WISCONSIN
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
June 11, 2005
Months have gone by since the Rev. Ryan Erickson hanged himself at his parish in Hurley, Wis. in December 2004. Erickson reportedly committed suicide after being questioned in the unsolved February 2002 shooting deaths of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison at the O'Connell Family Funeral Home in Hudson, Wis.
Erickson had denied any involvement in the murders, but recent news reports have indicated he also was under investigation for the alleged abuse of a minor.
Here's where the confusion begins.
According to a June 7, 2005 story in the Ironwood Daily Globe (http://www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/0607huds.htm), Erickson is the "prime person of interest." The story also reports that Hudson Police Chief Richard Trende "said Erickson admitted to [the] allegations involving a minor...."
But did he?