Carl Ericsson (73) shot his classmate Norman Johnson (72) to death after a 50+ year grudge

[puzzld]

The Lake County state's attorney says a grand jury has indicted a 73-year-old Watertown man for first-degree murder in the Jan. 31 killing of a retired Madison High School teacher and track coach.

Carl Ericsson is accused of fatally shooting his long-ago classmate Norman Johnson in what may have been an old grudge that spanned more than a half-century.

The 72-year-old Johnson was shot twice in the face after answering the door at his house in Madison. Johnson's wife, Barbara, found him lying on the floor and saw a man walking to a car parked outside.

State's attorney Ken Meyer says Ericsson was indicted on Tuesday.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday morning.

Read more: http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/wat...#ixzz1mPPnooyV

[duckers]

WOW, talk about not letting go of the past. That guy must have been really pissed off.

[g r ee n ey e s]

Jesus, holding on to a grudge for over 50 years.. I am suprised he didn't go postal sooner. What the hell is worth 50 years of hating??

[duckers]

Jesus, holding on to a grudge for over 50 years.. I am suprised he didn't go postal sooner. What the hell is worth 50 years of hating??

I'd like to know too.

[Ron_NYC]

This guy is my fucking hero.

[wmdeeznuts]

Because you get to live most of your life free, and only have to serve a few years in prison before you die. AND you have the satisfaction of knowing you KILLED the guy, and got your revenge. I actually like long, drawn out revenge stories. It shows commitment.

[Ron_NYC]

Exactly why I like this guy. And he was lucky enough that cancer, hep, or a car crash didn't kill this guy before he did!

[Ron_NYC]

Double

[wmdeeznuts]

Does anyone know what the grudge was over? Lemme guess, a girl.

[Katherine]

Apparently, it was something that happened when Ericsson was a sports manager and Johnson was the athlete in high school (they interviewed Ericsson's brother). Maybe the typical jock/towel boy bullying situation?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102394/Carl-Ericsson-pleads-guilty-murder-retired-teacher-Norman-Johnson-shot-dead-door-nearly-60-year-old-grudge.html


The lawyer for an elderly man accused of fatally shooting a long-ago classmate in a grudge he apparently gripped for decades has entered a not guilty plea and requested a jury trial.

Carl Ericsson, 73, of Watertown, South Dakota, is charged with first-degree murder in the January 31 killing of retired Madison High School teacher and track coach Norman Johnson.
Defense attorney Scott Bratland entered the plea on Ericsson's behalf during a court hearing today.
Ericsson’s trial is slated to begin on July 9.

Mr Johnson, 72, was shot twice in the face after answering the door at his house in Madison.

Shortly after the shooting, Johnson's wife, Barbara, found him lying on the floor and saw a man walking to a dark sedan parked outside.
Investigators say that soon after Mr Johnson was shot, a man matching the suspect's description was spotted trying to enter the home of another retired Madison High School teacher and coach, Orlyn Larson.

Officers collected two flashlights and photographed tire and shoe impressions outside of the house.

A resident then reported seeing a man a quarter-mile away outside the home of Dick Ericsson, Carl Ericsson’s brother, who said his older sibling is depressed and an alcoholic.

Dick Ericsson said in an affidavit that Ericsson was a sports manager at Madison High years ago and there was an incident in which Johnson did something to him.

'Since that time, over 50 years ago, Carl has held a grudge against Norm Johnson,' the affidavit said.

'Dick said that he brought up the name of Norm Johnson some time back and Carl was still upset about the situation and called Norm Johnson a son of a bitch.'

Earlier this month, a judge denied a request to have Ericsson's bond set at $100,000, saying he was a potential flight or suicide risk.

Carl Ericsson was arrested after police reported seeing items that piqued their interest - including two flashlights similar to those seized outside of Larson's house - and a Glock hangun.

With Ericsson's permission, officers looked at his Ford Taurus and noted that the tire treads appeared consistent with tracks left at two of the Madison homes.

During an interview at the Watertown Police station, Ericsson acknowledged being in Madison on on the night of the murder and having the handgun with him, but denied remembering Mr Johnson or going to his house, according to the affidavit.

Mr Johnson’s murder is the first in Madison since 1906.

[puzzld]

Good find! I had heard it was something like that, but couldn't find anything in print to back it up.

[puzzld]

From the moment 73-year-old Carl Ericsson rang his old high school classmate's doorbell in January, verified the man's identity and then shot him dead, the question had been what prompted him to confront a man he hadn't even spoken to in years.

The startling answer, a prosecutor said Friday, was a 1950s locker room humiliation that festered in Ericsson's mind for a half-century.

"He said that a jockstrap was put on his head," Kenneth Meyer said. "It's the only thing he's ever mentioned in talking to law enforcement."

Ericsson, who a psychiatrist said suffered from anxiety and depression for years, last month pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder in the death of Norman Johnson.

"I guess it was from something that happened over 50 years ago," Ericsson told a judge then. "It was apparently in my subconscious."

He was sentenced Friday to life in prison.

Johnson was a track star at Madison High School, and Ericsson a student sports manager. The prosecutor said he had no other details about the locker room story, which never was corroborated.

"I know of no one that remembers it or acknowledges it other than Carl," Meyer said.

He also declined to say whether in Ericsson's telling, it was Johnson who put the jockstrap on his head.

Beth Ribstein, Johnson's youngest daughter, said she couldn't understand how someone could hold onto a grudge for so long.

"It was just goofing off in a locker room," Ribstein said, shaking her head.

Ribstein, 50, addressed the court before Ericsson was sentenced, and accused him of envying Johnson's success in the Madison community.

After high school, Johnson played college football, earned a bachelor's and a master's degree and returned to Madison High to teach and coach for more than 30 years.

More than 600 people — about one-sixth of Madison's population — attended Johnson's funeral, including one of Ericsson's family members. Johnson was well-liked and respected across the community, Ribstein said.

"I can't blame you for being jealous of dad," she said to Ericsson.

Ericsson himself was no failure.

He had lived in Wyoming before returning to South Dakota and settling in Watertown, a town nearly an hour north of Madison. He has been married to his wife, Deanna, for more than 44 years, is a North Dakota State University graduate and recently retired from a 25-year insurance career, his attorney, Scott Bratland, has said.

But Ericsson was not well. In an affidavit supporting Ericsson's change of plea, psychiatrist Robert Giebink wrote that Ericsson has a long history of anxiety problems and suffers from "severe and recurrent depression that is, for the most part, treatment resistant." Giebink said Ericsson was significantly depressed and suicidal when they first met in January.

"Thinking was irrational. Judgment was impaired," Giebink wrote. "He made the comment that he wished each night that he would not wake up in the morning."

Investigators first learned of a potential past incident between the two from Ericsson's brother, Madison attorney Dick Ericsson. Ericsson said in the arrest affidavit that "there was an incident where Norm Johnson did something to Carl."

Dick Ericsson has refused interview requests and declined comment again Friday. No published phone listing could be found Friday for Ericsson's wife.

In brief comments to the judge Friday, Carl Ericsson did not address the grudge but said he would like to tell Johnson's widow, Barb, that he was very sorry for what he had done.

"I just wish I could turn the calendar back," he said.

Ericsson pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge in February and requested a jury trial. But Meyer and Bratland announced May 1 that a deal had been reached. The first-degree murder charge could have carried the death penalty if prosecutors chose to pursue it.

A defendant can be sentenced to the state penitentiary under South Dakota's "guilty but mentally ill" law. Treatment for the mental illness can be given in prison, or the inmate can be transferred to other facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of Social Services for treatment and then returned to the penitentiary to complete his or her sentence.

Johnson's oldest daughter, 52-year-old Terri Wiblemo, noted in court that Sunday is Father's Day, and each year her dad looked forward to enjoying his favorite meal of fried chicken, potato salad and rhubarb pie.

"We miss my dad very much," she said.

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/s-l...d907e43e1.html

[Ron_NYC]

Beth Ribstein, Johnson's youngest daughter, said she couldn't understand how someone could hold onto a grudge for so long.

Practice.

[kevansvault]

Sometimes things happen that really leave a mark on you. Bad things. Things you don't talk about at parties. And for each person it's different. And while many people can "let things go" and go on living their lives leaving the past in the past, there are some that can't. Especially if they already have "issues" they're dealing with. ISo a guy puts a jock strap on your head and that made this guy hold on to it for 50 years. FIFTY YEARS! Seriously? Was it THAT BAD? Wow. Seriously? I mean, was the jock strap soaked in urine or shit or something? And even if it was, that's when you walk up to an asshole in the middle of a crowd, kick him square in his package, and walk away. You don't shoot him dead fifty years later for it. Damn.

[neenerneener]

What an asshole. Seriously. And a complete fucking loser, if he held a grudge over something like that for 50 years. He should have just killed himself.

[Ron_NYC]

What an asshole. Seriously. And a complete fucking loser, if he held a grudge over something like that for 50 years. He should have just killed himself.

Huh? What the hell, bro?

So he should have shot him back in high school?

[kevansvault]

I think she was saying that he should have gotten over it, or taken himself out.

[Ron_NYC]

I think she was saying that he should have gotten over it, or taken himself out.

Haha... yea I get that, but I completely disagree.

I respect his patience. And I can't imagine the wait. I would wake up every day hoping that my nemesis is still alive and kicking so I'm not denied satisfaction by some "tragic" twist of fate. I mean imagine The Big C takes him out before I get to. Or a runaway bus or kidney failure or some shit.

Nah, this guy did it fucking right. Why should I take myself out cause some guy crossed me? Neener's logic is flawed.

[neenerneener]

Haha... yea I get that, but I completely disagree.

I respect his patience. And I can't imagine the wait. I would wake up every day hoping that my nemesis is still alive and kicking so I'm not denied satisfaction by some "tragic" twist of fate. I mean imagine The Big C takes him out before I get to. Or a runaway bus or kidney failure or some shit.

Nah, this guy did it fucking right. Why should I take myself out cause some guy crossed me? Neener's logic is flawed.

I'm saying that if you're that fucking pathetic that you hold a grudge over something so dumb and insignificant, that you're not worthy of the air you breathe....and you should, in fact, fucking kill yourself. I don't get how this guy is cool or doing it right. Holding a grudge over a minor affront from high school? Seriously? With all the other stuff going on in this world, letting something like that control your life is weak as shit, son. And after 44 years of marriage to his wife, this is what he does to her? No retirement, enjoying their last years together after all that time, raising a family, etc. Its selfish and gross. Fuck him. I hope he gets ass raped in prison and bleeds out.

[kevansvault]

Wow, Neens...that was well said.

[Ron_NYC]

I'm saying that if you're that fucking pathetic that you hold a grudge over something so dumb and insignificant, that you're not worthy of the air you breathe....and you should, in fact, fucking kill yourself. I don't get how this guy is cool or doing it right. Holding a grudge over a minor affront from high school? Seriously? With all the other stuff going on in this world, letting something like that control your life is weak as shit, son. And after 44 years of marriage to his wife, this is what he does to her? No retirement, enjoying their last years together after all that time, raising a family, etc. Its selfish and gross. Fuck him. I hope he gets ass raped in prison and bleeds out.

Well that's your opinion.

I am hoping that a lot of people feel like you though. I have a few people I'd be ducking in my 70s.
Who am I kidding? I'm not gonna live that long.



And there can be a lot of stuff going on in the world, that doesn't mean that spitting in my face is OK. I don't understand how getting upset over being disrespected is dumb and pathetic.

[Ron_NYC]

Wow, Neens...that was well said.

Funny you say that cause I couldn't disagree more.

[neenerneener]

Wow, Neens...that was well said.

Thank you.

Well that's your opinion.

I am hoping that a lot of people feel like you though. I have a few people I'd be ducking in my 70s.
Who am I kidding? I'm not gonna live that long.



And there can be a lot of stuff going on in the world, that doesn't mean that spitting in my face is OK. I don't understand how getting upset over being disrespected is dumb and pathetic.

Getting upset over being disrespected is normal. Carrying around that sort of vitriol for fifty goddamn years? Not normal. If he had been raped, abused, or if someone had done something to his wife or kids.....OK. I could see that. But because a dude put a jock strap on his head in the locker room? Are you fucking kidding me, ron? Its not cool, not funny, not *doing it right.* I can't believe you're condoning that shit. What if your mother had teased someone in school half a century ago, and that person showed up on your doorstep and shot her in the face? Would that be awesome?

[Ron_NYC]

Thank you.



Getting upset over being disrespected is normal. Carrying around that sort of vitriol for fifty goddamn years? Not normal. If he had been raped, abused, or if someone had done something to his wife or kids.....OK. I could see that. But because a dude put a jock strap on his head in the locker room? Are you fucking kidding me, ron? Its not cool, not funny, not *doing it right.* I can't believe you're condoning that shit. What if your mother had teased someone in school half a century ago, and that person showed up on your doorstep and shot her in the face? Would that be awesome?

That's like asking if it's awesome for some kid I gave a wedgie to come and shoot me.
But for me to pop him? That would be cool.

I think it's hilarious. I think the fact he was 77 is pretty cool. That takes patience. I wish I could hold a grudge that long.
Actually, I probably could.

[neenerneener]

Sigh.