This is a composite of one of two people seen at a crime scene in the North parking lot of the Columbia Tribune on Halloween Night, November 1, 2001 between 2:20 - 2:25am.
New evidence shows that this person and his companion were not involved in the murder. Evidence shows they walked upon the murder victim just after the murder occurred.
It's crucial that we speak to this person. He and his companion are key witnesses to this murder
While these two individuals stood near the car looking at the victim they heard the Tribune's overhead door open unexpectedly. They reacted by ducking down behind the car as Shawna Ornt, walked down the stairs towards the car.
The stairs were only about 40 feet from the car. The victim and the two men were behind the car. Shawna thought she saw a shadow through the car windows. Shawna testified that she did not see anyone at this point.
Shawna turned and ran back up the stairs through the open overhead door to tell her co-worker what she had observed.
Shawn Ornt and her co-worker quickly returned to the open overhead door looking out over the parking lot and the victim's car.
At first they saw nothing. Then two people stood up.
The one at the rear of the car was closer to the open overhead door. This person walked into the light which was located above Shawna's head. She could clearly see this person as he was well illuminated from the parking lot light. He was less than 30 feet from where Shawna was standing.
In her police report she described this person as being in his early twenties, college age, 6 feet tall, weighing around 200 pounds and wearing a short sleeved light colored T-shirt. His hair was blond.
Shawna has been consistent with her description.
Shawna testified this person spoke to her saying "Get help someone is hurt" or words to this affect. Then he turned and walked east up the alley where he joined his companion as both continued on to Fourth Street.
Jerry Trump slammed the overhead door down and locked it. Shawna called 911. The time was 2:26am.
Link to the 911 Call
Police found bloody shoe prints leading from the car up the alley towards Fourth Street and finally to the University of Missouri campus.
These shoe prints did not match Ryan or Chuck.
Link to Police Report 42 referencing police dog tracking these two individuals.
Remember Prosecutor Crane stated in his opening statement that there was no evidence to connect Ryan or Chuck to this crime scene.
The Composite above is the person Shawna Ornt described to Detective Nichols.
During the 2005 trial Prosecutor Crane did not ask Shawna Ornt if she could identify Ryan who was seated just a few feet from the witness stand.
Prosecutor Crane did not ask Shawna the crucial identification question because he already knew her answer.
Shawna did not have an opportunity to answer the identification question until she testified during Ryan's 29.15, 2008 Hearing.
Shawna clearly testified that the person at the back of the car walked towards her and raised his hands shoulder height with his palms facing her.
Ornt testified that this person's hands were open and he had nothing in them. There was no blood on his T-Shirt. She could see this person's face clearly because of the large overhead light.
This is the link to Shawna Ornt's sworn video testimony
Prior to the trial on at least two separate occasions Prosecutor Crane asked Ornt into his office to ask if the person she saw (the one in the composite that she helped construct) was Ryan or Chuck.
Ornt testified under oath in Ryan's 29.15, 2008 Hearing that she clearly told Prosecutor Crane that the person she saw was not Ryan or Chuck.
Shawna Ornt testified that prosecutor Crane did not like her answer and became loud and agitated trying to intimidate her into agreeing with him that the person she had seen was Ryan. Shawna refused to change her statement.
Prosecutor Crane failed to inform Ryan's defense team of the statement Ornt made to him. This is considered exculpatory evidence and a Brady violation, one of two that Crane is accused of committing.
After Prosecutor Crane realized he could not bully Shawna Ornt he summonsed Jerry Trump to his court house office shortly after Trump had been released from prison on December 13, 2004 .
Jerry Trump testified during Ryan's trial that while visiting with the prosecutor on December 21, 2004 he mentioned for the first time that he recognized Ryan and Chuck as the people he'd seen in the parking lot the night of the murder.
Jerry Trump had just completed three years of a five year sentence. Jerry was ordered to Prosecutor Crane's office with two years of probation hanging over his head. Jerry Trump was naturally concerned about the two years of probation and the power of the prosecutor.
He testified that he told Crane he recognized Ryan from a newspaper story complete with photographs of Ryan and Chuck from the day of their arrest which he alleged had been sent to him by his wife while he was in prison in April 2004.
Trump testified he had not told another person of this vital discovery until his meeting with Prosecutor Crane seven months after allegedly receiving the newspaper.
Prosecutor Crane had now finally found his eye witness!
During the trial Prosecutor Crane called his witness Ornt to testify but did not ask her if she could identify Ryan.
Prosecutor Crane was not going to ask her this crucial question because he already knew her answer and it did not support his version of the crime.
Why else would he not ask Shawna Ornt who had been a crucial witness in the case? According to a quote in an article in April 2003 from Sgt Monticelli, Ornt was considered to be the "sole eye witness" in the Heitholt case.
In this Tribune Story - (click here)
the police video is mentioned which offered a $2,500 reward to anyone that could identify the murderers. Trump testified he saw the video at least twice while in prison. Trump testified he did not tell anyone about the newspaper story or the police video.
Shawna Ornt sat patiently on the witness stand waiting for someone to ask her if she could identify Ryan as the person she saw in the parking lot.
Much to her astonishment this question was never asked by anyone while she sat on the witness stand during Ryan's trial.
Later Prosecutor Crane called Jerry Trump to the stand.
Jerry Trump is the person who police had dismissed the night of the murder as not having useful information.
He's the person that was never asked to assist in drawing either of the composites and the person that was not contacted by police from November 1, 2001 to December 21, 2004 ( 37 Months) because he was not considered credible.
This is the person who had served three years in prison for child endangerment with sexual contact.
This is the person who allegedly recognized Ryan from the newspaper but failed to tell anyone until Prosecutor Crane order him to his office December 21, 2004.
Surprise, surprise! It was Jerry Trump, not Shawna Ornt that Prosecutor Crane chose to ask to identify Ryan Ferguson in court much too everyone's astonishment.
This is very telling!
Jerry Trump was the eyewitness Prosecutor Crane needed.
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