WISCONSIN
Pioneer Press
BY KEVIN HARTER
Pioneer Press
If there was so much circumstantial evidence that the Rev. Ryan Erickson killed two men, why did it take more than three years to close the case?
It's understandable today to raise that question after all the evidence was laid out at a court proceeding earlier this month, Hudson Police Chief Dick Trende acknowledges, but it's hindsight.
The reality is that detectives investigating the killings of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison were faced with reluctant or unwitting witnesses. Some didn't want to come forward, others didn't think their information was important. And there were rumors to dispel, barriers to break down in the community as well as in the church.
Most importantly, no one could — or wanted to — believe a priest was involved.