By: ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, Associated Press Writer (AP) A jury convicted a man Friday of second-degree murder for killing a newspaper editor to get money for a post-Halloween night of underage drinking.
After nearly five hours of deliberations, the jury found Ryan Ferguson, 21, guilty of the murder of Kent Heitholt, a Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor. Ferguson was also convicted of first-degree robbery.
He showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered. The jury considered his sentence late Friday, and defense attorney Charlie Rogers asked for no more than 25 years. If convicted of first-degree murder, he would have faced life in prison.
Heitholt, 48, was hit with a tire iron and strangled as he left the newspaper in November 2001. Earlier that night, he celebrated his fifth anniversary with the Tribune.
Ferguson was a junior in high school at the time. His high school classmate Charles T. Erickson, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, robbery and armed criminal action, testified against Ferguson. He said Ferguson suggested they rob someone when they discovered they were out of money during a night of drinking.
Erickson said he initially repressed his memory of the crime but began to recall details two years later. He said some details emerged in dreams.
A psychologist testified that Erickson's recollections were planted by overzealous police investigators.
Tribune managing editor Jim Robertson said Heitholt was a dedicated worker whose experience covering sports in Louisiana, Texas and elsewhere inspired his reporters.
"He was a big, jovial teddy bear of a guy," Robertson said of the 6-foot-3-inch, 310-pound Heitholt. "Everybody loved him.
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