Posted on 01/19/2005 8:14:42 AM PST by Rakkasan1
A priest who committed suicide after being questioned about the double slayings at a Hudson, Wis., funeral home, was also being investigated in a possible crime involving a minor, Hudson police said Tuesday.
It was the first time that Hudson Police Chief Richard Trende had publicly linked the Rev. Ryan Erickson to another case. Trende also said the priest piqued investigators' interest in the funeral home slayings because he knew details of the crime scene that had not been made public.
But despite the disclosures, Trende refused to divulge too much about either investigation.
Trende would not say if the newly disclosed investigation involved more than one child, what the nature of the allegations were or whether they relate to the February 2002 slayings of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison. O'Connell, 39, operated the family-owned O'Connell Family Funeral Home where Ellison, 22, was an intern from the University of Minnesota.
Erickson's body was found hanging Dec. 19 outside the rectory of St. Mary's Church in Hurley, Wis., in the northern part of the state. His death came just days after a search warrant was carried out. Because the search warrant is sealed by court order, Trende said he could not discuss what was found.
Erickson, 31, was working at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Hudson when O'Connell and Ellison were killed. O'Connell attended St. Patrick's, and Erickson presided over a portion of O'Connell's funeral.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
On a side note, the term "suicide victim" never made a lick of sense to me.
yeah, victim of yourself. sounds like a liberal label.
time to ban ropes.
There appears to be little doubt that it was a suicide, given the added circumstances.
Gods instructions to man was that we have life and more abundantly. When man does his own thing death is the result.
"But despite the disclosures, Trende refused to divulge too much about either investigation."
Not TOO much; just enough to cast aspersions on the priest without having to actually name names or prove anything. Chances are just as good that this priest was killed by homosexuals in the Church whom he was about to expose. This is shameful on the part of investigators.
No, they're not:
Trende also said the priest piqued investigators' interest in the funeral home slayings because he knew details of the crime scene that had not been made public.
My guess is that Erickson was involved in a menage-a-trois.
My statement about other possibilites was based on statements I've seen from people who have reasons to suspect that all is not as it seems in this situation. Their speculation is just as valid as yours or mine.
My point was that it is totally inappropriate for a law enforcement "professional" to engage in innuendo to fuel suspicions. If he can prove something with hard evidence based on his investigation, information that he can legally make public, he should do it. If he's hinting and dodging based on grand jury testimony or other confidential information, he shouldn't say anything.
There's no "innuendo" in "Erickson knew details of the crime scene that had not been made public."
Either Erickson is a suspect, or he broke the seal of confession by relating details he was privy to from the perp.
As to "investigation in a possible crime relating to a minor", that's not innuendo either. He was either being investigated, or not.
"There is a possibility that sinkspur and I are sexually attracted to rubber ducks." That is a statement that is certainly true on its face. However, it implies things that are unlikely to be true. The statement is innuendo.
The statement that "Erickson knew details of the crime scene that had not been made public" may be true on its face. The crime scene, as I understand it, was a funeral home. Wouldn't it make sense that a priest would have been in a funeral home more frequently than the average citizen, and thus know "details" that have "not been made public?" I would hazard a guess there are quite a few people who know details regarding the layout and furnishings of the funeral home that have "not been made public". Does that make them suspects, too?
George H.W. Bush was "under investigation" for Iran-Contra. Do you really think that the massive publicity given to that "fact" was totally without innuendo? Never mind that the investigation showed that he was not involved in any illegal activity.
Facts are facts, and gossip is gossip.
keep us informed if you hear anything......strange and troubling case...
ping
Looks to be just as it looks to be.
http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_272183721.html
Looks like what it looks like.
What do you think of the link on my #14?
That is about the best wrap up I've seen, to this story so far. It squares with everything I've heard here in Hudson.
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