Filmmaker works on Ferguson case
Thom Baker said he wanted to make the film because of inconsistencies.
Sept. 28, 2007
A local filmmaker is making a documentary about 22-year-old Ryan Ferguson, who was convicted of the 2001 murder of Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt two years ago.
Ferguson and his family have maintained his innocence since he was first arrested on suspicion of the murder. Chuck Erickson, a friend of Ferguson's who was with him the night the murder took place, told police in 2004 that he and Ferguson committed the murder. Erickson and Freguson were 17 at the time.
Heitholt was found beaten and strangled early on the morning of Nov. 1, 2001, outside of the Columbia Daily Tribune office.
The Ferguson family has released several videos on YouTube.com, including two titled, "Have you ever had the cops in your face?" that highlight inconsistencies with the case and Erickson's testimony.
Filmmaker Thom Baker said he wanted to make the film because of the inconsistencies between Erickson's original interview with police and the specifics of the case, as well as the nature of the murder and omissions in the evidence at the trial.
Baker said he wants to get all sides of the story.
"I want to try to do a true evaluation of how the evidence does or doesn't support the outcome of the trial," he said.
He said he is not being paid to make the documentary and does not know what he is going to do with it when he is done.
The earliest the documentary would be finished is December, he said.
Bill Ferguson, Ryan Ferguson's father, said he is looking forward to seeing the documentary.
"We're just waiting for it to come out," he said. "The more people who see it, the better."
The Ferguson family has filed several appeals, none of which have been successful.
Bill Ferguson said the most important one for the case, an appeal on grounds of ineffective assistance, is the next step for them.
He said they have 40 days to file an appeal, at which point they can introduce new evidence to a hearing before a judge.
The judge could exonerate Ryan Ferguson or grant a new trial.
Erickson told police that he and Ferguson committed the murder, but he didn't remember it until newspapers jogged his memory two years later.
On the night of Oct. 31, 2001, Ferguson and Erickson went to a bar with Ferguson's older sister.
Erickson said he and Ferguson ran out of money, left, found Heitholt, killed him and went back to the bar, where Ferguson found $20 in his wallet.
Heitholt's wallet was not taken from his body.
In police tapes of Erickson's interrogation, Erickson says Ferguson strangled Heitholt with his hands or maybe a shirt.
Police then tell Erickson that Heitholt had been strangled with his belt.
"Wow," Erickson said in the video.
Baker cited this inconsistency, among many others on the tape, as a reason he is making the documentary.
More Sept. 28, 2007 Outlook Stories
- College Clips — Virginia licenses not valid at Indiana University area liquor store A liquor store in Bloomington, Ind., recently cut off sales ...
- Filmmaker works on Ferguson case — Thom Baker said he wanted to make the film because of inconsistencies.
- Proposal calls for lower drinking age — If MU freshman Paul Fraas has his way, younger students will no longer have to wait to hit the bars ...
- Study shows both parties critical of Bush — President George Bush is having an unprecedented effect on the 2008 Presidential primaries. An MU researcher found both Republicans and ...
- Twilight falls on Columbia — District After Dark also gave patrons the opportunity to keep partying after 9 p.m.
Most recent Outlook Stories
- Fourth suspect arrested in homicide case, one suspect still at large — The suspected gunman in Columbia’s first homicide of the year was taken into custody Thursday afternoon after police received a ...
- Replacement food stamp deadline extended — Families affected by the tornadoes that hit southwest Missouri will now have until June 20 to apply for replacement stamps for food they might have lost in the storms.
- Ninth District candidates debate abortion rights — Democrat Ken Jacob and Republican Bob Onder squared off without the other candidates.
- Obama’s victory excites Columbia supporters — On Tuesday at about 9:15 p.m., U. S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. stood before a crowd of thousands in St. ...
- Altercation leads to assault — A man was stabbed in the abdomen Tuesday night.