Court Junkie

It’s a story that has been told numerous times before - On Halloween night in 2001, Kent Heitholt, a 48-year-old sports editor, was brutally murdered in the Columbia Tribune parking lot as he was leaving work.  Ryan Ferguson and Charles Erickson were arrested years later and charged with murder, although none of the forensic evidence at the scene matched either of the men. The case would slowly fall apart, amid witness recantations, and accusations of corruption. Ryan would eventually be released, but Charlie remains in prison. In this episode, I speak to Charlie and get his side of the story, along with updates in the case. Visit FreeCharlesErickson.com for more info. Please consider supporting this podcast with as little as $1 a month via Patreon.com/CourtJunkie. If you’d like to discuss this case, please join our active discussion on the Court Junkie Discussion Facebook Group. Follow me on Twitter @CourtJunkiePod  Want a Court Junkie coffee mug or t-shirt or many other fun items? Check out the Court Junkie Store: www.CourtJunkie.com/Store   Music in this episode by: 5 Minute Meditations (album mix with alpha waves) by Lee Rosevere - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/5_Minute_Meditations/11_-_5_Minute_Meditations_album_mix_with_alpha_waves Feathered by Blue Dot Sessions - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/The_Cabinetmaker/Feathered Don’t Lie to Inner Child by Sergey Cheremisinov - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Sergey_Cheremisinov/The_Signals/Sergey_Cheremisinov_-_The_Signals_-_05_Dont_Lie_To_Inner_Child The Signals by Sergey Cheremisinov - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Sergey_Cheremisinov/The_Signals/Sergey_Cheremisinov_-_The_Signals_-_06_The_Signals Eyelids Grow Heavy by Master Toad - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Master_Toad/Lucid_Dreamer_Nightmare_Progression_5/02_-_Master_Toad_-_Eyelids_Grow_Heavy Celestial Navigation by Blue Dot Sessions - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/Aeronaut/Celestial_Navigation Traces by Hyson - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Hyson/Soundtrack_for_the_Weary_Vol_I/Hyson_-_Traces

In August 2014, 22-year-old Christy Mack and her friend Corey Thomas were abruptly awoken in the middle of the night by Christy's ex-boyfriend, an MMA fighter named War Machine.  What followed was a brutal attack that would land both of them in the hospital with severe injuries, and cause War Machine to go on the run. War Machine was captured and went on trial in March 2017. Christy had to face her attacker in court and recount brutal details from not only that night, but from throughout their relationship. Please consider supporting this podcast with as little as $1 a month via Patreon.com/CourtJunkie. If you’d like to discuss this case, please join our active discussion on the Court Junkie Discussion Facebook Group. Follow us on Twitter @CourtJunkiePod  Music in this episode from freemusicarchive.org under Attribution license: Haka by Rocco Granata - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rocco_Granata/Works_1733/Rocco_Granata_-_04_-_Haka Eyelids Grow Heavy by Master Toad - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Master_Toad/Lucid_Dreamer_Nightmare_Progression_5/02_-_Master_Toad_-_Eyelids_Grow_Heavy Undead by Rocco Granata - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rocco_Granata/Works_1733/Rocco_Granata_-_03_-_Undead Never Asked by Unheard Music Concepts - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Unheard_Music_Concepts/Industry/04_Never_Asked

Hazing is unfortunately a common practice that can often turn deadly. In this episode, I cover the unfortunate deaths of three college students - 26-year-old Robert Champion, 19-year-old Michael Deng, and 19-year-old Tim Piazza. Thank you to Emily Pualwan from HazingPrevention.org, and Doug Fierberg from tfnlgroup.com and schoolviolencelaw.com. Sponsors:   - Get a $1 off coupon for Lifeway Kefir by visiting www.LifewayKefir.com/CourtJunkie   - Subscribe to 74 Seconds, a new podcast about the Philando Castile case, on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. Please consider supporting this podcast with as little as $1 a month via Patreon.com/CourtJunkie. If you’d like to discuss this case, please join our active discussion on the Court Junkie Discussion Facebook Group. Follow me on Twitter @CourtJunkiePod  Want a Court Junkie coffee mug or t-shirt or many other fun items? Check out the Court Junkie Store: www.CourtJunkie.com/Store Music in this episode by: 5 Minute Meditations (album mix with alpha waves) by Lee Rosevere - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/5_Minute_Meditations/11_-_5_Minute_Meditations_album_mix_with_alpha_waves Children - Our Life by Nuno Adelaida - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Nuno_Adelaida/none_given_1662/Nuno_Adelaida_02_Children-Our_Life The Signals by Sergey Cheremisinov - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Sergey_Cheremisinov/The_Signals/Sergey_Cheremisinov_-_The_Signals_-_06_The_Signals No Other Choice by Lee Rosevere - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Music_Inspired_by_MiNRS/Lee_Rosevere_-_Music_Inspired_by_MiNRS_-_11_No_Other_Choice Remember Trees? by Chris Zabriskie - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chris_Zabriskie/Music_from_Neptune_Flux/ChrisZabriskie-MusicfromNeptuneFlux-07 Celestial Navigation by Blue Dot Sessions - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/Aeronaut/Celestial_Navigation We Were Never Meant To Live Here by Chris Zabriskie - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chris_Zabriskie/Music_from_Neptune_Flux/ChrisZabriskie-MusicfromNeptuneFlux-10 Planet F by Lee Rosevere - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Trappist-1/Lee_Rosevere_-_Trappist-1_-_05_Planet_F Traces by Hyson - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Hyson/Soundtrack_for_the_Weary_Vol_I/Hyson_-_Traces