WISCONSIN
Renew America
Matt C. Abbott
July 5, 2005
There is still no resolution in the double homicide of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison, who were found shot to death at the O'Connell Family Funeral Home in Hudson, Wis., in Feb. 2002.
Recent press reports have stated that the late Father Ryan Erickson, who apparently remains the prime "person of interest" in the murders, had been under investigation for an alleged incident involving a minor. The details of that allegation have yet to be made public, but the reports have given the impression (to me, at least) that it involved sexual misconduct, which might not be the case.
I e-mailed Hudson Police Chief Dick Trende to ask him: Was the allegation against Father Erickson that involved a minor of a sexual nature, or was it something else entirely?