HUDSON (WI)
Ironwood Daily Globe
Published Tuesday, October 4, 2005 2:14:49 PM Central Time
By MARGARET LEVRA
Globe Staff Writer
HUDSON, Wis. -- Following key testimony by Deacon Russell Lundgren of Hurley and other witnesses, St. Croix Circuit Judge Erick Lundell ruled Monday that there was probable cause to believe the Rev. Ryan Erickson murdered a Hudson funeral home director and his intern on Feb. 5, 2002.
"I conclude that Ryan Erickson probably committed the crimes in question," Lundell said at the end of a day-long John Doe hearing. "On a scale of one to 10, I would consider it a 10. It is a very strong case of circumstantial evidence."
Lundgren of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Hurley told of a conversation he had with Erickson shortly after Hudson police had questioned Erickson about the murders of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison.
"I've done it, and they are going to get me," Lundgren said Erickson told him.