How You Can Help: Examples of relevant information

We are aware of the effort to accuse, both directly and indirectly, Michael Boyd of this murder. We believe this to be a fool's errand for a number of reasons. Namely, his colleagues, the police, and the information given by eyewitnesses the night of the murder, never pointed to him as a viable suspect. There is simply no evidence that he was ever involved in this crime despite the false narrative propagated by certain members of the national press. We consider this door closed. It will remain closed, and it will only be opened if someone were to provide striking new evidence that has never been seen or heard before.

In reading through the trial, police interviews, and listening to the 911 call, it is clear that the suspects are 2 young white males. According to police reports, one of the witnesses, Shawna Ornt, "observed that one of the individuals had short, spiky, blonde hair, a muscular build which was not bulky, was approximately six feet tall, was twenty to twenty-one years old, and was wearing a light gray shirt. The second individual was a white male, possibly with dark hair. The individuals began walking briskly east toward Fourth Street through the alley located on the north side of the Tribune building."

She was also clearly scared by their behavior as they ducked down to hide when they observed her. This frightened her and she went back inside the Tribune building and returned with Jerry Trump. These two individuals were hiding when Jerry Trump walked out and popped up when he yelled to see who was near Mr. Heitholt's car. These individuals also both walked through Mr. Heitholt's blood, yet there was no evidence that he had been "helped" by these individuals. If they were just "passing by," it does not stand to reason that they would have walked through his blood, done nothing to help him, hid when seen, and then ran once they were out of sight. This simply is an unreasonable premise.

It is, at best, shameful, and at worst, reprehensible, that parties who claim to be so concerned about the unjustly accused would so callously castigate an innocent black man for their own selfish purposes. The suspects are two white males who matched Ryan Ferguson and Charles Erickson's description, whether it was them or not. They know this fact yet sling accusations without merit or thought to Mr. Boyd's reputation or family.

While Ryan Ferguson was released from prison, he was not exonerated or found innocent by any court. He was released after his conviction was overturned on a Brady violation. We seek information that will permanently clear his name as well as Charles Erickson's name or further substantiate the previous evidence against them. Both may be difficult to come by, but we believe it to be possible.

Information that would be valuable

Below are some examples of information that would be considered valuable. By no means is this an exhaustive list. Ultimately, we will follow where the evidence takes us regardless of any previously public information.

Photo evidence of a suspect wearing Sketcher shoes at a time that is contemporaneous to the murder. For example, a picture at school, a sporting event, or just hanging out some time prior to November 1, 2001.
Individuals who heard Dallas Mallory admit that he saw Ryan Ferguson and Charles Erickson sometime between 2:20 and 2:30 am on November 1, 2001 in downtown Columbia near Providence Rd.
Anyone who can identify the possible girls that were allegedly in the car with Dallas Mallory when he supposedly saw Ryan and Charles after the murder.
Anyone who spent time at By George bar after closing hours on either the early morning hours of November 1, 2001, or other times that same year.
Individuals who heard Ryan speak about his involvement in the crime after November 1, 2001 but before his arrest in March of 2004.
Anyone who can testify in regard to other suspects matching the description of the suspects as outlined above who were in the vicinity of the Tribune building the night of the murder, perhaps other Mizzou students or local high school students. This cannot be sheer speculation. There needs to be some type of evidence that points in the direction of these suspects.
Anyone who can testify to having seen Mr. Heitholt's watch, belt, car keys, or the murder weapon after his murder.

About the fingerprints and hair

For those who would say that fingerprints and "hairs" left at the crime scene don't match those charged with the crime and belong to the actual murderers, this is partially factual. However, it is unlikely that the evidence collected matches any suspect for a couple of reasons.

The "hairs" collected from Mr. Heitholt's hand was actually 1 single "limb hair" that was in the paper bag that was placed over his hands at the crime scene (note that other hairs all matched the victim). A limb hair is hair from an arm or leg of an individual. Given the number of people around him at the crime scene, this could have been from one of the sportswriters who went to help him, any of the paramedics on scene, or any of the police on the scene. Some reports have made this seem to be a handful of hair that he tore from the attacker's head and this simply is not the case.
The usable fingerprints that did not match any known suspect were not from an area of the car that was part of the crime scene. Namely, these prints were taken from the inside rear windows of Mr. Heitholt's car. There is no evidence or reason these doors would have been opened by the suspects and it does not stand to reason that the suspects would have touched these locations.

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