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notes for this episode on your app or on our website [Music] the city of hudson is nestled in far
00:02:05
west wisconsin a state famous for being america's dairy land due to its production of cheese milk and
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ice cream separated from the state of minnesota by the sankroy river hudson is a small scenic city
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characterized by historic architecture leafy parks and a wide offering of outdoor attractions
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including walking tracks water sports rock climbing and camping by the year 2002
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the city was home to a close-knit community of around 6 000 residents and it was regarded as a
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safe place to live violent crime was well below the national average and a murder hadn't been committed in
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the area for 24 years the only funeral home in hudson was a sprawling single-story brick and weatherboard
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building owned by local resident tom o'connell whose family had lived in the area for generations
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tom's uncle had owned an undertaking business in town prior to world war ii and in 1985 tom
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decided to relaunch the family business he opened the o'connell family funeral home at 520
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11th street a quiet tree-lined road close to the downtown district two of his sons mike and dan eventually
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began working alongside him dan had initially trained as an emergency medical technician
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but was happy to follow in his father's footsteps by switching to a career in mortuary science
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in 1998 he quit his emt work to concentrate on the family business full time dan was a dedicated worker known for
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putting the needs of others ahead of his own and for always taking the time to comfort the grieving relatives who
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attended the funeral home married with two young children dan had a reputation as a dedicated family man who was eager
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to give back to his community he spent tireless hours working to better his hometown
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by serving on several local committees and raising funds for various organizations
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as a result dan was well known and delighted by other hudson locals the o'connell family funeral home also
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offered trainee positions to mortuary science students who were completing their studies
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one such trainee was 22 year old james ellison who had quickly proved himself to be a
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valuable employee james had grown up with his parents and two siblings in the rural town of barron
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located about 68 miles north east of hudson he was friendly and well liked with a
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range of interests that included golf music and church activities during high school james had played in
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the school band and was active in not-for-profit youth organisation 4h he later enrolled to study mortuary
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science at the university of minnesota where he took his career path very seriously
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friendly polite and organised james took great pride in his trainee work on one occasion
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remarking i'm so proud that i can help people in the worst time of their lives james was due to graduate from
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university in may of 2002 and it was anticipated that the o'connells would then offer him a
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full-time job in the early afternoon of tuesday february 5 2002 saint croix county medical officer
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marty shanklin headed over to the o'connell family funeral home to conduct a routine visit
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due to the requirements of his job he was well acquainted with the o'connells and on this occasion he needed dan to
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sign a death certificate marty arrived at 1 40 pm and immediately made his way to dan's office
00:06:25
which was located towards the back of the building upon entering he was met by a horrifying
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scene [Music] [Music] [Music] marty shanklin saw that 39 year old dan o'connell was seated lifeless at his desk with
00:07:09
what appeared to be a bullet wound to the head nearby the deceased body of 22 year old
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trainee james ellison was slumped over a chair close to the door realizing that the two men had been
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killed and fearful that the culprit might still be inside the building marty hurried out of the funeral home to
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call the police shortly after a number of officers from the hudson police department
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arrived at the scene along with members from saint croix county's emergency response unit
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mindful that the killer might still be on the premises the officers entered the front door of
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the funeral home with their guns drawn they found no one inside except for the bodies of the two victims
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as marty had described dan had been killed at his desk while it appeared as though james had
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been shot as he entered the room most likely to investigate the sound of the gunshot that had killed his boss
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both men appeared to have suffered point-blanker gunshots to the head with several bullet casings found on the
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floor outside of dan's office the funeral home appeared to be in perfect order with no signs of a disturbance or
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a struggle officers initially wondered if they were dealing with a murder-suicide
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but no gun was found at the scene and this theory was quickly ruled out as dan was known to be a practicing
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catholic the officers called the nearby saint patrick's church to request that a priest come and bless
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the funeral home meanwhile the nearby streets were cordoned off and officers began searching the area
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for clues and door knocking neighbouring houses to see if anyone had heard anything
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suspicious by 2 27 pm the crime scene had been secured and the officers faced the difficult task of
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notifying the victims families dan's widow jenny and their two children nine-year-old kyle and seven-year-old
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caitlin were devastated by the news the family had been planning to celebrate kyle's
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10th birthday together the following day but were now left completely grief-stricken
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relatives and friends rallied around them including their local parish priest father ryan
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erickson who told them he had blessed the funeral home while dan's body was still inside
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at five that afternoon father eriksen visited dan's home to embrace jenny and to pray with her
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dan's parents tom and janet o'connell were on holiday in florida when they received the news that their
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son had been killed and so they returned to wisconsin immediately james ellison's family who were devout
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lutherans were equally shattered they knew how hard james had been working and how
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much he had been looking forward to the future just the day prior to his death he and
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his girlfriend had discussed getting engaged james's younger brother jordan ellison
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told the media quote we can't imagine why someone would do this we think james was just in the wrong
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place at the wrong time he never really had any run-ins or things like that that would cause this
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it is hard to understand why the murders also rocked the tight-knit hudson community
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where news of the crime spread quickly no one could imagine why someone would want to kill
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the two beloved upstanding citizens one of dan's neighbours kevin olsen recalled how dan had helped him out the
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previous year despite the fact that they barely knew one another kevin stated i was out shoveling snow
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one day and he came over with his snow blower when he was done he said now you go inside and spend some time
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with that little girl of yours that's just the type of guy he was mayor of hudson jack brault echoed
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kevin's thoughts telling the media quote dan was an outstanding citizen just the
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kind of guy you not only liked but you loved he was just the most wonderful person you would ever want to
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meet shocked that such a crime could have been committed in hudson mayor brawl tatted we are a small
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community everybody knows everybody this doesn't happen [Music] those tasks with solving the double
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homicide were equally as baffled there hadn't been a murder in hudson since 1978
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and after speaking with the families of both victims at length investigators were struggling to come up
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with a motive after conducting enquiries it was determined that tuesday february 5 had
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started out as an ordinary day for dan o'connell in the morning he had left his family
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home to attend a work meeting in the nearby village of baldwin roughly 22 miles east of hudson
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he left the meeting at around 9 45 am explaining that he had an appointment with someone back in hudson
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from there he had driven to work dan's wife jenny said there was nothing out of the ordinary that morning
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jenny recalled that dan had mentioned having a meeting scheduled at his office at 2pm
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but she didn't know who the meeting was with or what it was regarding the day had also started well for james
00:13:31
ellison he had told his parents that he was particularly looking forward to going to
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work as he and dan planned to sit down together to discuss james's future in the business
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that morning james had attended university classes across the border in minnesota
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leaving at around 11am to make the 30-minute drive to the o'connell family funeral home
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like dan no one had noted anything out of the ordinary about james that day on wednesday february 6 the day after
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the murders autopsies confirmed that both men had died from a single execution-style gunshot wound to the
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head though headshots are an effective way to kill someone they can be difficult to carry out due
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to the head being a small moving target this led police to believe that the killer must have considerable
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experience with firearms in order to preserve their investigation investigators opted to withhold details
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of how the men were killed from the public over the past month a number of funeral homes in the
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nearby minnesota city of saint paul had been burgled and formaldehyde had been stolen from their premises
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the formaldehyde is often used as an embalming fluid but it can also strengthen the potency
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of cannabis prompting some drug dealers to seek it out theorising whether the murders could
00:15:09
have been motivated by theft investigators carried out a thorough inventory of the o'connell
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family funeral home in an attempt to ascertain whether anything had been stolen however everything appeared to be in its
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place ruling out burglary as the perpetrator's motive there were also no signs of a break-in
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which indicated the killer had simply entered via the front door the crime scene was thoroughly examined
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but no further evidence was found phone records revealed that at 108 pm dan o'connell had made an outgoing call
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from his office landline 15 minutes later at 1 23 pm a call was placed to james ellison's
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cell phone that went unanswered at 1 36 pm a call to the funeral home also rang out consequently
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police believed the murders must have been committed between 108 and 1 23 pm looking for other possible leads
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investigators considered whether escaped criminal stephen dwayne neal could be responsible
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for the murders neil was a fugitive from arkansas who was wanted for a triple homicide
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a month earlier his two accomplices had been arrested outside an apartment building in hudson
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but neil was still on the run police theorised that neil could have also fled to hudson
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where he killed dan and james but there was nothing tying him to the murders and no sightings of him had been
00:16:56
reported in the area police also looked into the unsolved homicide of a retired mortician named boyd novanger who had
00:17:06
been murdered in his iowa home five years earlier however the only similarity between boyd dan and
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james was that they had all worked in the same field and police soon abandoned this line of
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investigation they issued an appeal to the public asking anyone with information to come
00:17:28
forward especially if they had seen any vehicles parked at the funeral home on the day of the shooting
00:17:40
on saturday february 9 four days after the murders dan o'connell's funeral was held at
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saint patrick's catholic church where he had been married years earlier and regularly attended mass with his
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family a crowd of more than two thousand mourners gathered to pay their respects
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making it the largest funeral in hudson's history with extra chairs having to be brought
00:18:06
in to accommodate everyone dan's father tom and his brother mike had prepared a two-hour service
00:18:14
that paid tribute to dan and the shining example he had set as both a colleague and beloved family member
00:18:22
mayor bralt delivered one of the eulogies father ryan erickson read a verse of scripture
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and the saint patrick's choir provided music [Music] after the service dan's coffin was
00:18:36
driven to the saint patrick's catholic cemetery escorted by a procession of 61 police
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fire and ambulance vehicles james ellison's funeral was held two days later on monday february 11 in his hometown of
00:18:53
baron james was then buried at wayside cemetery in a family plot where his parents could be laid to rest
00:19:01
alongside him upon their eventual passing james's parents set up an annual scholarship in their son's name
00:19:10
the mortuary science students at the university of minnesota where the faculty agreed to let james
00:19:17
graduate posthumously alongside his classmates in may 2002 meanwhile the investigation into the
00:19:27
murders continued and on tuesday february 12 police set up a roadblock outside the o'connell family funeral
00:19:35
home where they pulled over every passing car over two hours approximately 300 motorists were asked
00:19:44
whether they recalled seeing anything unusual on the day of the shootings when this failed to generate any useful
00:19:52
leads hudson police called the federal bureau of investigation to see if they could offer any
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assistance and the department was provided with an fbi spokesperson a possible lead emerged when it was
00:20:08
discovered that a wisconsin-based religious group called the rest of jesus ministry had
00:20:14
sent more than 400 threatening letters to various mortuaries over the previous year
00:20:20
including the o'connell family funeral home the group was opposed to the embalming
00:20:27
techniques employed by morticians as they believed that it desecrated the human body
00:20:34
instead the rest of jesus ministry felt the deceased should simply be wrapped in
00:20:39
a linen cloth prior to burial the group's leader was a woman named catherine padilla
00:20:47
who lived in the wisconsin city of eau claire approximately 67 miles east of hudson
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on tuesday february 12 for the threatening letters she had been circulating padilla was charged with two counts of
00:21:03
disorderly conduct and stalking padilla denied any responsibility for the murders of dan
00:21:10
o'connell and james ellison remarking i am a mailman for god and i am not an assassin for the devil
00:21:21
the charges against padea were eventually dropped on the condition that she ceased sending
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letters to funeral homes and with no direct evidence tying padilla or her followers to the murders this
00:21:35
lead also went cold on friday february 15 hudson police launched a website where people could
00:21:45
submit tips relating to the double homicide reassuring the public that they could
00:21:50
remain anonymous if they wished two weeks later the grieving members of the o'connell family
00:21:58
appeared at a press conference alongside investigators where hudson police chief richard trendy
00:22:05
revealed that police were chasing up a number of leads regarding vehicles seen in the area on the day
00:22:11
in question he stated it will take time unfortunately it's not like the sitcoms you see on tv
00:22:24
dan's father tom thanked the community for their ongoing support and urged them to pray for the killer
00:22:31
stating we're praying for them because they must be very sick justice will take place but we're praying for
00:22:41
them on tuesday april 30 almost three months after the murders the hudson police department announced a
00:22:53
100 000 reward was available for information leading to the arrest and conviction
00:22:59
of dan and james's killer the funds had been donated by the citizens of hudson who were concerned that the person
00:23:08
responsible still hadn't been apprehended that same day police also released a description of a man who was seen near
00:23:17
the funeral home between 1 and 1 30 p.m on the day of the murders he was described as between five foot
00:23:26
eight and six foot one with a slender to medium build and had been wearing a short-sleeved
00:23:33
light-colored t-shirt light blue pants and a baseball cap a witness had seen him enter a white
00:23:41
mid-sized vehicle that was either new or very clean and had later reported the sighting to
00:23:48
police investigators stressed that the man wasn't a suspect and that they simply wanted to know if
00:23:57
he had seen or heard anything that could be useful to their investigation despite the announcement of the reward
00:24:05
and the description of a person of interest months passed without any significant
00:24:11
developments in the case investigators continued to pursue every lead that emerged
00:24:18
but none seemed to be connected to the crime by the end of 2002 a team of officers
00:24:26
led by sergeant paul larson and detective jeff knopps were working on the case full
00:24:32
time but the first anniversary of the murders approached with no breakthroughs in the lead-up to the anniversary the
00:24:42
leader telegram newspaper published an article about the case in which police chief trendy reiterated
00:24:49
his department's commitment to solving it the o'connell and ellison family speculated that the murderer had
00:24:57
likely only planned to kill one of the men but ultimately decided to kill them both
00:25:03
to avoid having a witness they weren't sure whether dan or james had been the target
00:25:10
or why with the james's mother sally remarking it's going to be a stupid selfish reason
00:25:19
there is no reason that will justify what happened and i'm not sure knowing will make it
00:25:24
any better both families drew on their religious beliefs to support them through their grief dan's mother
00:25:35
janet said that hugs and prayers from well-wishers had helped sustain her while james's father carsten noted
00:25:44
we do have faith and if we didn't have that it would be too hard what bothers us
00:25:52
is the unfairness of it on wednesday february 5 2003 to mark the one-year anniversary of the
00:26:02
deaths a quiet remembrance for dan and james was held outside the o'connell family funeral
00:26:08
home 300 people attended the 20-minute ceremony which began at 1pm the approximate time
00:26:17
the two men had been killed a year prior dan's wife jenny told the crowd quote we as a community have rallied
00:26:28
together searching and praying for answers i truly believe they will be answered each one of you
00:26:37
has done something special for me whether it was a hug or a kiss a thought or a prayer
00:26:43
or just the smile it has never gone unnoticed i feel your strength i feel your love
00:26:54
james's mother sally referenced the verse from the bible saying rejoice in the world
00:27:02
always rejoice we rejoice in the lives they lived while they were here and rejoice that they reside with the
00:27:09
lord now although sergeant larson and detective knops were still working on the investigation full time
00:27:20
another year passed by with no further developments in the case in early 2004 they were joined by
00:27:28
detective sean petty who had known dan o'connell since they were both children and had promised to dan's wife jenny
00:27:36
that he wouldn't rest until her husband's murder was solved one day while reviewing some files
00:27:44
detective knobs came across something that caught his attention a year earlier in march 2003
00:27:53
a man who was later given the pseudonym thomas smith had gone to his local police station in
00:27:58
the city of bismarck north dakota to report some unsettling behaviour that had occurred when he was an adolescent
00:28:06
living in wisconsin in 1999 then 15 year old thomas was training to be an altar boy at st
00:28:15
anne's parish in the wisconsin town of somerset there he had met a 26 year old seminary
00:28:23
intern named ryan erickson a bespectacled baby-faced man with the dark hair a year later father eriksen became an
00:28:33
ordained priest and was assigned to saint patrick's church in hudson sixteen-year-old thomas got into some
00:28:41
minor trouble with the law and was assigned community service to be completed under father ericsson's
00:28:47
supervision father erickson lived at the house adjacent to saint patrick's church
00:28:54
known as the rectory according to thomas when he visited the rectory father eriksen would apply him with beer and
00:29:02
liquor which he stored in a model globe the pair would play drinking games that required thomas to drink a shot
00:29:11
every time he lost over the course of two years thomas estimated he consumed around 1200
00:29:18
beers and 1200 shots in father eriksen's presence the drinking occasionally caused him to
00:29:26
vomit or pass out at which point father eriksen would say all the college kids are going to laugh
00:29:33
at you you need to hold your liquor better when speaking to the bismarck police thomas also hinted that there had been
00:29:43
some other inappropriate behaviour from father ericson but the issue of underage drinking was
00:29:49
the primary focus of his report on april 8 2003 the report was forwarded to the hudson police department
00:29:59
but because it simply appeared to involve someone serving alcohol to minors it had gone unnoticed
00:30:07
when detective knops read the report in early 2004 he decided to get in touch with thomas
00:30:13
smith to discuss the issue further on april 9 thomas was interviewed about the times
00:30:21
he spent with father eriksen he claimed that during their drinking sessions the pair would often lie
00:30:28
side by side in bed dressed only in boxer shorts discussing subjects such as masturbation
00:30:36
father ericsson also revealed that he often got drunk and participated in orgies
00:30:42
he disliked the fact that thomas had a girlfriend and tried to convince the teenager to
00:30:48
join the priesthood instead according to thomas on approximately 10 occasions father
00:30:56
eriksen had groped his genitals and attempted to intertwine their legs together while these assaults never escalated to
00:31:04
intercourse thomas said he was often so drunk that he couldn't remember what had happened
00:31:09
the next morning around this time he became prone to mood swings and later struggled with alcoholism and
00:31:18
physical intimacy with his girlfriend thomas hadn't realised that his experience with father eriksen was wrong
00:31:26
until he took a psychology course in college that described the way predators groom their victims
00:31:33
it was only then that he reported father erickson's inappropriate behavior to the
00:31:38
bismarck police for detective knobs the conversation with thomas led to the crucial discovery that there
00:31:48
was someone who'd been living in hudson at the time of dan o'connell and james ellison's murder
00:31:54
who might have something to hide father ryan erickson had arrived at st patrick's church in hudson
00:32:06
shortly after being ordained in june 2000 he began working alongside the church pastor
00:32:14
father peter schlinsky who was almost immediately taken aback by the young priest's extremely
00:32:20
conservative views and approach to spiritual guidance while the other priests wore suits to
00:32:28
church father eriksen preferred to wear a traditional full-length cassock he also liked to
00:32:35
speak latin when offering mass even though his latin skills were poor and the mainstream catholic church had
00:32:42
ceased conducting latin services during the early 1960s father eriksen's sermons predominantly
00:32:50
fixated on sexual sins he often cried and sobbed as he preached from the pulpit or spoke to members of
00:32:58
his congregation denouncing those whom he deemed to be lukewarm catholics an elderly parishioner named gene
00:33:07
ritchie eventually grew so irritated by father eriksen's constant tears that she confronted him during one of his
00:33:14
outbursts asking aren't you ever doing it a bit can't you quit crying to gene's surprise
00:33:24
he was able to stop sobbing instantly while the more moderate catholics who attended mass at st
00:33:31
patrick's found father eriksen off-putting the conservative worshippers applauded
00:33:36
him with one describing him as the ultimate priest who was extremely faithful to his
00:33:42
religion there was a school associated with the church and father erickson was responsible for teaching sex education
00:33:51
to its students he lectured them on the evils of contraception abortion and masturbation and often
00:33:59
forced them to confess their sins to him conservative parents appreciated father
00:34:06
eriksen's approach and wanted him to take on a larger role at the school but other parents and the school
00:34:12
principal were upset by the things he was telling their children father ericsson also preached against
00:34:20
masturbation in a weekly newsletter that he emailed to his congregation he criticized the some of the women who
00:34:28
attended st patrick's writing even sunday mass is not safe from the immodest address of some
00:34:36
devils they come to read give out holy communion etc looking like an advertisement
00:34:44
their immodest address says to all present i'm easy please go home and masturbate
00:34:50
to my beautiful body the sad thing is that some do father eriksen became particularly close
00:35:00
to the conservative members of his congregation and sometimes stayed at their houses
00:35:07
as he was known to have a passion for firearms one family gifted him a nine millimeter
00:35:12
semi-automatic pistol which he took to wearing underneath his cassock one day the church pastor father
00:35:21
shloshinsky became extremely unwell and was admitted to hospital father eriksen told his congregation
00:35:29
that the pastor was sick because he had a demon inside him and added that if father shlashinsky died he hoped
00:35:37
to be promoted to pastor eventually some of the parishioners complained about father erickson to
00:35:45
bishop rafael fless who governed the diocese that saint patrick's fell under in response bishop fliss met with father
00:35:55
eriksen and instructed him to tone down his behavior though father eriksen complained to his
00:36:03
supporters that some congregants were out to get him nothing else came of the matter he
00:36:10
remained at st patrick's until september 2003 just over a year and a half after the murders of dan o'connell and
00:36:18
james ellison at which point he was reassigned to serve the our lady of sorrows parish
00:36:24
in the small city of ladysmith located approximately 107 miles northeast of hudson
00:36:34
in november 2004 investigators working on the double homicide decided it was time to speak with father eriksen
00:36:43
directly by this point he was 31 years old and had moved to saint mary's church in the wisconsin
00:36:51
city of hurley on thursday november 11 detectives petite and knops travelled to hurley explaining
00:37:00
to father eriksen that they wanted to speak to him purely because he had been the priest of
00:37:05
the church that dan o'connell attended at the time of the murders father eriksen welcomed the two
00:37:12
detectives into the rectory where he lived he explained that the last time he had
00:37:18
seen dan was on january 30 2002 about a week before his murder when the pair had been driving together to attend
00:37:27
a burial at the cemetery dan had mentioned that he planned to attend confession soon
00:37:34
and was also hoping to have his house blessed which father eriksen said he would be
00:37:39
happy to do any time he theorised to the detectives that the mafia could be responsible for
00:37:47
the double homicide as he had heard rumors that dan's father had been associated with the organized
00:37:53
crime syndicate until the group had turned against him when asked about his whereabouts on the
00:38:00
day of the murders father eriksen said he'd been out buying cigars when he returned to the church at around
00:38:08
3 p.m his secretary informed him what had happened he instructed the secretary to call and
00:38:16
ask if he needed to visit the scene to perform the victim's last riots before taking it upon himself to go
00:38:23
to the o'connell family funeral home police at the scene had denied him entry so he had gone to council dan's wife or
00:38:31
jenny at her residence instead father eriksen explained quote i just wanted her to know that i was
00:38:41
there i was new at this you know i never had dealt with anybody dying from a tragedy before
00:38:50
later that evening he had conducted a mass in which he asked his congregation to pray
00:38:55
for dan's family during the course of the interview father eriksen explained that he was an
00:39:03
avid gun collector and hunter and that he planned to go deer hunting soon he said he mainly used single shot
00:39:12
shotguns for hunting because quote my grandfather used to say if you can't hit it with one you
00:39:20
shouldn't be out there shooting he also showed the detectives his extensive handgun collection
00:39:27
describing his ruger red hawk 44 caliber magnum revolver as being quote like a two dollar [ __ ]
00:39:37
the detectives also noticed the model globe filled with bottles of liquor that thomas smith had described in his
00:39:44
original report roughly an hour into the interview father eriksen began speculating as to
00:39:52
how dan o'connell and james ellison's bodies had been found remarking if i had to say
00:40:00
what took place i would say james was at the door and to dan was at the desk he also stated his belief that each man
00:40:09
was only shot once [Music] these comments immediately alarmed detectives petite and
00:40:17
not as police had been consistently tight-lipped about the crime scene and had never released these details
00:40:26
when they asked father eriksen how he knew this information he explained that he'd either been told
00:40:32
by father james de bruzi the priest who had gone to anoint the victims bodies or by one of dan's
00:40:39
siblings detectives pati and knops were troubled by father eriksen's revelations
00:40:51
after the interview they asked for his permission to take his handguns in for examination
00:40:56
which he agreed to a forensic examination determined that none of the firearms had been used
00:41:03
to commit the double homicide but investigators remained suspicious father de bruzi and dan's siblings all
00:41:13
denied providing father eriksen with information as to how the bodies of dan and
00:41:18
james were found moreover the person of interest who was witnessed entering a white
00:41:25
mid-sized vehicle near the funeral home on the day of the murders shared the same build as father eriksen
00:41:34
at the time he owned a pale silver buick regal which was a mid-sized car that could
00:41:40
easily be mistaken as white the detectives requested a search warrant for father eriksen's rectory
00:41:48
and then asked him to attend a follow-up interview at the rusk county sheriff's department in the city of lady smith
00:41:56
father eriksen agreed and on tuesday december 7 2004 he arrived at the station without a
00:42:03
lawyer this time when the detectives asked how he knew where the bodies of dan and
00:42:09
james had been found father eriksen said that while he wasn't entirely sure he believed he'd heard the details from
00:42:17
either the media or gossip in the church office one of the detectives responded quote
00:42:26
in the course of this investigation never once has anybody from the hudson police department
00:42:32
ever mentioned where the bodies were nor in the course of this investigation through
00:42:38
1900 some people has anybody ever brought up a speculation a probability a possibility
00:42:45
or anything like that as far as where the bodies were if that hasn't been brought up in 1900
00:42:52
and some interviews why do you know that father eriksen simply repeated that he'd
00:43:00
overheard the information somewhere when detectives raised the subject of him having behaved
00:43:08
inappropriately with minors father eriksen appeared visibly shocked and began to noticeably perspire
00:43:17
he conceded that he had served alcohol to at least four miners and had also laid in bed
00:43:23
fully clothed alongside one of the teenage boys but denied ever having sexual contact
00:43:30
with any child or adult father eriksen described his behaviour as foolish and acknowledged that dan
00:43:39
o'connell wouldn't have approved of such actions had he known about them stating dan was an outstanding member of
00:43:48
the community as the interview went on it was obvious that father eriksen was becoming
00:43:56
increasingly uncomfortable he claimed there was a group of five women in hudson who loathed him
00:44:03
and he suspected they were making trouble for him when the detectives asked whether he
00:44:10
would tell them who killed dan and james if he had that information father eriksen replied if i knew
00:44:18
and it was outside the sacrament of reconciliation i would tell you he admitted that the
00:44:25
fact that he was being considered a suspect made him nervous and reminded the detectives that he had
00:44:32
willingly cooperated by submitting his guns for examination father eriksen stated
00:44:40
if i did it and i've been living with it for this long and you guys had me cornered here i'd
00:44:47
break i'd tell you i know i would i think the guilt would be overwhelming i really do
00:44:58
he admitted to having suicidal thoughts in the past and said that he would be having those
00:45:03
thoughts again if he had committed the murders the detectives were concerned that he
00:45:09
might be at risk of harming himself and offered to take father ericsson to a hospital for treatment
00:45:15
but he emphatically denied being suicidal father ericsson agreed to undergo a polygraph test
00:45:27
and an appointment was scheduled for the following week on monday december 13 a state public
00:45:34
defender called the hudson police department to inform them that they would be representing father eriksen from there
00:45:40
on in and their client would not be taking the polygraph test three days later a warrant was granted
00:45:49
for police to search father ericson's rectory inside investigators discovered a number
00:45:56
of post-it notes scrawled with brief messages although they were signed with father
00:46:02
eriksen's first name of ryan they weren't written in his handwriting one read try me on for size
00:46:12
i'm upstairs come up when you're through another said i'm up in my room some of the notes finished with xo xo
00:46:27
to the detectives the notes suggested that father eriksen may be having an intimate relationship with another
00:46:34
individual which violated the life of celibacy that catholic priests were required to adhere
00:46:40
to they also found a white paper bag that had a poem written on it in father eriksen's handwriting
00:46:49
the poem consisted of four stanzas and repeatedly featured racial slurs against the black americans
00:46:57
detailing how they would be massacred by a quote fighting white boys from the four
00:47:03
corners of the united states when the detectives switched on father eriksen's personal computer
00:47:11
they found a document that appeared to be his last will and testament it had been written a month earlier on
00:47:17
november 15 just four days after his first police interview and was then modified the day after his
00:47:25
second interview the will had been written in the past tense and contained statements such as i tried to make a
00:47:35
difference which sparked concerns that father eriksen may be suicidal once again investigators confiscated his
00:47:45
gun collection giving them to the church deacon for safe keeping they also seized 22 other items of
00:47:53
interest for further examination including father eriksen's bible and both his and his secretary's
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00:53:47
eriksen's friends in hudson that he was being investigated by police they wanted to make sure he was all
00:53:53
right on friday december 17 local men richard reams and tom burns drove the almost
00:54:01
200 mile journey to hurley to visit their old friend for the weekend they arrived at saint mary's church in
00:54:09
the evening and father eriksen welcomed them into his home the following day father eriksen told richard that the
00:54:18
police had been quite aggressive in their questioning of him he said they had asked whether he'd had
00:54:24
any sexual affairs with either men or women which left him feeling violated he adamantly denied to richard that he
00:54:33
had anything to do with the murders of dan and james that evening the three friends went out for dinner
00:54:42
richard and tom noticed that while father eriksen was obviously upset he didn't seem distraught he remarked
00:54:51
that his life had been lived to a fuller extent than most 80 year olds which struck richard and tom azad but
00:54:58
they didn't press the matter after their meal the trio returned to the rectory and watched two films
00:55:07
before retiring to their respective beds the next morning richard got up just after 7am
00:55:16
and greeted father eriksen before spending some time getting ready for mass a short while later he went outside to
00:55:24
clear some snow from his truck that had fallen overnight but stopped suddenly hanging from the roof of the external
00:55:34
walkway that connected directory to the church was a body with a rope wrapped around
00:55:39
its neck richard raced to the rectory door and rang the bell before spotting the church's maintenance
00:55:48
worker clearing some snow outside richard called out to him father ryan has killed himself
00:55:57
but the employee assured him it must be a mannequin his father eriksen was prone to playing
00:56:02
practical jokes placated richard went back to his truck to remove the snow before going inside to tell his friends
00:56:12
to take the mannequin down he found tom but father eriksen was nowhere to be seen
00:56:20
richard and tom went back outside and noticed that there was frost on one of the mannequins ears
00:56:28
thinking it was unlikely that frost would form on a mannequin they raced into the rectory where lying
00:56:35
on a table they discovered three letters and a ring they had given father eriksen
00:56:40
two years earlier police were called to the scene and confirmed it was father eriksen's body that was hanging
00:56:51
in the rectory hallway within minutes a television news camera crew also arrived by complete coincidence
00:57:00
they had learned of the investigation into father eriksen and had planned to interview him about
00:57:06
the abuse allegations hurley police chief daniel aspar who had attended father eriksen's church
00:57:14
fronted the media to explain that the priest's death was being investigated and an autopsy would be conducted
00:57:23
chief of spama later revealed that he had spoken to father eriksen in the afternoon prior to his death
00:57:30
and had appeared to be doing well elaborating further chiefer spama stated under wisconsin law i could have
00:57:40
detained him if i thought he was a danger to himself or others but when i talked to him he
00:57:46
assured me he was fine he had an attorney he had friends he had support and he was fine
00:57:57
early media reports about the priest's death stated that police were refusing to confirm or deny
00:58:03
whether there was a connection to the 2002 murders of dan o'connell and james ellison on tuesday december 21
00:58:12
a spokesperson for the catholic diocese of superior stated that they didn't know of any
00:58:18
evidence linking father eriksen to the crime a deacon from saint mary's church told the daily globe that eriksen had
00:58:27
nothing to do with the murders stating we do not believe he did it because of his personality
00:58:34
it was not within him that is how we feel from our hearts father eriksen's friend tom burns
00:58:44
described him to the associated press as a man's man who loved hunting fishing and the actor john wayne tom added
00:58:54
quote there's no doubt in my mind that eriksen had this sexual problem i believe
00:59:00
that's true there's also no doubt in my mind that he didn't murder anyone that didn't
00:59:07
happen the three letters richard and tom had found in father eriksen's home turned out to be suicidal notes one was
00:59:20
addressed to them another was for his parents and one wasn't directed at anyone in
00:59:25
particular in the general letter father eriksen addressed the allegations of his sexual
00:59:33
misconduct writing ultimately i have grown tired of this weary world and of all the evil it has unleashed in
00:59:42
the last 100 years i'm extremely tired and disappointed with myself and all of the evils i have all too
00:59:50
often performed i do not know why i did what i did believe me i have often thought and prayed about it
00:59:59
why was i so lustful was i wired that way too easy an excuse i chose be it in the heat of passion to
01:00:09
do things i did please believe when i say that i was always sorry for my actions
01:00:15
after i performed them i did not however kill dan o'connell or james or anyone for
01:00:23
that matter none of my guns matched no dna of mine was found no one saw me leaving the funeral parlor
01:00:35
on thursday december 23 chiefer spama released the coroner's report confirming that
01:00:41
father eriksen had died by suicide within the theology of the catholic church suicide is considered a mortal
01:00:51
sin as taking one's own life is to wrongly assert dominion over what is god's regardless father eriksen was given a
01:01:02
catholic funeral service at saint matthew's church in his hometown of campbell's port
01:01:07
wisconsin with five religious leaders officiating meanwhile the investigation into his
01:01:15
possible involvement in the murders of dan o'connell and to james ellison continued father eriksen's friends were
01:01:23
angry uncooperative and resented investigators attempts to question them with tom burns telling one officer quote
01:01:32
i want to tear your [ __ ] head off but then i'd get arrested in early january several of his friends
01:01:41
were subpoenaed to give evidence as part of the ongoing investigation slowly more details about father
01:01:50
eriksen's life began to trickle out though many described him as a jovial person who enjoyed playing pranks and
01:01:58
having a laugh those he attended high school with remembered him as a violent bully with a
01:02:04
bad temper who picked on smaller children he had been polite and deferential when
01:02:11
around adults but around friends he swore drank and told crude jokes he had also
01:02:19
exhibited extreme cruelty towards animals with some old friends saying that he would pour water down
01:02:26
gopher holes then hit the animals with a golf club when they emerged on one occasion father eriksen had made
01:02:34
a small electric chair to execute a gopheron and he was known for burning animal
01:02:40
remains and crucifying them on stakes his callous treatment of animals continued well into adulthood
01:02:48
when he adopted a rescue dog named beast witnesses often saw father eriksen beating the dog
01:02:55
and he was known to stub out his cigars on beast's ears multiple witnesses also reported having
01:03:03
seen erickson point a bb gun or pretend to aim a rifle out of the rectory window
01:03:09
at the parishioners he disliked as they exited the church car park he also harbored extremely racist views
01:03:18
which he concealed from others when eriksen was in his final year of high school
01:03:29
his father who was a corrections officer was transferred to another town more than 200 miles away
01:03:37
while the rest of the family relocated ericsson had gone to live with a priest so that he could continue at his school
01:03:44
and graduate with his classmates during this time the religious convictions he had held since he was a
01:03:52
young child grew even stronger after graduating in may of 1992 at the age of 18 he entered the
01:04:01
immaculate heart of mary seminary in the city of winona minnesota that summer eriksen went camping in
01:04:10
northern wisconsin and met a 14 year old boy who was staying at the same campground
01:04:18
one night he invited the boy to visit the trailer where he was staying and after telling him scary stories
01:04:25
about the devil he rested the boy's head in his lap and started massaging his back
01:04:32
the boy eventually removed his clothes and eriksen fondled his genitals before offering to perform oral sex on him
01:04:41
the boy refused and returned to his own trailer where he reported the incident to his
01:04:46
mother who in turn phoned the police the case was investigated but as the 14 year old had a history of depression and
01:04:58
was receiving therapy for emotional trauma investigators ultimately concluded that
01:05:04
he wasn't a reliable witness and that it would be difficult to prove the allegations
01:05:11
though the county district attorney suspected there had been some impropriety on erickson's part
01:05:18
he gave him the benefit of the doubt and decided not to file charges ericsson continued with his religious
01:05:26
studies and was eventually ordained on june 4 2000 it was shortly after this that he was
01:05:36
sent to saint patrick's parish in hudson where he spent the next two years grooming and assaulting thomas smith
01:05:43
the teenager who later reported the abuse to bismarck police in 2003 one of thomas's friends who was given
01:05:53
the pseudonym edward jones was also present for a number of father eriksen's drinking
01:05:58
sessions at the rectory edward was 14 when he first started spending time with the priest
01:06:06
but three years later he realised that he was being groomed for quote more than being a good
01:06:13
christian investigators soon learned that father eriksen's preference for the company of
01:06:21
young boys had been noticed by some parishioners at st patrick's on one occasion a church-goer had
01:06:29
observed him swimming with a group of boys at a rural retreat and noticed that he
01:06:34
was rubbing mud on the boy's backs another parishioner had once seen father eriksen share an
01:06:42
intimate embrace with a young man outside the rectory analysis of father eriksen's personal
01:06:50
computer uncovered a hidden folder containing more than 40 explicit images of prepubescent and teenage males
01:06:58
engaged in sexual acts in a file path labelled my pictures slash boys police also found photographs of
01:07:08
boys sleeping at the last two rectories where father eriksen had resided [Music]
01:07:18
in addition to gathering evidence that father eriksen had groomed and abused the miners detectives
01:07:24
also received several statements relating to the murders of dan o'connell and james ellison a local journalist who
01:07:33
was one of the first to arrive at the funeral home on the day of the shooting claimed that
01:07:38
at around 2 30 pm she had noticed a baby-faced priest dressed in a cassock standing nearby this description matched
01:07:49
father eriksen although police couldn't recall seeing him there nor could father de bruzi the priest who
01:07:56
had gone to anoint the victim's bodies located several blocks northwest of the o'connell family funeral home
01:08:06
was the carmelite monastery one of the nuns that resided there sister gemma reported that between 2 30
01:08:14
and 2 45 pm on the day of the murders father eriksen had visited and told her that dan o'connell
01:08:22
and his assistant had both been shot he claimed to have gone to anoint the bodies but had been turned away
01:08:32
this was an interesting detail because at that point the police hadn't yet notified the
01:08:37
public about the murders and father eriksen wasn't at st patrick's when they called to request a
01:08:44
priest therefore it posed the question of how he could have known about the crime
01:08:51
unless he had some involvement then about three weeks after father eriksen's suicide
01:08:59
the police received a letter from deacon russell lundgren of saint mary's church
01:09:04
in hurley although he had previously told the media that he didn't believe father eriksen could have committed the
01:09:12
murders deacon lundgren revealed that father eriksen had met with him on november 12
01:09:18
2004 the day after his first police interview he had been visibly upset and stared out the window as he confided
01:09:29
that he was being investigated for the unsolved double homicide in hudson as the conversation progressed father
01:09:38
eriksen became angrier and angrier eventually declaring to deacon lundgren quote i done it and they're going to
01:09:47
catch me do you know what they do with young guys in prison especially priests [Music]
01:09:58
for investigators this confession was proof that they had been correct to suspect
01:10:03
father eriksen yet they still didn't have a clear explanation as to why he would target a
01:10:10
funeral home director and his trainee the investigation continued for the following
01:10:16
two months during which they uncovered some fascinating details in march 2005 hudson resident mary pagle
01:10:27
who also drove the st patrick school bus contacted the police to make a report on the morning of february 5 2002
01:10:36
the day of the murders mary pagel had run into dan o'connell at the hudson walmart
01:10:42
and the pair decided to have a coffee together as they chatted dan asked mary if she
01:10:49
had ever seen father eriksen touch a child in an inappropriate manner when she replied that she hadn't
01:10:57
dan then inquired if she'd noticed whether the priest mainly spent time with boys or girls
01:11:04
mary answered that father eriksen mostly ignored the girls and seemed to associate more with boys
01:11:11
dan then revealed that he had a meeting with father eriksen scheduled for later that day
01:11:17
during which he planned to confront the priest regarding an allegation that he'd sexually assaulted
01:11:23
a boy mary was concerned and had warned dan to be careful she suggested he consult police before
01:11:32
speaking to father eriksen but dan assured her that he could take care of himself
01:11:39
after her coffee with dan mary had driven to st patrick's church where she saw father
01:11:44
eriksen leave directory in his silver buick regal at 11 15 am rather than wearing his usual cassock he
01:11:54
was dressed in jeans and a light-coloured t-shirt in the days following the murders mary
01:12:00
met with dan's family and told them about the coffee they'd shared but she neglected to mention what dan
01:12:07
had said about father eriksen it was only after father eriksen's suicide that it occurred to her that the
01:12:15
murders could be linked to dan's plan to confront the priest a report was also made by hudson
01:12:22
resident michael swamby who recalled having an interesting conversation with father eriksen
01:12:28
several months after dan and james were killed although father eriksen had told police
01:12:35
that the last time he'd seen dan was a week before his death he got drunk and told
01:12:40
michael that he'd had an argument with dan the night before the murders he didn't mention what the argument had
01:12:49
been about but investigators deduced it had likely related to his inappropriate behaviour with
01:12:55
children with the reports from mary pagel and michael swamby detectives finally had evidence
01:13:03
connecting father eriksen to dan o'connell and a clear motive for the crime they theorized that the priest knew dean
01:13:12
intended to take action against him and had killed him to prevent his crimes from being
01:13:18
exposed when james ellison unexpectedly witnessed the murder father eriksen killed him as well
01:13:27
the fact that he'd worn civilian clothes which he thought were beneath him suggested the crime was planned in
01:13:34
advance and he was attempting to avoid detection altogether investigators compiled 700 interviews
01:13:42
and 18 boxes of evidence relating to the murders on august 24 2005 hudson police chief richard trendy
01:13:52
submitted all investigative material to the saint croix county district attorney
01:13:57
eric johnson so that he could determine what the next step would be the available options included a
01:14:05
coroner's inquest known as a john doe hearing further investigation or leaving the case as it stood
01:14:15
before announcing his decision mr johnson met with dan o'connell and james ellison's loved ones to brief them
01:14:22
on the evidence that had been accumulated both families were adamant that the evidence be heard in court
01:14:29
so mr johnson concluded that a john doe hearing be held in response an attorney representing
01:14:37
father eriksen's parents released a statement on their behalf claiming that the evidence was weak and
01:14:43
would never be enough for a jury to convict their son if he was still alive dan o'connell's father tom had a
01:14:52
different reaction telling the media that the entire case made sense to him now that he'd viewed the evidence he
01:15:00
stated i am sure justice will come it is hard for anyone to look at the fact that there is a priest involved
01:15:15
the john doe hearing commenced in the sancroy county court on monday october 3 2005 and was presided over by judge eric
01:15:25
lundell it was closed to the public but 15 members of dan and james's family were able to attend as
01:15:34
were several reporters a two-page biography of father eriksen's life was presented to the court
01:15:42
detailing his history of anti-social and at times criminal behavior it was revealed that
01:15:50
father eriksen not only exhibited a pattern of sexual misconduct from an early age
01:15:56
but that the church had been aware of this before he was ordained while studying at the immaculate heart
01:16:03
of mary seminary ericsson had openly admitted that his first sexual encounter occurred when he was just six years old
01:16:11
and had involved a four-year-old male cousin in 1994 while erickson was still attending the
01:16:20
seminary the diocese of superior was also informed of the incident at the campground
01:16:26
where eriksen had assaulted the 14 year old boy two years earlier this led bishop raphael fless to remove eriksen
01:16:35
from all duties that had him associating with young people and referred him for a psychiatric
01:16:41
evaluation focused on his sexual interests a psychiatrist named dr george planowski
01:16:49
met with erickson and concluded that he had no significant reservations regarding
01:16:54
him joining the priesthood father eriksen was consequently moved to the st paul seminary in minnesota but the
01:17:03
admissions committee were concerned about his history and referred him to psychologist dr mark
01:17:09
hanson for another evaluation dr hanson was troubled by eriksen's failure to reflect
01:17:17
clearly on these past incidents and reported having serious reservations about him
01:17:24
as this finding conflicted with dr planowski's assessment the seminary requested a third
01:17:30
evaluation be conducted by another psychologist this time dr j mcnamara concluded that
01:17:38
erickson's behavior was within normal limits and that he didn't exhibit predatory
01:17:44
or manipulative traits dr mcnamara added that his only concern was that quote ericsson might be
01:17:54
vulnerable to women who would make romantic or affectionate initiatives with him
01:18:01
thomas smith the boy who father eriksen had abused during his time at saint patrick's
01:18:07
parish also gave evidence at the hearing about his experiences with the priest the court heard how prior to his suicide
01:18:17
father eriksen had given detectives inconsistent answers and was unable to provide a clear alibi
01:18:23
for the time of the murders he had claimed that he left saint patrick's church at 1 30 p.m to buy
01:18:30
cigars but a church-goer named betty caruso gave evidence that contradicted this
01:18:36
claim betty lived across the street from st patrick's and father eriksen sometimes visited her
01:18:43
house to escape the frequent phone calls made to the rectory at around 11 15 am on the day of the
01:18:51
murders father eriksen had asked betty if he could nap on her couch that afternoon
01:18:57
which she agreed to she later went out returning home at approximately 1 45 pm to find father eriksen seemingly asleep
01:19:08
on her couch dressed in his usual priestly garb mary pagel the bus driver who had met
01:19:17
with dan o'connell on the day of his murder told the court what dan had said to her
01:19:23
and also described having seen father eriksen leave directory at about 11 15 am wearing jeans and a
01:19:30
t-shirt deacon russell lundgren also testified that father eriksen had confessed to
01:19:38
committing the murders shortly after police began investigating him throughout the course of the hearing no
01:19:47
physical evidence supporting the case was submitted although investigators had previously
01:19:52
examined father eriksen's firearm collection they never found the gun that killed dan
01:19:58
and james it only took one day for judge lundell to rule that father ryan erickson had
01:20:08
most likely committed two counts of first-degree intentional homicide as well as felony sexual assault
01:20:16
he told the court on a scale of one to ten i would consider it a ten it is a very
01:20:24
strong case of circumstantial evidence father eriksen's parents remained convinced that the case against
01:20:33
their son was weak and later claimed that he had been framed but the families of the victims were
01:20:39
pleased with the findings throughout their hearing james ellison's mother sally had been crocheting a baby blanket
01:20:48
for her expected grandson whose due date was the same as james's birthday at the end of the day she remarked
01:20:59
there are so many emotions at a time like this we are just glad this is done and we can
01:21:04
move on it will never go away because we think about james all the time when asked how she felt
01:21:14
about the fact a priest was responsible for her son's murder sally replied only god is without sin
01:21:22
he is not god he is a human being dan o'connell's wife jenny who father eriksen had
01:21:32
visited and comforted on the afternoon of the murders admitted that her catholic faith had
01:21:38
been destroyed by the crime she was particularly distraught that father eriksen had officiated at dan's
01:21:46
funeral and at a church event for her son noting that she felt betrayed and invaded by the priest
01:21:55
dan's brother mike insisted that father ericson didn't represent the church as a
01:22:00
whole stating i think a god is as sad as everyone today within four days of the hearing's
01:22:13
conclusion three more individuals contacted police claiming they had been sexually
01:22:18
assaulted by father eriksen one survivor had been on the high school wrestling team with eriksen
01:22:25
and was aged 15 when eriksen was 17 years old one day eriksen invited the younger boy
01:22:32
to his home where they drank alcohol and watched pornography together before falling
01:22:37
asleep the boy laid awoke to eriksen groping his genitals he left immediately and they never spoke
01:22:46
again although the murder investigation was closed hudson police chief richard trendy said he and his team
01:22:55
welcomed any new information and would refer the sexual assault reports to the relevant jurisdictions
01:23:04
the issue of child sexual abuse by catholic priests was first publicised in 1985
01:23:11
before receiving further attention around the world throughout the 1990s in 2002 the same year that dan o'connell
01:23:21
and james ellison were murdered the boston globe newspaper published a series of articles exposing
01:23:28
hundreds of cases of abuse within the church their research indicated that more than
01:23:34
800 people had accused 248 priests based within the boston archdiocese of abusing them as children
01:23:44
when these allegations were made public members of the community were outraged to learn
01:23:50
that many of the accused were still practicing as priests there was also evidence to indicate that
01:23:59
the church hierarchy had concealed these crimes by failing to refer reports of abuse to
01:24:05
law enforcement when offenders were reported by a victim or their parents bishops often didn't remove them from
01:24:13
the priesthood but instead moved them to new parishes where they would have access to other
01:24:19
children in the wake of the boston globe expose the us conference of catholic bishops
01:24:28
adopted a policy requiring all dioceses to establish boards separate from the church administration
01:24:35
to review charges of clergy sexual misconduct when the findings from the hearing into
01:24:43
the murders of den o'connell and james ellison were made public survivors of clergy abuse
01:24:49
expressed their dismay that father eriksen had been ordained despite what church officials
01:24:55
knew about him peter eisley the midwest coordinator of the survivors network of those abused by priests said the case
01:25:05
raised serious questions about the church's supposed reforms peter asked quote where was the review board that
01:25:15
was supposed to investigate reports of sexual abuse by priests why didn't they review this file
01:25:23
he described dan o'connell as a hero stating he tried to help people like us he needs to be honored by cleaning up
01:25:33
what is going on in response several church representatives released statements condemning father eriksen as
01:25:44
a troubled individual who had concealed his true nature reverend jim brinkman who had supervised
01:25:52
eriksen at minnesota's saint paul's seminary between 1996 and 2000 said eriksen was a smart man who knew how to
01:26:02
conceal the secrets of his life and control how others perceived him bishop raphael fless who governed the
01:26:12
diocese that all of father eriksen's churches fell under was accused of mishandling allegations
01:26:19
of clergy sexual abuse he had known of the accusations against father eriksen prior to his being
01:26:27
ordained and was also alleged to have helped conceal the crimes of another priest
01:26:33
who abused up to 200 deaf children at a boarding school in milwaukee in the wake of the john doe hearing into
01:26:42
den and to james's murders bishop fliss released a statement that read in part quote i know that
01:26:51
ultimate responsibility for much of what has taken place rests upon my shoulders while i am truly
01:26:59
sorry for not doing more to find out what happened i must apologize to the entire diocesan family and the
01:27:06
people of northern wisconsin for these tragedies i know the lord is willing to forgive i
01:27:13
hope you will find it in your hearts to do the same bishop flesh promised to reach out to
01:27:22
dan and to james's loved ones but made no attempt to contact either family on november 1 2005 the fondulac
01:27:33
commonwealth reporter newspaper revealed that both the o'connell and ellison families had retained an attorney
01:27:40
who was known for representing victims of sex abuse in lawsuits against religious
01:27:45
organizations the families told the newspaper that they believed the murders could have
01:27:52
been prevented had the catholic church properly disciplined eriksen when they first
01:27:57
learned of him abusing minors they wanted church leaders to be held accountable for their failures
01:28:05
and called for further reforms to prevent future sexual abuse cases that afternoon bishop fliss was filmed
01:28:14
for the television news as he read a statement to the parishioners of saint mary's church in
01:28:20
hurley he told the congregation that he should have paid more attention to the red
01:28:25
flags raised by father eriksen's conduct and apologized for not listening to those who had questioned erickson's
01:28:32
priesthood when he divided the catholic community of hudson the o'connell family were unhappy with
01:28:40
this response the following day dan's sister kathy said bishop rafael fliss's purported apology
01:28:49
delivered last night not to us personally or directly but only to a tv camera was way too
01:28:57
little way too late in fact it was a joke and a slap in the face dan's mother janet requested a meeting
01:29:07
with bishop fliss stressing that action was needed she stated i don't expect an apology i expect a
01:29:17
confession i want to know what bishop fliss did and why he did it if he knew what we think he knew he
01:29:25
should be reprimanded for what he did and if he slips away that's on his conscience
01:29:34
two weeks later members of the o'connell and ellison families flew to washington
01:29:39
dc where the us conference of catholic bishops were holding their annual meeting
01:29:46
in an effort to speak with church leaders family members stood outside the hotel where the conference was taking
01:29:52
place holding photographs of dan and james sally ellison told a reporter from the
01:29:59
washington post quote because of their negligence my son is dead i think that's a pretty
01:30:08
good reason for them to listen to me don't you the bishops refused to meet with the families
01:30:16
prompting their attorney jeff anderson to comment there are over 200 bishops in there and
01:30:23
they can't find one to listen to us on january 15 2006 just over three months after the john doe hearing
01:30:36
bishop bliss finally addressed the congregation at st patrick's church in hudson
01:30:43
700 people attended with the o'connell and ellison families sitting in the front pews bishop flesh
01:30:50
apologized and promised systemic changes in the way the church handled sexual abuse
01:30:56
cases including better evaluation of priests and improved communication with parishes
01:31:04
when one parishioner asked why their concerns about father eriksen's conduct as a priest
01:31:10
weren't taken seriously bishop fliss replied i think i got more letters praising him
01:31:17
than condemning him fless noted that he should have appointed a group to look into the matter more closely
01:31:27
the following month the o'connell family met bishop fless to discuss a five-point
01:31:32
plan they had drafted for the church to reform its handling of sexual abuse they described the meeting as a good
01:31:40
first step but despite their high hopes no further action was taken in august 2006 the o'connells filed a
01:31:52
civil lawsuit against 194 bishops throughout the country seeking the disclosure of names and
01:31:59
locations of clergy members accused of molesting children by doing so janet o'connell said that
01:32:08
the family was finishing a job dance started her husband tom clarified to the media
01:32:16
quote we're not looking for money we're looking for people the ellison family declined to join the
01:32:25
suit on account of not being catholic and thus feeling like they lacked credibility in the matter
01:32:33
however in december 2006 they filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the diocese
01:32:40
seeking an unspecified amount of damages which they hoped to use to start a foundation in james's name
01:32:48
their plan for the foundation was to fund programs to prevent child sexual abuse
01:32:53
and provide support to survivors one year later on december 28 2007 judge eugene harrington threw out the
01:33:04
o'connell's civil lawsuit he ruled that the diocese couldn't be forced to reveal information
01:33:12
about how the church dealt with sex abuse by priests as it violated the first amendment
01:33:17
and had no basis under wisconsin law dan's brother tom expressed his disappointment at the decision
01:33:26
asking where does church and state the first amendment protect a molester nine months later on september 23 2008
01:33:39
the ellison's wrongful death lawsuit was also dismissed judge paul lance deemed it too remote that the diocese
01:33:48
would have had reason to believe that father eriksen would murder someone even if they'd known about his violent
01:33:55
tendencies and possession of child abuse material judge lance concluded the diocese couldn't
01:34:02
have foreseen that murder would follow as a result over the years that followed james's
01:34:10
parents sally and carsten did their best to move forward with their lives approximately nine years after their
01:34:18
son's murder they took a trip to ireland and participated in a catholic mass which they found to be especially
01:34:26
healing they also shared their story with grief support groups and other organizations just after the
01:34:34
10th anniversary of james's death sally told a reporter from the leader telegram
01:34:40
quote there will always be a hole where james should be in our lives but you can't shut yourself
01:34:48
off we've learned over the years that we have been able to help others deal with
01:34:53
tragedies dan's wife jenny and the couple's two children had left the catholic church following the
01:35:02
murders and jenny later started working as a clerk for the hudson police department
01:35:09
though the pain of dan's loss stayed with her she took comfort in the fact that her husband made
01:35:15
such a positive impact on his community quote our children are proud of who they
01:35:22
are and they like that people remember their father so well dan's mother janet passed away in 2017
01:35:32
followed by his father tom in 2019 dan's brother mike still operates the o'connell family funeral home in hudson
01:35:43
where a permanent garden memorial to dan has been planted out the front another marks its entrance and a celtic
01:35:51
cross surrounded by flowers lies at its center for those who knew dan the memorial provides some comfort with
01:36:01
one friend telling the o'connells it is nice to drive by the funeral home and smile
01:36:07
rather than cry trellises crafted by dan's loved ones form a border around the garden and the prayer of saint
01:36:18
francis of assisi is engraved on a limestone rock the prayer reads in part where there is hatred let me sow love
01:36:30
where there is injury pardon where there is doubt faith where there is despair hope
01:36:40
where there is darkness light and where there is sadness joy [Music] [Music] you