongful conviction advocacy groups. In 2009, Kathleen Zellner, who is most famous for her work in this case and in Steven Avery’s case (Making a Murderer), took over Ryan’s case pro bono.
In 2012, in a habeas corpus (unlawful detention can be reported to a court) hearing, Charles and Jerry Trump recanted and admitted that they lied at trial. Charles claimed that he was talked into it by Kevin Crane, a prosecutor. He admitted he doesn’t remember anything from the night of the murder, and had blacked out due to being intoxicated and on drugs. Jerry Trump also said that Kevin Crane pressured him, and when he was shown a photo of Ryan, Crane said it would be “helpful” for him to say that Ryan was the perpetrator.
Shawna Ornt, also said that she told Kevin Crane that Ryan was not the person she saw at the crime scene, and that she saw two men fleeing from the scene. She said she was under oath at the time she told him this. She said that he was very threatening to her in their last conversation.
There was also missing information, left out at the trial. Charles said he and Ryan went back to the bar at 2:45am, and that they were let in by the same bouncer who was there before. Another person named Kim Bennett, also said she saw Ryan and Charles at the bar around 1:30am, and she was never called to testify.
Charges are vacated
In November 2013, Ryan’s charges were vacated on the basis that the prosecution withheld evidence from the defense team.
Unfortunately, Kent Heitholt’s case is still unsolved, and it remains an open case.
Civil Rights Suit
On March 11, 2014, Ryan filed a civil suit against 11 individuals, as well as Boone County, Missouri and the city of Columbia. The suit alleges suppression of exculpatory evidence, fabrication of evidence, reckless or intentional failure to investigate, malicious prosecution, conspiracy to deprive constitutional rights, false arrest and defamation. A few of the defendants on the suit were police officers and Kevin Crane, the prosecutor.
Ryan won the suit and was awarded $1 million dollars- $1 million for every year he spent in prison, and $1 million for legal expenses.
Other
Charles Erickson is still in prison, he is serving a 25 year sentence for his testimony against Ryan. Regardless of what happened, Ryan is trying to help Charles get out of prison. Ryan stated:
““There are more innocent people in prison, including Erickson... I know that he was used and manipulated and I kind of feel sorry for the guy. He needs help, he needs support, he doesn’t belong in prison,””
Ryan’s family has offered a $10,000 reward to solve this case.
Ryan started devoting to health and fitness, and is now a certified personal trainer. He also is the host of a show on MTV called Unlocking the Truth about other wrongful conviction cases. He also has a book called Stronger, Faster, Smarter.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ugh, this case makes me soooo angry. I’m angry at how the cops manipulated Charles, when he clearly has some issues of his own. They knew he didn’t remember anything from the night of the murder, and thought it would be okay to talk him into a confession, and now he’s in prison. Ryan seems like such a good person, especially because instead of holding onto anger, he wants to help Charles get out of prison and get him the help he needs. Also, I really hope that Kent’s family gets justice, he is often forgotten about in this case, even though I’m really happy for Ryan and his family, let’s not forget the victim.
In my opinion, I think that Michael Boyd, Kent’s co-worker should be looked into more.
The documentary is really really good, and I highly recommend it. Kathleen Zellner is a queen. If you don’t have time to watch the documentary (I believe it’s on Amazon Prime), they recap it on one of my favorite podcasts, True Crime Obsessed!
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_W._Ferguson
https://fox2now.com/news/insurance-must-pay-millions-to-ryan-ferguson-for-wrongful-conviction/
