HUDSON (WI)
Pioneer Press
BY KEVIN HARTER
Pioneer Press
Hudson Police Chief Dick Trende has tried to keep a tight lid on the disturbing details uncovered in the investigation of a 2002 double killing and suicide of a priest nearly three years later.
But as details about the events began trickling out Friday, Trende said he hopes residents are prepared for what they'll learn after a nonpublic hearing beginning Monday that will lay out the facts of the case.
"What they are going to hear is unpleasant. I have tried to warn them," Trende said. "Because this has not been pleasant, it has taken its toll on everyone, but facts must be separated from emotions.
"Some people don't want to hear those facts and some may not accept them. But they are the facts and they will speak for themselves," he said.
Neither Trende nor District Attorney Eric Johnson would reveal details of the evidence linking the Rev. Ryan Erickson to the killings. The case will be presented Monday in a St. Croix County courtroom at what is known as a John Doe proceeding before Judge Eric Lundell. The hearing could last up to three days, after which the judge will release a finding on the evidence.
Sources with knowledge of the investigation who asked that their names not be used have said Erickson, 31, was a heavy drinker, was known to carry a handgun, sexually molested at least one teenage boy and had motive to silence funeral director Dan O'Connell, who attended the Hudson church where Erickson was associate priest.