Prosecutors said they will present strong evidence in a hearing next week that will officially declare the case of a double murder at a funeral home in Hudson, Wis. closed. Sources said prosecutors will present evidence showing that a Catholic priest murdered Dan O'Connell and James Ellison in a funeral home more than three years ago.
The pieces start with what happened inside the walls of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Hudson. Sources said that sometime before February 2002, a teenage boy was sent to the church. He had gotten in trouble with the law and was assigned to do community service at the church. The boy was placed under the care of Father Ryan Erickson, sources said. Erickson, 31, was a youth pastor, but sources said on at least three occasions, Erickson took the boy into the rectory of the church, served him alcohol and molested him.
Hudson Police have launched a separate investigation into those allegations. The murders are tied to those allegations because O'Connell and his family are very well connected in the church. O'Connell’s father serves on the church council and Erickson presided over O'Connell's funeral.
Neither the O'Connell family nor the Ellison family wanted to comment on camera for the story. The families did say they look forward to next week’s court hearing, so the truth will finally come out.
WCCO
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