RedHanded - Episode 48 - Can Dreams Kill? - The Ryan Ferguson Story

Episode Date: May 31, 2018

On Halloween night 2001 Chuck Erickson got blackout drunk with his friends. 2 years later a 19 year old Chuck, who had been plagued with dreams that he and his friend Ryan Ferguson had killed a man that night, went to the police and confessed to the murder of local man Kent Heitholt. Ryan was adamant this never happened, and there was no physical evidence linking either of them to the crime - so what really happened that night?   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Red Handed early and ad-free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. They say Hollywood is where dreams are made. A seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Red Handers, it's Hannah. And just a quick note before we dive into this week's episode.

We had a little bit of mic trouble and we sort of ummed and ahed about the whole thing, but we really wanted to give you an episode on time. Please just stick with us. We promise it's going to be worth it. On with the show. I'm Hannah. I'm Saruti. And welcome to Red Handed, where this week we're asking, can dreams kill? Because for Ryan Ferguson, the only thing between him and a murder conviction that could lead to the death penalty or life without parole was an eyewitness. Except it wasn't actually an eyewitness at all. It was someone, a pretty messed up someone, who thought he might have had a dream about a murder.

This dream, along with absolutely no concrete evidence, was enough to land 19-year-old Ryan Ferguson in jail in March 2004. To pick apart how in the world this happened, we have to go back to Columbia, Missouri on Halloween, 2001. Kent Heitholt, a sports editor at the Columbia Daily Tribune, logged off his computer at 2.08am. A few of his co-workers were still in the office, so Kent said his goodbyes and made his way down to the car park. As Kent was walking across the car park, his colleague Michael Boyd was driving off, but he stopped to say goodbye before making his way home. But Kent would never make his way home, because a

six-foot-five, three-hundred-pound family man was found stabbed and strangled with a belt. His co-workers called in the emergency services, but no one had any clue why someone would want to kill Kent. He was a happy guy, good at his job, and certainly didn't appear to have any enemies. Could this frenzied attack have been the work of a deranged sports fan, or was it a robbery? The police, the Columbia Daily Tribune, and the people of Missouri were stumped. They were stumped, even though there were seven fingerprints, two bloody boot prints, and a strand of bloody hair in one of Kent Heithold's hands. And that does seem like quite a lot to go on. The murder weapon was never found, but forensic investigators discerned that Heithold had been

hit multiple times in the head with a blunt implement, possibly a tire iron. What is a tire iron? When you're changing a tire on your car, it has these nuts that you have to screw out, and that's what you use to do it with. So it's a big, heavy metal thing. Whenever someone gets smashed in the head, I'm like, was it with a tie-dye? Why do people have tie-dye? Because you've always got them in your car.

Oh, I think I'm picturing a crowbar. It's not totally dissimilar. It just has this, it looks like an egg cup on the end. To screw off the bolts. Yeah. I've never changed a tie-dye in my life. So yeah, tie-dye. Do you have a tie-dye in the back of your car? Yeah bolts. Yeah. I've never changed a tire in my life. So yeah, tie-rion. Do you have a tie-rion in the back of your car? Yeah, I do. You have to.

Wow. Ready-made weapon in everyone's car. Fuck it up. Now you say that, that is really terrifying. Two janitors that were working in the Daily Tribune building that night were Shauna Ornt and Jerry Trump. They saw two shadowy figures in the car park just after the attack had taken place. According to Shauna Ornt, these shadowy figures were young men of about college age. One ran off straight away, but the other looked Shauna dead in the eye and said something to the effect of, there's someone who is hurt out here, before running off into the night. Heithold was a big guy, he was 300 pounds and it's pretty obvious from the hair in his hand that there had been some sort of struggle before he died. But no leads seemed to appear, no one was arrested and the case went

cold. This was an extremely high profile case and it must have been pretty embarrassing for the Columbia Police Department that they had absolutely no idea who did it. But despite the embarrassment, two years go by with no developments in the case. The Columbia Tribune published a story about the murder on the two-year anniversary and this story led to an anonymous tip. A man rang the police department and said he knew who had killed him. The anonymous tipster was talking about Chuck Erickson, a local teen who had been telling all of his friends

that he knew about the murder. The memories were coming back to him from Halloween 2001. He was sure he was there and he kept having reoccurring dreams about the murder. And I don't think we can make this clear enough. Chuck Erickson had quite a large drug habit, was known for getting absolutely totaled whenever he went out. He had

been telling his friends that he thought he might have murdered someone. Maybe. That's genuinely what it is. It's some guy who just like loves getting fucked up. He's like the guy who somehow always finds out about the party and is always there but wasn't really invited. It's him. And he's just telling anyone who would listen. You know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of, you know, when we did the Google Hangout live episode and the Canadian sisters got caught because they couldn't shut up about telling everyone that they killed their mum in the bath. It's like that, except he just wants to talk about it. And as tenuous as this may seem, it was enough for the police and they called in Chuck Erickson for questioning. And when he's

being questioned, Erickson ups his game even further. Not only does he tell them that he knows about the murder, but he tells them that he was pretty sure he was there with his mate and that they had killed High Holt for booze money. He's just going into police questioning and volunteering all of this information. It's completely crazy. And it's not even like he's handed himself in, like he hasn't gone to the police and said, I have something I need to talk about. Someone has rung up and been like, maybe you should talk to this guy. And the police were like, oh my God, great. It's been two years finally. And he doesn't disappoint because when he's being questioned, he's owning up to everything. He's saying we were there, we did it for booze money and then I ran off.

But for a spur of the moment robbery, as he's telling it, doesn't Heitholt seem like a bit of an unlikely target? If I was going to mug somebody, I wouldn't pick a six foot five, 300 pound guy. That wouldn't be my prime choice. No, in a dark car park, are you joking? He would kill you. He was so close to his car too. It just seems so bizarre that he's the one you would pick for a hit and run robbery. Oh, absolutely. But hold tight because this is by no means the only thing about Erickson's story that doesn't add up. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's tell the story as Erickson tells the police on the 10th of March 2004, when he is initially called in for questioning. Erickson claimed that he was at a Halloween party with his pal, Ryan Ferguson. The pair had been

friends as young kids, but had drifted apart at high school. Both his pal, Ryan Ferguson. The pair had been friends as young kids, but had drifted apart at high school. Both Erickson and Ferguson were 17 on the night of Heitholt's murder. Chuck and Ryan had met up with Ryan's older sister, Kelly, who had managed to get them into a bar called By George, where they stayed until about quarter past one. Chuck had apparently that night taken a cocktail

of Adderall cocaine and a whole lot of booze. Party. He's a party guy. That sounds horrific. He's literally blackout. That would be the natural conclusion to taking that particular cocktail. And he has absolutely no memory of that night at all. All he has is a feeling that he was somehow involved with this murder. And I feel like that really is like the ultimate anxiety hangover cave. Like, can you imagine being so hungover that you convinced yourself you're a murderer? I mean, maybe if Hannah, if we did a night out on the cocktail of Adderall cocaine and a whole lot of booze, we might also end up with that conclusion.

I haven't been down that particular path to know. But I have been pretty hungover in my time. And I have like very anxiously convinced myself that I've done all sorts of things. And if just tequila will do that to you, chuck in Adderall and cocaine and let's see what you'll convince yourself. Let's see what I could convince you you've done. It's like horrible, like hangover where you wake up and you're like, oh, God, I'm ugly and all my friends hate me. No. But yeah, so murder is pretty extreme thing to convince your hungover brain of. And I did have a little bit of a look into what happens when you get blackout drunk. Not that that has ever happened to me, obviously. So memories start off in our immediate memory. That's like 30 to 90 seconds. And then if

we hold on to them, they make it to our short-term memory and then eventually to our long-term memory. And when you drink loads in a short amount of time, your brain puts up a block between your immediate and your short-term memory. The brain receptors that create memories in the hippocampus totally shut down when you get that drunk so quickly. So you can remember things 30 to 90 seconds before the blackout, but that's it. So apparently a good way of checking if your mate is about to go over the edge is to ask them what happened 15 minutes ago. And if they can't tell you, they're either about to black out or you're too late. But also just don't be that person. No one likes that person being like, I think you've had too much.

But also drink responsibly. Being blackout doesn't necessarily mean you can't talk, stand up or look essentially functioning either. Alcohol hits your memory before it hits you physically. So you might have no memory of doing it, but you are still completely capable of texting your ex-boyfriend. What makes this pertinent to the case is that if you are blackout drunk, your brain is just not recording things. Nothing is even making it into your short term memory. Blackout drunk memories don't resurface because they aren't there in the first place. So right off the bat, Erickson claiming that memories of Halloween 2001 have been coming back to him is a very unlikely story. Erickson tells police that he and Ryan left by George and went to go and find someone to murder so they could steal their money and keep drinking. But again, please bear in mind,

Chuck doesn't actually remember this happening. He just has a feeling. And the dreams, of course, you can't forget the dreams because this is all the police have to go on. Chuck does, though, have one distinct memory of the night in question. He told police that he and Ryan went back to buy George at about 2.30am and kept drinking until Ryan drove Chuck home. On the drive home, Chuck remembered being at an intersection and seeing his school friend, Dallas Mallory, in a car with two young women. Dallas's car was stopped at a red light and Ryan's car pulled up alongside Dallas's. This may seem like a minor detail, but it will become pivotal later on. As mind boggling as this is, this very vague story was enough for the police to arrest Ryan Ferguson. I mean, can you imagine just going into the police and being like, I have a feeling that

I did this. I had some dreams about this. And they fucking arrest you. That's unbelievable. But before we have a look at the police questioning of both Chuck and Ryan, let's lay out what Chuck has actually told the police. One, he was blackout drunk, but has a feeling that he and Ryan were involved in the murder of Heitholt. Two, they had been at By George with Ryan's sister

Kelly. They had left, done the murder and then returned to keep drinking. Three, Ryan had driven Chuck home and on the way home they had stopped at an intersection and Chuck had recognized the driver of the car next to them as being Dallas Mallory. This is literally all he went into the police station with but he walks out with a whole lot more. By the time Chuck and Ryan are arrested and charged with the murder of Kent Heitholt, this is Chuck's story. He and Ryan had left the club to go and murder someone so they could steal their money and keep drinking.

This was Ryan's idea and not Chuck's. They approach the Daily Tribune car park and see Kent Heitholt. They somehow manage to get close enough to him without Kent realising getting into his car and driving off. Once they are close enough, Chuck kicks Kent on the head with a tyre iron and this brings Kent to the ground. Then Ryan takes off Kent's belt, puts it around his neck and places one foot on Kent's back to keep him there and strangled him to death. Then Chuck and Ryan go back to buy George, stay drinking for a bit, and then Chuck is driven home by Ryan, seeing Dallas

on the way. You may have noticed that this is a very different story from the one Chuck went in with, and that's because the police feed him the information the whole way through. You can watch the tapes of the police interrogating Chuck. They aren't trying to get information out of him. They're spoon-feeding him what they thought happened. And if you're vulnerable enough to admit to a murder based on a sense of impending doom, a memory of seeing someone at a red light and a dream, then you are definitely vulnerable enough to be fed a story. The police know this and they took ruthless advantage of it. It's so clear in the tapes. And as we know from our Juan Catalan episode,

police in the United States can say whatever they want to get a confession. They can even fabricate evidence. The police take Chuck to the crime scene. There is film of this. He looks really lost and is unable to give them an answer to anything. He just keeps saying he's not sure. Then back at the police station, the police ask Chuck what Ryan strangled

Kent Heitholt with. Chuck says that he thought it was a shirt or possibly a bungee cord that Ryan had in the back of his car. The police then coax him into agreeing that it wasn't either of these things used to kill Kent, but rather the belt that was found at the scene of the crime. Chuck also tells police that he hit Kent on the head just the once. And the officer says, the problem I have with that is that we know he was hit more times than that. I mean, you honestly couldn't make it up. This officer is genuinely saying, this story doesn't fit with mine

and it doesn't fit with the evidence we have. And rather than thinking that this might mean that Chuck is lying or not totally all there, he solves the problem by getting Chuck to change his story. It's completely insane. But when Ryan is arrested, he's having none of it. Although the police use exactly the same tactics on him. Ryan repeatedly tells police that he doesn't know he wasn't there.

That he and Chuck had left by George at a quarter past one on Halloween night. He drove Chuck home and that was the end of it. The officers tell Ryan that there was nothing he could do, that Chuck had given them information that had never been released to the press. How could he possibly have known that if he wasn't there? They even say to Ryan, and this is a quote, I ain't never had anyone admit to a murder that wasn't involved. Seriously, how long have you been a police officer?

Because that happens basically all the time. They tell Ryan that Chuck's story perfectly matches the facts and that his, Ryan's doesn't, and that this was going to land Ryan in a lot of trouble. But obviously this was not true. The police are just trying to extract a false confession from Ryan Ferguson. They failed, and by the time the case came to trial, Ryan entered a plea of not guilty.

Chuck, on the other hand, had been told by the Columbia Police Department that Ryan would be entering a guilty plea and if Chuck didn't do the same, he ran the risk of a much longer sentence. So not only was Chuck hoodwinked by the police into giving the detailed confession that they needed, he was tricked into entering a guilty plea too. We also mustn't forget that when they are arrested, Chuck and Ryan are

just 19 years old and neither of them had any previous convictions. They both had relatively privileged backgrounds, which is why it's so shocking that Ryan's bail was set at a record breaking $20 million. That was the highest in American history at the time. So how could a kid have a higher bail bond than Phil Spector and OJ Simpson combined? So to put this into perspective, OJ's bail was $125,000. Phil Spector's bail was $1 million. And Michael Jackson's was just $3 million. Why is this kid so important? What did the police have to hide? And this is the first time we meet dad detective extraordinaire Bill Ferguson.

When he heard that his son Ryan had been charged with murder, he knew that it couldn't possibly be true. Bill dedicated every waking moment to attempting to prove his son's innocence. He armed his son with the best lawyer he could find and started to walk around the crime scene on an almost daily basis. He would go at about one in the morning and stay until about half past three, wanting the conditions to be as close as they possibly could be to the night of Kent Heitholt's murder. Bill Ferguson was desperately searching for something the police had missed, one piece of crucial evidence that would free his son. Bill was given boxes and boxes of evidence from the police. This is known as the discovery, and it includes every piece of evidence that the police have collected, including statements, fingerprints, DNA samples, the works. This is so that the accused has a good shot at defending themselves. Using the discovery and his very expensive lawyer,

Charlie Rogers, from one of the top law firms in Missouri, Bill gets to work building Ryan's case. The case came to trial at the Boone County Courthouse on the 4th of November 2004. Prosecution lawyer Kevin Crane opened the trial by declaring that there was no physical evidence, but that it didn't matter because they had an eyewitness. When has an eyewitness ever meant the physical evidence doesn't matter? We've talked about this so many times, how irrelevant eyewitnesses are, especially in this fucking case when it's not even really an eyewitness, it's a dream witness. This is fucking on a level with psychics and mediums. It's like when you see those articles and like, oh, a ghost solved a murder. I guarantee you

a ghost has never solved a murder. No, I mean, I feel pretty confident about that. And also the fact that they're saying there's no physical evidence, the fingerprints, boot prints and hair sample found at the scene of the crime were all tested and none of them had matched Chuck or Ryan. So to say there is no physical evidence is rubbish anyway. There was physical evidence. There wasn't any physical evidence that proves the guilt of Chuck or Ryan is what they really mean. And even more astonishingly, Michael Boyd, Kent's co-worker, who had stopped to say goodbye to him on the way out of the car park before he drove home, the last person to see Kent Heitholt alive was never interrogated.

I mean, how this case even made it to trial is totally beyond me. But it did. And Chuck had been coached by prosecution lawyer Kevin Crane to be the perfect witness. He calmly explains what happened on the night of the murder. He gives an excellent demonstration of just how quickly he hit Kent Heithold on the head with the mystery tyre iron that has never been found. And he also shows the court exactly how Ryan's foot was positioned on Kent's back as he strangled him to death. The court also hears about how Chuck remembers seeing Dallas Mallory at the red light at the interchange.

He's now claiming that this memory coming back to him was what started the domino effect of him remembering all about that night and how he and Ryan murdered Kent. He claims that these memories that had lain dormant for two years were brought back by this initial memory at the intersection. When asked by Crane whether his story was all a dream, Chuck says, no, I didn't dream anything. I did this. He did this. Chuck has gone from having a dream and a feeling to being a superstar witness who's easily walked the courtroom through every detail of that fateful night in 2001. The two janitors who saw the shadowy figures in the car park are called to the stand. Shauna Ornt, the only one who got a good look at the perpetrators,

has drawn two composite sketches for the police and they are so standard. They look exactly like every American college guy in the early 2000s, including the ubiquitous gelled up quiff with frosted tips. Shauna is not asked by the prosecution or the defence whether she can point out the man she saw in the courtroom, despite being the only one who got a good look at him. The second janitor on the scene, Jerry Trump, is an entirely different story. Crane prefaces his testimony by explaining that Trump is a sex offender. He had served time for child molestation. Trump told the courtroom that whilst he was in prison, his wife had sent him a newspaper article about Heitholt's murder. The article had a picture of Ryan and a picture of Chuck. He recognised them

instantly to be the young men he saw in the car park. Crane then asks Jerry Trump if he sees the man he saw on the night of the murder in the courtroom. Trump points directly to Ryan and declares him to be the man he saw. The defense lawyer, Charlie Rogers, really struggles with this whole trial. And this is a guy that was like this incredibly great lawyer that they got from this fantastic law firm in Missouri. But he stumbles over his words and there are just like super long pauses all over the place. He really seems to not be very bothered by the whole thing. He had never walked the crime scene and couldn't even get his facts straight. One of the exhibits he used was a large aerial view street map and in this map, by George and the Chicago Daily Tribune building, were both labelled. But unfortunately for Ryan,

his family and the vast amount of money they had paid for this joke of a lawyer, the map was labelled incorrectly. How embarrassing is that? Can you imagine? And this was pointed out in no uncertain terms by Crane and the jury lost all the faith, if they ever had any, in the defense. And another terrible blow for the defense was that the all-important interrogation tapes, where the police clearly spoon-fed Chuck the answers that they want, were unintelligible to the jury. The audio-visual setup in the courtroom was so bad that the jury couldn't see or hear anything on the tapes. What the fuck? Are you not doing a trial run of your AV?

Exactly. That just seems like the most basic thing you could do. Like it just feels like nothing has been double checked. No, absolutely. And this whole like AV fiasco, it's just like what you'd imagine in a school where that one TV is just like wheeled into a classroom. And it's got like the squeaky wheels and you can hear it coming down the corridor and you're like, yeah, I remember those. And you'd like put the tape in and it would crackle. And the people that sit at the back, the kids at the back can't see or fucking hear a thing. But this was the jury

in a murder trial. Wrap your head around that one. So the most significant bit of evidence that the defense actually had is totally overlooked by the jury because they can't hear it. I mean, fucking hell. Would you at least not have some transcripts? Anything? You just like bring in a shit recording, play it for the jury. They can't hear anything. The best piece of evidence you have becomes completely irrelevant. And in a last ditch attempt to claw back some credibility, Rogers calls Ryan to the stand. And this is very unusual in a murder trial. Ryan really doesn't do himself any favors here.

He clearly hasn't been coached at all. He just looks a bit cocky and not fussed. He does this really weird scoffy laugh as well when talking about Chuck being a bit of a weird guy. This is what he does. Crane asks him, oh, what do you think of Chuck, basically? And he's like, oh, he's a bit of a weird guy. This is what he does. Crane asks him, oh, what do you think of Chuck, basically? And he's like, oh, he's a bit of a weird guy. That's it. It's not like a big belly laugh. It's literally like a nervous. Oh, God. He's 19. No, he is 19. Exactly. He's a kid and he hasn't even been fucking coached by his shit lawyer. So when Crane presses him on this and says, do you think murder is funny? Ryan says no, but Crane doesn't drop it and actually says, well, this is America. You can laugh if you want. What the fuck does that even

mean? It's like he's entrapping him on the stand. It's fucking mental. He's trying to get a rise out of him. That's what he's trying to do, which like as a prosecution lawyer is a pretty smart move. I think Ryan is just a nervous kid. He's 19. He hasn't been prepared at his own fucking murder trial. But I can understand that seeing that, seeing the way he's behaving, why the jury were put off by his testimony. And Crane keeps needling Ryan, who doesn't lose his temper, but he doesn't come off well either. And on the 4th of December 2004, Ryan is found guilty and received 30 years for murder in the second degree. Chuck received a lighter sentence of 25 years for murder in the second degree. Chuck received a lighter sentence of 25 years for murder

in the second degree at his own separate trial. His sentence was so much shorter because he entered into a plea bargain and agreed to testify against Ryan. Ryan received a further 10 years for robbery, even though Kent Heitholt's wallet was found by police in his car. So I think the conclusion we can draw here is

no matter how patchy the evidence is against you, what we see in this case is that one bad lawyer can really fuck it for you. Your innocence is totally irrelevant. And I think that's the problem with the system is that idea of, oh, well, if you're innocent, you'll never confess to it. So it doesn't matter. You can take a shit lawyer into the courtroom if you're innocent. The system works. No, it doesn't. The system doesn't work. The system has been shown to not work time and time again. Absolutely.

And the whole idea that people won't confess to things they haven't done is ludicrous. And this just completely blows my mind. Ryan gets sentenced to 40 years just because Chuck decided to randomly tell people that he had murdered this guy, then goes to the police and tells them. There's literally no other evidence that he goes to jail for 40 years. Understandably, Ryan and his family were devastated. But on the way out of the courthouse, Bill told the press that this was only the beginning and that he would prove Ryan's innocence. Bill, shocked by Roger's performance in court, knew there must be something that he had missed. And it was a fucking, it was a shoddy display as

well. So I think that's a relatively easy conclusion to come to. So if this lawyer can't even double check that the fucking tape works, there's something he has missed in the building of this case. And like Bill even says in an interview, he was like, I'm a fucking amateur. I don't know how this works. I thought I was in the best hands with this very expensive lawyer. Clearly not. So it's back to the drawing board. So Bill starts giving walking tours of the crime scene to journalists, school kids, literally anyone in an attempt to raise awareness for the case. Bill also started a web page imploring anyone with information to come forward. And it wasn't very long before one person did. Remember Shauna Orndt, our first janitor? It was her. Shauna

agreed to meet with Bill Ferguson, the dad detective at the car park of the Columbia Daily Tribune, where she told Bill that she had got a really good look at one of the shadowy figures and she was sure it wasn't Ryan. What's more is that she had told Kevin Crane this before the trial and that is why he didn't ask her in the court to point out the man she had seen. Aunts was too intimidated by Crane to raise the questions herself. And Rogers was too cautious to ask the question. So this very expensive defense lawyer has literally stood,

watched Kevin Crane question her being like, oh, well, he hasn't asked her if she could point him out. So I better not either. He just was too chicken shit to ask. He obviously hadn't prepped his witness properly because he would know if he'd spoken to her effectively so the most basic question was never asked of aunt in the courtroom and this really is the first big break for bill his second break comes during his late night walks around the crime scene bill noticed that the intersection that played such a large part in Chuck Erickson's testimony, the one where he and Ryan had pulled up next to Dallas Mallory, the traffic lights there didn't ever go

to a red light, but rather just to a flashing yellow one. In America, you don't stop at a flashing yellow light, you just proceed with caution. So Bill got straight on the phone to the Missouri Department of Transportation and asked at what time the lights go from a normal set of traffic lights to just flashing yellow lights. And the Department of Transportation told him that the lights at the intersection changed at 1 a.m. every morning, meaning that Chuck couldn't have seen Dallas at the intersection that night because he wouldn't have stopped because the red light wouldn't have come on. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show American Scandal.

We bring to light some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history. Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space Shuttle. And in 1985, they announced they're sending teacher Krista McAuliffe into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, along with six other astronauts. But less than two minutes after liftoff, the Challenger explodes. And in the tragedy's aftermath, investigators uncover a series of preventable failures by NASA and its contractors that led to the disaster.

Follow American Scandal on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondery Plus. You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial today. Harvard is the oldest and richest university in America. But when a social media-fueled fight over Harvard and its new president broke out last fall, that was no protection. Claudine Gay is now gone. We've exposed the DEI regime, and there's much more to come. This is The Harvard Plan, a special series from the Boston Globe and WNYC's On the Media. To listen, subscribe to On the Media wherever you get your podcasts. You don't believe in ghosts? I get it. Lots of people don't. I didn't either

until I came face to face with them. Ever since that moment, hauntings, spirits, and the unexplained have consumed my entire life. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for the past 20 years. I've taken people along with me into the shadows, uncovering the macabre tales that linger in the darkness, and inside some of the most haunted houses, hospitals, prisons, and more.

Join me every week on my podcast, Haunted Canada, as we journey through terrifying and bone-chilling stories of the unexplained. Search for Haunted Canada on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. The first opportunity to appeal came on the 1st of November 2006 at the Western District Missouri Court of Appeals. Ryan had been in prison for four years and was 23 years old. Dallas Mallory was called to the stand. And remember, he was not called upon in the first trial at all. And he was asked if he remembered seeing Chuck that night and had he stopped at the red light. Dallas told the court that he had not seen Chuck that night. Not only had he not stopped at the intersection because it was yellow flashing light and not a red one,

but on the night of Kent Heitholt's murder, he didn't even have a car. And that's not all, because due to a DWI, Dallas didn't even have a license. Does this mean he wasn't driving? No, of course not. People drive without licenses all the time. But when you couple this with there being no red light, it does discredit Chuck's testimony very nicely. Because it means that the pivotal memory, the one that triggered the remembering of the whole night, just as the police wanted it, never actually happened. It couldn't have happened. Bill had also got in contact with the doorman from the police wanted it, never actually happened. It couldn't have happened. Bill had also got in contact with the doorman from the club by George, where Ryan and Chuck and Kelly had been on the night of the murder. And this doorman confirmed that the bar never closed its

doors later than 1.30. The city of Columbia had no record of the bar being open later than 1.30, so it would have been impossible for Ryan and Chuck to return to the bar after the murder at half past two, as Chuck had claimed in the first trial. Shauna Ornt also testified at this hearing. She said that Crane made her feel intimidated and in the wrong, and that's why she was too afraid to tell the court that the man she saw was not Ryan Ferguson. Despite all of this new evidence, Ryan's appeal was denied. The court found the witnesses to be unreliable and his conviction was upheld. But this doesn't stop Detective Dad. He was working with public defender Ellen Flotman

and Bill takes Ryan's case to every court he could. Between 2004 and 2009, Ryan's appeals are rejected by the state Supreme Court and a writ of habeas corpus does no good. Ryan is denied a retrial at every turn. Come November 2009, things changed. Kathleen Zellner, a criminal defense attorney and wrongful conviction advocate in Chicago, saw a 48 Hours episode on Ryan Ferguson. It was clear to Zellner from watching the courtroom footage that Ryan had not been coached at all on how to be a witness. She wrote down his name and said, if they contact me, I'll take the case pro bono. And Bill Ferguson didn't waste any time. He called Zelna and two weeks later, she visited Ryan in prison. In November 2009, something happened that no one saw coming. Chuck Erickson wrote Ryan Ferguson a letter asking him to tell his

new lawyer to visit him. Kathleen Zellner gets there as soon as she can. She gets special dispensation from the court reporting department so she is allowed to film an interview with Erickson. No one was prepared for what he said. In this videotaped statement, Chuck absolves Ryan from the murder of Kent Heitholt saying that he was just there, that he did none of the killing. What I really don't understand here is why is he saying he did it? There is so much evidence that it was neither of them. Why is Chuck taking the blame for himself? In later statements, Chuck would say that he felt that taking responsibility for the murder was the only way that he could help Ryan, as he had been placed at the murder scene by Jerry Trump. The case was now hanging by a Jerry Trump-shaped thread. But this Jerry Trump testimony is not going to last very long. Detective

Dad was onto it. He managed to get in touch with Jerry Trump's wife, who had, according to Trump's court testimony, sent him the newspaper article which prompted him to identify Ryan as the murderer in court. After a few minutes of questioning, Mrs. Trump told Bill that she never sent that article. When approached by Kathleen Zellner, Jerry Trump admitted that he had never seen the article and he hadn't seen the faces of the two shadowy figures in the parking lot. Kevin Crane had just made it all up. Trump was a sex offender, let's remember,

and he had two years of probation hanging over his head. So he, like Shauna Ornt, was intimidated into testifying by Crane. If Zellner can get Jerry Trump to admit this in court, then it's all over. But getting a retrial was very difficult. Not only were the appeals courts not working out, but the Missouri justice system was fiercely protecting its original verdict. They really didn't like the fact that Zellner came from out of state, and she was even reported to the Illinois Disciplinary Commission. They really didn't like the fact that Zelner came from out of state, and she was even reported to the Illinois Disciplinary Commission. But that didn't stop Kathleen. She told Chuck that all of the stories the police had told him weren't true, and more importantly, the two witnesses in the first trial were lying. Chuck starts to realize

that the police had taken advantage of him. It had all been a trick. Now Shauna Orne had come clean, Jerry Trump had come clean, and Dallas had testified. Chuck is the last piece of the puzzle. He agreed to testify in the hearing that Ryan Ferguson is finally granted after seven years in prison, stating that he did not want to die, knowing that he had done the wrong thing. Post-conviction hearings are difficult things. Every piece of incriminating evidence has to be disproven or recanted. But surely they've done that. Sadly not. It was not enough. And six months after the hearing, Judge Green rejected Ryan's appeal. His decision was based on Erickson and Trump having no credibility because they had changed their story. But how does that work? If every person who recanted a testimony was written off for no credibility, there would never be a perjury conviction. And people get convicted of perjury all the time. That really doesn't make sense. Yet again, the Ferguson family were down, but not out. Two days after the hearing decision was reached, they put up a billboard in Colombia asking people with information to come forward. They set up a Facebook page to raise awareness,

and people around the world started taking pictures of themselves holding signs that said free Ryan Ferguson. Bill gets his car wrapped with a giant picture of Ryan's face and drives Kevin Crane goes on to become a judge and also a commencement speaker at Missouri University. And the Fergusons, and this is just fantastic, hired a plane carrying a huge banner that said, Free Ryan Ferguson, and flew it over the graduation ceremony where now Judge Crane is doing his commencement speech. They also fly it over the homecoming football game and a baseball game. They really pulled out all the stops. But at this point, the Ferguson family and Kathleen Zellner were running out of courts to turn to. Zellner does manage, however, to get the new evidence heard at Cole County Courthouse on the 23rd of February 2012. She convinced a panel of judges there were sufficient Brady

violations in the first trial to warrant an appeal. A Brady violation is the suppression of evidence by the prosecution, and as we know, Crane and the prosecution team did a whole lot of that. This is the hearing that led to the final habeas corpus appeal. On the 5th of November 2013, Ryan Ferguson's conviction for the murder of Kent Heitholt was vacated and he was released from prison 10 years after his initial arrest. But what I still can't get my head around is why Chuck Erickson admitted to this whole thing in the first place. His parents put him through a lot of psychiatric testing at the University of Missouri and all they found was that he was a bit slow at verbal reasoning and that he had big holes in his memory. I was really expecting, like the whole time looking into this case, I've just been like,

something's got to be quite significantly wrong with him for him to admit to this murder. But there is nothing. And it's not like he hasn't been tested. He goes through rigorous testing and there's just, there's nothing. That's even more terrifying because I think the easier answer would have been that something was really wrong with him and that's why he was so vulnerable and the police had been able to do this. This case, if nothing else, proves that anybody, given the right situation, we don't understand fully all of the circumstances, but given those police tactics, could be convinced into giving a false confession, which is absolutely horrifying.

There is also the side of things that Chuck Erickson had been abusing drugs since he was 14. And as we know, he was in a real state the night Kent Heitholt was murdered. Is that enough to confess to murder? To a murder you didn't commit? And also to drag your friend down with you? I don't know. I don't know if it's enough. Because I feel like that would be the next logical argument

is being like, oh, well, his drug drug addled brain, blah, blah, blah. But I just I don't know if I fully buy that even. I don't think it's enough. But then what else could it be? Can dreams kill? In the case of Ryan Ferguson? No, but they can put you in prison for 10 years. There are currently people campaigning for the release of Chuck Erickson on the grounds that he was unfairly tricked by police and there's no

evidence placing him at the crime scene. They've even got Ron Hendry, the guy who found the forensic evidence that got Amanda Knox off on the case. I think what really has stuck with me about this one is literally nothing has been achieved by this. Ryan Ferguson has lost 10 years of his life. He's lost his entire 20s, which is so formative. He's been thrust into the world with no idea how to function in it. He's totally institutionalized.s, which is so formative. He's been thrust into the world with no idea how to function in it. He's totally institutionalized. The Missouri justice system has been completely embarrassed. And Kent Heithold's murderer is still at large.

So what has been achieved? Absolutely nothing. You've just ruined the life of Ryan Ferguson and Chuck Erickson. But he's probably, that's kind of his fault. It's just such a bizarre story. It just makes no sense. If Chuck Erickson had absolutely nothing to do with this, which I think he probably didn't, what the hell made him start telling people that he had done this? And then even if it was just showboating or shit chat, what the hell made him confess to a

murder that he didn't do and take his friend down with him? Like, it's just completely baffling. We talk a lot about weird human behavior on this podcast, but this is one of those things that I really don't understand. And I think I don't totally buy everything that we've heard as being a reason for why he's done this, but I don't know what else could have. That's the thing. I think that's why this case sits so uncomfortably for me, because there's just no reason. There's no reason for him to have done this. I'm almost certain. No, I am certain. Fuck it. I'm certain he wasn't there. He was nowhere near it because Ryan drove him home at like quarter past one. Absolutely. And in other cases, we see where the person goes in and they say,

I didn't do this. I didn't do this. I didn't do this. And then they are tricked by the police, whatever we want to say. The police coerce a false confession out of them. This isn't even almost what totally happened. He went in there and admitted that he had done it and the police solidified it, built a case around that, twisted what he'd said and put him away. He went in there and told them that he'd done this. But we know that people do this all the time, that kind of idea of the lying Tom who comes in and confesses to murders that they didn't do. And usually, as you said, the police should identify holes in their story, if anything, trick them into revealing the fact that they don't know enough about the crime and push this person away as a time waster. But in this case, they're like, nah, let's just let's just go for it.

I honestly think it was like a police embarrassment thing because Kent Heithold is a sports editor. He's well known. And then for the Tribune to publish something two years later, shining a light on, by the way, nothing has been done about this still two years later. I bet when they got wind of Chuck Erickson, they couldn't believe their luck. Yeah. I mean, this kid running around telling everybody he did it. Of course, you're going to go after him. But we don't have the answer here. It's very bizarre. It's a very bizarre phenomenon. People confessing to crimes they didn't commit. There you go. The story of Ryan Ferguson. That is Ryan Ferguson. Thank you very much for listening. You can find us at Red Handed The Pod on all of the social

medias. You can also join our Facebook group. And if you would like to give us some money, you can do that at patreon.com forward slash red handed. And here are some people who have very kindly already done that. Natasha Kramer, Liz Sampson, Roseanne Orrell, Eric Gunzerhauser, and also a very, very kind donation from Brian Bird. And I think Brian Bird's an actual real life criminal lawyer. So that's pretty cool. Knows his stuff. Thanks, Brian. Honestly, guys, like we always say your donations, your pledges make such a huge difference and they really do help support the show. So thank you very much. And we'll see you next week. Bye. Bye.

They say Hollywood is where dreams are made. A seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Radin was found dead in a canyon near L.A. in 1983, there were many questions surrounding his death. The last person seen with him was Lainey Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite. Together, they were trying to break into the movie industry. But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing. From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The cotton club murder on the wondery

app or wherever you get your podcasts you can binge all episodes of the cotton club murder early and ad free right now by joining wondery plus i'm jake warren and in our first season of finding i set out on a very personal quest to find the woman who saved my mom's life you can listen to finding natasha right now exclusively on Wondery Plus. In season two, I found myself caught up in a new journey to help someone I've never even met. But a couple of years ago, I came across a social media post by a person named Loti.

It read in part, Three years ago today that I attempted to jump off this bridge, but this wasn't my time to go. A gentleman named Andy saved my life. I still haven't found him. This is a story that I came across purely by chance, but it instantly moved me and it's taken me to a place where I've had to consider some deeper issues around mental health. This is season two of Finding, and this time, if all goes to plan, we'll be finding Andy. You can listen to Finding Andy and Finding Natasha exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+.

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