All language subtitles for Me.Hereafter.S01E04.The.Funeral.Home.Murders.1080p.HULU.WEB-DL.DD+5.1.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

♪ ♪

A funeral home is
a temporary resting place

for the dead,

which it now is for me,

but not in the way
I'd ever expected.

I ran this place for years,
from back here in this office.

But today, calls
will go unanswered

by me and my intern, James.

Moments ago,
violence reverberated

through the stillness
of this place,

our killer making sure
the secrets I knew

were secrets I kept.

My name is Dan O'Connell,
and this is Me Hereafter.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

The day
of the homicide,

I came into the funeral home.

I was a medical examiner
for St. Croix County.

St. Croix County, at the time,
was a fairly rural county.

I think Hudson was
the biggest city or town.

And O'Connell Funeral Home

was the busiest funeral home
in the county.

My job would be to interact
with the funeral directors

within the county
any time there was a death,

and that's what I had
to do at O'Connell's.

I was going to sign
a death certificate.

Simply go in, sign
the death certificate.

Um, and that was my day.

I didn't know that anything
was out of place

until I came around the corner.

When I walked into the room,
I first saw James.

He had a defensive wound
to his hand,

and a gunshot wound
to the side of his head.

Dan was sitting on the floor.

He had had a gunshot wound
to the head as well.

The killer would have to be
fairly proficient

in carrying out this homicide.

I backed out of the room

and went outside

and called dispatch
right away.

It was a chilling experience
to walk in and realize

that I had just missed being
a--

a homicide victim myself.

♪ ♪

The day Marty found us
was a warm one

for Hudson, Wisconsin,

especially for the dead
of winter.

That would typically be
the talk of my small town.

But today was
anything but typical.

When it first came in,

it was just ironic
that two people

were shot in the funeral home.

It was right during
midday in Hudson.

There was no forced entry.

There were three shell casings
that were at the scene.

There did not appear to be
anything disturbed or missing.

There were no doors
that had been left open.

There were really
no more clues,

um, than the shell casings.

Those types of cases
don't happen in Hudson.

There were a few things
that set it apart.

Number one is, the O'Connells
are very well known,

and they were really involved
in the community.

Dan was easy
to communicate with,

easy to take care
of business with.

Just an all-around good guy.

I had met James
a couple of times

while at the funeral home.

Dan said he was
a promising intern

who was working on
his funeral director license.

There was a lot of work
for us,

and for law enforcement, to do

to try to figure out
who did this.

Police rolled out
the crime scene tape.

It would only be
a matter of time

before everyone in Hudson
would be terrified.

After all, who would want
to kill me?

To kill us?

I'd taken over
as funeral director

of my family's funeral home
almost four years ago.

It wasn't a role I ever
really pictured myself in,

but friends and family
always said helping people

came naturally to me.

He didn't want to be
a funeral director at first.

He told his parents that he was
going to go to nursing school.

But Dan started helping out

with visitations
and death calls

in the evenings,
when he was home,

and changed his mind.

He knew it was hard.

It's something that--

you just don't wake up
one morning

and you want to be
a funeral director.

You have to work with it.

I think grief--
it's like a fingerprint.

We all have different grief.

And he could deal with that.

♪ ♪

Tuesday began
like any other day.

It would be just James and me

working at the funeral home later.

But I had a meeting
with my brother Mike

in the morning,
before heading in.

Absolutely typical morning.

Got up.
He made the coffee.

James and Dan were
going to clean the garage

because new caskets
were coming in.

I didn't know James that well.

Dan said he was
an absolute wonderful fit

for the funeral home.

We were getting ready
to celebrate

our son's birthday
the next day.

He was so proud of his kids.

He loved to play with them,
get on the floor

and wrestle around.

Oh, stop!

What's that?

And how old are you?
Two.

My dad was a very loud
and funny person,

who--he walked into a room,
and you would know he's there.

And big smile, starts
cracking jokes at everything.

And it's kind of like
what I am now.

Kyle was getting
a big present

for his birthday:
a weight set.

And I couldn't wait
to celebrate with him, Jennie,

and our daughter Kaitlyn,

but first, I had to get
through my day.

I prided myself
on keeping track

of every detail
for all the families

who turned to me for help.

It's why I kept
everything in a calendar.

Or almost everything.

There was one meeting
I didn't write down

for the afternoon
I was killed.

If only I would have.

♪ ♪

It was the day
before my son's birthday.

Sorry.

I was home making the snack

that he was gonna bring
to school.

And I got a phone call
from a friend

saying that, um, somebody was
trying to get a hold of Dan,

and the phone
at the funeral home

was just ringing,
ringing, ringing, ringing.

♪ ♪

So I turned the oven off,
and I got in the car.

♪ ♪

Jennie wasn't prepared
for the scene that unfolded.

But who would be?

Officer Glen Hartman,
who just so happened to be

a really good friend of ours,

told me the news that, um--

that Dan had been shot
and killed,

and that James had been shot
and killed also.

Then I screamed, and I fell
to the ground with Glen.

I just cried.

♪ ♪

Well, it's got
some good, fun games.

I had no clue
who would do this to him,

to Dan, to our lives,
to our children, to James.

I didn't know
who wanted him dead.

I had no--no idea.
I was scared.

I didn't know who to trust.

What no one knew yet

was that I was murdered
to bury

my killer's darkest secrets.

Dan was a great brother.

He was a great son.

He was a great husband,
father, uncle, cousin,

and friend to a lot of people.

He was very well-liked
within the community.

I would like to thank,
um, Pepper Fest for placing

their confidence in me
to, uh, represent

the village of North Hudson.

It was an honor,
and I thank them for that.

James was
a very, very loving young man.

Being a funeral director
was right up his alley.

He cared about people.

If Dan was here today, knowing
what happened to James,

it would break his heart.

♪ ♪

My mom came to pick us up

and had the teachers
come get us.

And she was crying
in the office.

Brought me and my sister
up to her room.

Said, "I--I need to talk
to you guys.

There's been an accident."

You know, she told us
that my father was shot.

And so I initially thought,

"Oh, well, let's go see him
at the hospital."

♪ ♪

I didn't really get it.

I was only seven.

I was just like, "Okay."

You know, it didn't really hit

until I was a little bit older
and I understood

what killing and murder was.

Pedal. Pedal. Pedal!

Kyle, watch out.

Don't--

Kaitlyn wants to learn
how to ride her bike.

It's fun for me
to watch the videos,

because that's the only time
I kind of get to remember

his voice,
is through the videos.

And I also have, like,
a little bottle of his cologne

to remember what
he smells like.

People were asking, you know,

"Do you have any idea
what happened?"

And I said, "No, I have--

"I have no idea
why anybody would want

to murder Dan and James."

Someone walked

into the O'Connell
Funeral Home

and gunned down Dan

and his intern, James Ellison.

Investigators are baffled
by this case.

Nothing was stolen.

No one knows
why anyone would kill

the two victims.

People in Hudson
were terrified,

and authorities couldn't
put them at ease.

As investigators
analyzed the scene,

they sketched out
the layout of my office,

trying to piece together
a picture

of how the murders unfolded.

Whoever shot Dan and James
was standing on the other side

of the office.

They figured I was shot
first, behind my desk.

Another bullet struck
a painting on the wall.

As James came running
to investigate,

they believe the killer
hid behind the door,

then shot him in the hand
and in the head.

They decided to hold back
those details from the public

so they'd always have something

only the killer would know.

One thing in particular
made them think

I might have known
who shot us.

Dan is a professional,

and if he did not know somebody,

he would walk out
in front of his desk

to greet them
as they came in the front door

or the hallway.

But there I was,
behind my desk.

Because of that, police
thought our killings

might not be random.

But they didn't close
the door on any theories.

Nothing was precluded.

It was a wide net,
no question about it.

Police knew
they needed to narrow down

when we were killed
to establish a timeline

for who could have done it.

At 1:07 p.m., I had a call
with an engraving company.

It means
that Dan O'Connell was alive

at 1:07.

At 1:22 p.m., somebody tried
to call James Ellison,

and he did not answer
his phone.

Sometime after 1:07
but before 1:22,

both Dan and James
were shot, or killed.

And at 1:40 p.m.,
police were dispatched.

♪ ♪

My mom was a wreck.

I was too young to even know
what was going on,

so I couldn't console her.

I didn't know how.

There was just a bunch
of people at our house.

It was just all
family and friends.

I remember the priest being
at the house, first night.

He was there,
just consoling my mom,

praying over her and all that.

We went to
St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

And it was very important.

We were both born
and raised Catholic.

Ryan Erickson had worked
with my dad

and Dan and Mike for funerals.

Having Father Erickson,
who was someone I knew well,

comforting my own family
was surreal, to say the least.

And while he preached
about forgiveness

as a tenet of our faith,

it would be a long time coming

for everyone I loved.

He talked to me
at the visitation.

And he did tell me, you know,
"One of these days,

you have to forgive
the person that did this."

And I said,
"I'm not ready for that."

Four days after family
gathered at my house

to console one another, police
were no further in finding

leads in the murders.

I was laid to rest
amid so much uncertainty.

♪ Thus my savior ♪

♪ Lord, there is none
like you ♪

♪ All of my days ♪

♪ I want to praise ♪

There were just
hundreds of people.

It was standing room only
in that huge church.

Many people spoke
at my funeral.

Several close friends
and clergy members,

including Father Erickson.

I consider the sufferings
of the present

to be as nothing
compared with the glory

to be revealed in us.

There were hundreds
and hundreds of EMS, police,

fire personnel,

'cause he had been
a paramedic in the cities

for many years.

It was absolutely
breathtaking to see

all those first responders
in their vehicles,

all the lights on.

On St. Croix County's dispatch,

there was a one minute
of silence for Dan O'Connell.

♪ ♪

I was at the funeral,

working the outside
of the church at that time,

providing security
and also documenting

people, license plates,

and also looking for onlookers
that would be at the perimeter.

The killer, at times,
does show up.

Police were keeping

an eye on things
at the funeral.

But they'd only
discover later,

the killer was sitting

right there, front and center.

♪ ♪

Each morning after sunup,
people would drive by.

They'd leave flowers.

They knew what happened,
but they didn't know why.

In most cases, there
is a suspect right away.

In this case, there was
not a clear suspect,

and there wasn't
a clear motive.

When there is no suspect,
everybody becomes one.

Police will interview
2,000 people in the case,

and no one is off-limits.

I got questioned.
Um, the entire family,

O'Connell family, my family
even got questioned.

I was literally
a suspect as well

because when you find anyone
deceased, you are a suspect.

I had a polygraph,
uh, voice stress analyzed,

several interviews.

It was thought that,
you know, "This guy,

he's telling the truth."

With many people
close to me ruled out,

local investigators
turned to the FBI

to help dig deeper
for clues in the case.

There was information
that came in from the FBI

about a religious group based
out of Augusta, Wisconsin.

They did not believe
in embalming.

The head
of that religious group

is Kathryn Padilla.

Augusta is only an hour
and a half away from Hudson

and my funeral home.

Kathryn Padilla

and her small band
of followers

believed that she was
a prophet

and could speak for God.

She and the group thought
that the embalming practice

desecrated the body

and that the dead
should simply be wrapped

in a white sheet.

There were
several letters sent out

to several funeral homes.

I got one the year before
James and I were killed.

It was just one paragraph:

"Thus saith the Lord,

because you have heard not
the words of the Lord,

"I take from you
your sons and daughters

"into early graves.

Prepare for your own burial."

I showed the death threat
to my secretary.

She was worried, but I
didn't take it seriously.

He just ripped it up
and threw it away.

But when similar letters
ended up

on the desks
of several funeral directors

after James and I
were murdered,

the police investigated

everyone tied to the group.

Any people that were involved
had alibis on that day.

There was no, um, indication

that they were involved
in the murders

of Dan and James.

It's frustrating
that investigators

were back to square one.

As for Kathryn,
she was charged

with a couple of misdemeanors

for sending the letters.

But prosecutors agreed
to drop the charges

if she agreed to stop
sending more, which she did.

The first year,
a lot of people

came forward with information

that was followed,
that hit a dead end.

There were crazy theories
going around.

I remember the thoughts
of someone breaking in

to get embalming fluid
to soak marijuana in

to enhance that experience.

Or somebody went in there

to commit a burglary
or robbery,

for maybe some electronics.

Most of the tips dried up
within the first year.

Even more discouraging,
the following year,

virtually no new tips came in.

Police needed a break
in the case.

There was pressure to give
some relief to the community

and the family.

No one realized

that a possible clue
to solving the murders

had been sitting at
the Hudson Police Department,

gathering dust, for a year.

January of 2004,

the chief said
he just wanted me

to strictly work
on the unsolved murders

of Dan and James.

At first, I went back
and I looked, reviewed,

and read most of every report
that was written.

I had thought,
"Who else is there?

"Who is really close and has
a lot of interaction with Dan,

or even with James,
at the funeral home?"

One person came to mind,

who had never been questioned
as a suspect in my case,

but whose name had come up
in another.

We had received a videotape
from Bismarck, North Dakota.

That tape was
from a young man.

He told them that he was
a victim of abuse

while he was in Hudson.

In his videotaped interview

with Bismarck police,

the young man detailed
his abuse allegations,

which the agency forwarded
to Hudson,

since that's where the events
in question occurred.

The tape was
in a separate case file,

but police realized
the accused

was someone I knew:

someone at my funeral.

When I started college

in Bismarck, North Dakota,

I was taking
a psychology course.

And predators came up
as what we were discussing,

and so they started explaining
what grooming was.

And a lot of bells
started going off.

I mean, it was
like that text was written

from my experience.

I was in high school.

I must have been a freshman.

I got in a little bit of--
little bit of mischief,

and, uh--

and found myself with 40 hours
of community service

to do through--

through the--the court.

It was suggested
that I could complete

those 40 hours doing work
at the church or the rectory.

The parish priest was
a pretty trusted--

pretty trusted person.

Or at least, he should be.

That wasn't the case here.

Not with Father Ryan Erickson.

I guess if we're looking
at the spectrum

for Father Erickson,
he would be the--

on the--the end of evil,
rather than on good.

♪ ♪

I would perform my hours.

A buddy would swing by.

The three of us
would do dinner.

And yeah, there was
always beer available.

Here's a person who's
offering to be a role model

and a mentor
to a teenager

who's making
some poor decisions.

The events that led up to me
requiring community service

were around alcohol.

Again, in hindsight, it was--
it was a perfect--

it was a perfect fit,
you know, for--for him.

We played a game occasionally.

It was called
Around the World.

And he had this
very antique globe

in the corner of his office.

It was basically
a liquor cabinet.

Inside it,
there was a half a dozen,

maybe 10 bottles of liquor.

And the--the loser of whatever

the question
or the challenge was

would take a shot from
somewhere around the world.

It would start off with,
you know--

you know, one or two.

And it would slowly progress
to even more.

And, "Hey, you know what?

"You've had too much.

"I'll let your parents know
you guys are gonna crash

here tonight."

Like so many victims of abuse,

Thomas came to realize
something was wrong,

but he didn't report it
right away.

The definition of grooming
is forming a relationship

with a young person
with the intention

of sexual assault.

Thomas believed that is what

Erickson was doing with him.

When did I realize
this was a problem?

When it became
completely apparent to me

was the first time I woke up

with no recollection
of 80% of the night before.

♪ ♪

I had gotten very intoxicated
and gotten sick.

And I remembered
being brought to a shower

so that I could clean myself,

and I wasn't even really able
to stand up.

I know he helped me shower.

♪ ♪

And I don't remember... anything.

We were planning
on going north

for the weekend, camping.

And I called
the Friday afternoon

before we were gonna go,
and I canceled.

Um, understanding
what grooming is,

I have to wonder if maybe that
wasn't kind of his final--

final part of his plan,
was that camping weekend.

Years later,
that psychology class

Thomas took in college

is what made him
decide to come forward.

In addition to events
that were a blur,

he also reported molestation
he remembered clearly.

The alleged abuse began
two years before my murder.

I went to the Bismarck
Police Department

and said that I needed
to file a--a report.

♪ ♪

No charges were filed
at the time

Hudson police received
the tape.

Shortly before I was killed,

I told at least one friend

that I'd heard
about allegations

against Erickson.

Police didn't know that yet,

but wanted to talk to Thomas regardless,

to look
into his reported abuse

and also any potential ties
to the murders.

I did interview him.

The main topic at that point
was the abuse.

My secondary topic
underneath that

was about the murders.

What police were about
to find out

about Erickson's past

were things no one expected.

I've been asked
if, at the time

that I came forward

with my sexual abuse allegations,

if I thought
he was capable of murder.

Somebody who's capable
of sexually abusing a minor,

in my opinion,
is capable of anything.

Turns out,
there was even more to know

about the priest at my parish,

things that would shake
my community to its core.

♪ ♪

The information that we
gathered about Father Ryan

is that he was extreme.

There's a lot of people
that thought he was very good,

and he had
some big detractors.

As police dug
into Erickson's past,

allegations of violent
behavior began turning up.

One member of the church
reportedly watched him

raise his arms as he
pretended to hold a long gun

and shoot at parishioners

he didn't like.

Police collected statements
from people,

one of whom said
he would shoot fish

just to watch them explode.

He was a very good shot.

While psychologists say
there is a known connection

between animal abuse
and murder,

it didn't mean
Erickson was a killer.

Still, it was
unsettling for police.

They wanted to know
more about him.

He had
quite a gun collection.

He had a couple of shotguns.

He said it was
for bear hunting.

He had a large bear tattoo
on his bicep,

and that seemed to be
a point of pride.

Because the world
itself will be freed

from its slavery to corruption

and share in the glories
and the freedom

of the children of God.

His sermons were
very conservative.

He, um, carried himself
in a way that,

um, drew attention to himself.

There were some members
of the church

that thought he was odd.

While he was
still studying

to be a priest at seminary,

allegations surfaced
of sexual misconduct

between Erickson
and two different minors.

Erickson even admitted
to these incidents,

but church authorities determined

in their own investigation

that the events
were not predatory,

and Erickson continued
on his path to priesthood.

Different priests
that are in the seminary--

they couldn't believe, uh,

that they allowed him
to be a priest.

Ryan Erickson hadn't been
at St. Pat's even two years

when I started to hear things
from worried parents.

He had just--
was hearing things,

numerous complaints,
against Erickson

from church members.

And one of them had
even mentioned to me

that they saw Erickson
hanging around with boys,

uh, in the river
at the retreat.

And then he began to rub mud
all over their body.

Everybody confided in Dan.

He just had that aura
about him.

If you needed to call
somebody and needed help,

he'd be the first person
you'd wanna call.

Dan would want
to confront Erickson first,

and let him know that--
"I know this about you,

"and I think it's wrong,

"and you need to come forward.

"And if you don't,
I'm going to go to the police

with what I know."

The bells started
to go off then,

at that point,
that we may have something

here, um, as a suspect.

My faith instilled in me
compassion and mercy.

I thought a priest
would be merciful, too.

I was wrong.

♪ ♪

Police would find out later

that Erickson confided
in a friend

that he and I had argued

the day before I was killed.

But that friend
didn't come forward

with that information
right away

because he didn't suspect

a priest could be involved.

The day after that argument,
I was dead.

Father Erickson
then told the same friend,

"the devil is gone."

♪ ♪

Once police had questioned
Thomas and looked

into Father Erickson's past,

they needed to interview him
face to face.

By that time,
he was long gone.

♪ ♪

He'd been shuffled to two
other parishes after 2003,

once due
to parishioner complaints

and once because
of his alcohol abuse.

He landed
in Hurley, Wisconsin,

a tiny town up north.

Myself
and the other detective

went up to Hurley.

So the voices that you'll be
hearing on this tape

are Detective Jeff Knopps,
Detective Shawn Pettee,

and Father Ryan G. Erickson.

Erickson, when we arrived,
invited us in.

But as time went on, he seemed
to become

a little bit more guarded.

What stood out in front of me,

and I almost had to take
a double look at it,

was the globe
that Thomas had mentioned.

And I right away thought
that Thomas

was not making up this story.

He was a reliable victim.

The thing is,
police knew the news media

never reported
where I was sitting.

He seemed to know

things that the public
did not know:

that Dan and James each were
shot once in the head, and...

That Dan was behind the desk.

And also, James had
walked into the room

after Dan
had already been shot.

The killer could not exit
the funeral home

without James seeing him,

so the killer shoots James
and then leaves.

♪ ♪

All of this
was information police

had in their back pocket.

They had never revealed
those details,

even after all these years.

We were actually
quiet in the car

on our return trip to Hudson.

Then we began to talk,
and it was kind of like,

"Wow.
This may be the killer."

We would go back

and interview Erickson again

in Ladysmith, Wisconsin,

at the sheriff's office.

He arrived in his full cassock.

Erickson was troubled.

He was not the man the people
thought that he was.

I believe that Erickson
killed Dan to keep the secret

from getting out

about his abuse
of the children,

the alcohol,

who he actually was

behind the cassock
that he would wear.

The reason
that we're up here again--

we talked to you before--
is about the double homicide

that happened at the, uh,
O'Connell Funeral Home

on Tuesday, February 5, 2002.

Um, at that time,
you were living in Hudson.

In Hudson, at the rectory.

I hate to ask,
but am I a suspect

in Dan O'Connell's murder?
That's, uh--

Well, you understand
where we're coming from.

We told you, we got--
we got a void on that day...

- Yeah, I understand.
- And we're trying

to fill that in.

Do you know why he was killed?

No, I don't know
why he was killed.

Why was James Ellison killed?

I don't know.

In the course
of this investigation,

never once has anybody from
the Hudson Police Department

ever mentioned where the bodies
were, positions, et cetera.

Nor, in the course
of this investigation,

through 1,900 and some people,
has anybody ever brought up

a speculation,
a probability, a possibility,

or anything like that,

as far as where
the bodies were.

Nor has anybody told us
how many times they were shot,

or where they were shot.

Why do you know that?

I don't know why I know that.

It could have been office talk.

It could have been
from the media, okay?

I'm not sure.

He had also asked people

before this interview

if they could give him
an alibi,

which--nobody was able
to give him an alibi

on the day and the times
of the murders.

You didn't go to the church.

You didn't tell anybody up at
the church where you're going.

They tried to make
contact with you.

They were looking
for your assistance

up at the funeral home.

You were nowhere to be found.

I don't know where I was,
other than to say

I could have been shopping.

They pushed him pretty hard.

They thought he was
gonna say something.

And, uh--
but he didn't confess.

You don't quite understand
the predicament I'm in.

The only one thing I love
above everything else,

that's being a priest.

And it's the only thing
I've ever wanted.

Do you think the person
that killed these two men

can really live
with themselves?

I don't believe so.

I don't think anybody--

Don't you think it just--
don't you just think it

just would eat them right up?

I don't believe
anybody who would kill somebody

could live with it.

Police believe the opposite.

Someone definitely
was doing that,

and that person was
Father Erickson.

After the interview,
police asked Erickson

if they could search his car.

When he said yes, they found
something troubling.

He had a fully loaded
9-millimeter handgun,

and that that gun
had been uncased

underneath the seat of his car.

When asked,
"Why would you carry

a loaded handgun underneath
your seat?"

he states, "You never know

when you're gonna hit a deer."

It wasn't the gun used
to kill James and me,

but that didn't change

police's point of view
on Erickson.

Erickson wanted to be
the priest so bad,

he would kill in order
to stay a priest.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

It took a week to get
a search warrant

for the rectory
where Erickson lived

in Hurley, Wisconsin.

I did contact
the police chief in Hurley.

I said, "I don't know how
Erickson is going to react."

When the chief started
knocking on the door,

Erickson began to run
up the stairs

and had to be stopped
from running up the stairways

up towards his bedroom.

There was a lot of child porn
on his computers.

It was obvious he had tried
to get rid of all of that.

The forensic labs
were still able

to find these files

deep into the system.

While possession
of child pornography

is illegal, it didn't mean
he was a murderer.

Police kept searching
for more clues.

We found a handgun--

magazine was loaded--
in his sock drawers.

I believe that it may
have been an attempt,

if he could get to it,
by suicide by cop.

He had a lot of other guns,

too, just like Thomas said,

but not the one
they were looking for:

the one used
to kill James and me.

I don't think we
were real surprised,

because if somebody's gonna use
that gun in a homicide,

they're not gonna keep it.

Not finding
the murder weapon

was a setback,

but police continued to put
their case together.

Erickson was in
a fragile state.

Police worried
about his mental health.

He spent the next two days
venting about the cops

to his friends.

Then, on a snowy Sunday

less than a week
before Christmas,

it was too much.

St. Mary's Church was
preparing for mass,

like any other Sunday morning.

Father Ryan Erickson was
preparing for something else.

♪ ♪

I got a call.
It was Sunday morning.

Father Ryan had hung himself
from the fire escape,

and he's dead.

I said, of course,

"Did he--well, was
there any confession?

Did you find a note?"

"Please have masses
said for my soul's rest."

It was Father Ryan Erickson's
last wish.

He also left letters

for his friends
and his parents,

and a ring he wore every day--

the ring shaped like a crown
of thorns,

a symbol of suffering

harkening back to Christ.

It's the same ring he tapped
on the table nervously

when being questioned
by police about the murders.

Only one thing I love

above everything else,

that's being a priest.

And it's the only thing
I've ever wanted.

The worn book used

when administering
the sacrament of penance,

found on his body
when he hanged himself,

begs the question--
did he wrestle with his sins?

It's about contrition, confession,

penance, and absolution.

The man was
a sick individual.

Erickson wanted attention,

and he got it that day
when he killed himself,

for everybody to see
before church.

I was absolutely thrilled
to death the guy was dead.

He deserved to die.

What we had found was
a last will and testament,

a suicide note, uh, saying

that he was sorry
about Thomas.

But in there,
he did say that, uh,

he did not kill Dan and James.

That ran counter
to what he said to the deacon

sometime during the 12 days

between Erickson's meeting
with police and his suicide.

After Erickson's suicide,
the deacon had stated to us,

Erickson stated, "I did it.

And they're gonna catch me."

I remember we had a meeting
on, what do we do?

We said, "Let's continue
the investigation."

It would take

what's called
a John Doe hearing

to determine whether police
and prosecutors

had enough evidence to prove

Erickson was the killer.

Well, John Doe is
like a grand jury,

except that's in front
of a judge.

So you present evidence
in front of a judge.

We heard from a bus driver.

She saw Dan that morning.

Dan had asked if she
had ever seen Erickson

with boys, or around boys.

He also stated that
he was going to meet

Erickson later that afternoon.

I believe that Dan had come
into the office,

was behind his desk.

He was going to have
a meeting with Erickson.

Instead of the speaking
with him,

that's when Erickson
shot and killed Dan.

♪ ♪

James walked in, saw Dan.

♪ ♪

Erickson could not exit
or leave

the funeral home
without being seen,

so then he had to kill James.

♪ ♪

At a certain point
in the evidence,

he asked the judge to make
a probable cause finding.

Judge Lundell--he said
that in his opinion,

it would--met the standard
of beyond a reasonable doubt.

I remember that stood out.

It's a very strong case,
uh, for probability.

Uh, on a scale of, uh,
one to ten,

as far as strength of evidence,

I would consider this a ten.

The judge cited a deacon

who says Erickson confessed,

the fact that one
of the victims

was about to confront
the priest

with allegations
of sexual abuse of minors,

and the priest's knowledge

of secret details
of the killings

known only to police.

♪ ♪

When my murder happened,

it was early on
in the discovery

of the priest sex abuse scandals

that would rock
the Catholic Church

for decades and blanket
the airwaves.

News coverage in the region
focused on the murders

and on people hoping
for change

on a local and national level.

Parents stood

outside St. Francis Xavier church

this morning to remember.

They held posters
with pictures

of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison,

but they also
handed out flyers

hoping to raise awareness
about priest sex abuse

going on
right now across the country.

Some 80%
of the victims were boys--

boys like Thomas,
whom I wanted to protect

from predators
like Ryan Erickson.

♪ Standing outside
with my mouth open wide ♪

♪ Ah, ah, ah-ah,
ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah ♪

What's that?
And how old are you?

Two.

I would have rather
have him get caught

and go through a trial
and be put in prison,

instead of taking
the easy way out

and trying to avoid all that.

It was pretty merciful of Dan

to have given him
the opportunity

to come forward himself

instead of somebody else,
um, going to the diocese,

going to police.

I think Dan would see it
as the ultimate betrayal.

My family would say

that's just the kind of guy
I was:

merciful, kind.

He would actually give
you the shirt off his back,

which--he actually gave
the suit off of his back

to a gentleman that had lost
his, uh, 16-year-old daughter

in a car accident.

This man said that he
didn't have a suit to wear

to his daughter's funeral.

Then Dan had him stand up
and said,

"Well, you kind of look
like you're about my size."

He says, "I will have it
cleaned and pressed,

and I'll get a tie for you."

Dan was an absolutely
compassionate man.

He was just born with it.

Two weeks before I died,

I drove
with Detective Jeffrey Knopps,

whom I'd known for years,

to the funeral
of a police officer.

We talked about
a lot of things,

but not what I knew
about Ryan Erickson.

To this day, yeah, I don't
know why he didn't tell me.

♪ ♪

I'll need a Kleenex, quick.

I just wish that, um...

♪ ♪

Dan would have just, you know,

said something to us,
to me, to law enforcement,

about the priest.

Because, um, possibly,
you know, could have saved

his and James's life.

What a sick, twisted person,

speaking at my father's funeral.

Uh, just a lot of emotions.

♪ ♪

A lot of just betrayal.

I mean, he's the reason why
I don't go to church anymore.

♪ ♪

My dad would feel horrible,
what happened to James.

It's just the wrong place
at the wrong time for him,

and--young kid.

It's just--it--it's horrible,
what happened to him.

My dad was trying to protect

not just the boys
that he was molesting,

but future boys,
trying to end this.

Thinking that
this person, who was held

with such high esteem
in the community,

ultimately put his life
on the line

over a rumor for a boy
he'd never met,

and I was that--

I was that boy.

Um, it--

there was a lot of guilt.

If Thomas didn't
come forward,

I don't think today
we would know who did it.

I think he was the final piece
to this big puzzle.

And it was two years after,
and I firmly believe

God gave us those two years
to get our hearts ready

to find out who did it.

♪ ♪

I learned early on
that death is part of life--

not a part to be feared,
but to be accepted.

Whether it comes
quickly or slowly,

is unexpected or planned for,
it is inevitable.

It's also hard for those
who are left behind.

As the Irish prayer outside
the funeral home promises,

we'll meet again.

Until then, there
should be comfort

in knowing I died as I lived--

in service to others.

♪ ♪