When two deaths in a funeral home don’t make sense | Forensic Files

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notes for this episode on your app or on our website [Music] the city of hudson is nestled in far
west wisconsin a state famous for being america's dairy land due to its production of cheese milk and
ice cream separated from the state of minnesota by the sankroy river hudson is a small scenic city
characterized by historic architecture leafy parks and a wide offering of outdoor attractions
including walking tracks water sports rock climbing and camping by the year 2002
the city was home to a close-knit community of around 6 000 residents and it was regarded as a
safe place to live violent crime was well below the national average and a murder hadn't been committed in
the area for 24 years the only funeral home in hudson was a sprawling single-story brick and weatherboard
building owned by local resident tom o'connell whose family had lived in the area for generations
tom's uncle had owned an undertaking business in town prior to world war ii and in 1985 tom
decided to relaunch the family business he opened the o'connell family funeral home at 520
11th street a quiet tree-lined road close to the downtown district two of his sons mike and dan eventually
began working alongside him dan had initially trained as an emergency medical technician
but was happy to follow in his father's footsteps by switching to a career in mortuary science
in 1998 he quit his emt work to concentrate on the family business full time dan was a dedicated worker known for
putting the needs of others ahead of his own and for always taking the time to comfort the grieving relatives who
attended the funeral home married with two young children dan had a reputation as a dedicated family man who was eager
to give back to his community he spent tireless hours working to better his hometown
by serving on several local committees and raising funds for various organizations
as a result dan was well known and delighted by other hudson locals the o'connell family funeral home also
offered trainee positions to mortuary science students who were completing their studies
one such trainee was 22 year old james ellison who had quickly proved himself to be a
valuable employee james had grown up with his parents and two siblings in the rural town of barron
located about 68 miles north east of hudson he was friendly and well liked with a
range of interests that included golf music and church activities during high school james had played in
the school band and was active in not-for-profit youth organisation 4h he later enrolled to study mortuary
science at the university of minnesota where he took his career path very seriously
friendly polite and organised james took great pride in his trainee work on one occasion
remarking i'm so proud that i can help people in the worst time of their lives james was due to graduate from
university in may of 2002 and it was anticipated that the o'connells would then offer him a
full-time job in the early afternoon of tuesday february 5 2002 saint croix county medical officer
marty shanklin headed over to the o'connell family funeral home to conduct a routine visit
due to the requirements of his job he was well acquainted with the o'connells and on this occasion he needed dan to
sign a death certificate marty arrived at 1 40 pm and immediately made his way to dan's office
which was located towards the back of the building upon entering he was met by a horrifying
scene [Music] [Music] [Music] marty shanklin saw that 39 year old dan o'connell was seated lifeless at his desk with
what appeared to be a bullet wound to the head nearby the deceased body of 22 year old
trainee james ellison was slumped over a chair close to the door realizing that the two men had been
killed and fearful that the culprit might still be inside the building marty hurried out of the funeral home to
call the police shortly after a number of officers from the hudson police department
arrived at the scene along with members from saint croix county's emergency response unit
mindful that the killer might still be on the premises the officers entered the front door of
the funeral home with their guns drawn they found no one inside except for the bodies of the two victims
as marty had described dan had been killed at his desk while it appeared as though james had
been shot as he entered the room most likely to investigate the sound of the gunshot that had killed his boss
both men appeared to have suffered point-blanker gunshots to the head with several bullet casings found on the
floor outside of dan's office the funeral home appeared to be in perfect order with no signs of a disturbance or
a struggle officers initially wondered if they were dealing with a murder-suicide
but no gun was found at the scene and this theory was quickly ruled out as dan was known to be a practicing
catholic the officers called the nearby saint patrick's church to request that a priest come and bless
the funeral home meanwhile the nearby streets were cordoned off and officers began searching the area
for clues and door knocking neighbouring houses to see if anyone had heard anything
suspicious by 2 27 pm the crime scene had been secured and the officers faced the difficult task of
notifying the victims families dan's widow jenny and their two children nine-year-old kyle and seven-year-old
caitlin were devastated by the news the family had been planning to celebrate kyle's
10th birthday together the following day but were now left completely grief-stricken
relatives and friends rallied around them including their local parish priest father ryan
erickson who told them he had blessed the funeral home while dan's body was still inside
at five that afternoon father eriksen visited dan's home to embrace jenny and to pray with her
dan's parents tom and janet o'connell were on holiday in florida when they received the news that their
son had been killed and so they returned to wisconsin immediately james ellison's family who were devout
lutherans were equally shattered they knew how hard james had been working and how
much he had been looking forward to the future just the day prior to his death he and
his girlfriend had discussed getting engaged james's younger brother jordan ellison
told the media quote we can't imagine why someone would do this we think james was just in the wrong
place at the wrong time he never really had any run-ins or things like that that would cause this
it is hard to understand why the murders also rocked the tight-knit hudson community
where news of the crime spread quickly no one could imagine why someone would want to kill
the two beloved upstanding citizens one of dan's neighbours kevin olsen recalled how dan had helped him out the
previous year despite the fact that they barely knew one another kevin stated i was out shoveling snow
one day and he came over with his snow blower when he was done he said now you go inside and spend some time
with that little girl of yours that's just the type of guy he was mayor of hudson jack brault echoed
kevin's thoughts telling the media quote dan was an outstanding citizen just the
kind of guy you not only liked but you loved he was just the most wonderful person you would ever want to
meet shocked that such a crime could have been committed in hudson mayor brawl tatted we are a small
community everybody knows everybody this doesn't happen [Music] those tasks with solving the double
homicide were equally as baffled there hadn't been a murder in hudson since 1978
and after speaking with the families of both victims at length investigators were struggling to come up
with a motive after conducting enquiries it was determined that tuesday february 5 had
started out as an ordinary day for dan o'connell in the morning he had left his family
home to attend a work meeting in the nearby village of baldwin roughly 22 miles east of hudson
he left the meeting at around 9 45 am explaining that he had an appointment with someone back in hudson
from there he had driven to work dan's wife jenny said there was nothing out of the ordinary that morning
jenny recalled that dan had mentioned having a meeting scheduled at his office at 2pm
but she didn't know who the meeting was with or what it was regarding the day had also started well for james
ellison he had told his parents that he was particularly looking forward to going to
work as he and dan planned to sit down together to discuss james's future in the business
that morning james had attended university classes across the border in minnesota
leaving at around 11am to make the 30-minute drive to the o'connell family funeral home
like dan no one had noted anything out of the ordinary about james that day on wednesday february 6 the day after
the murders autopsies confirmed that both men had died from a single execution-style gunshot wound to the
head though headshots are an effective way to kill someone they can be difficult to carry out due
to the head being a small moving target this led police to believe that the killer must have considerable
experience with firearms in order to preserve their investigation investigators opted to withhold details
of how the men were killed from the public over the past month a number of funeral homes in the
nearby minnesota city of saint paul had been burgled and formaldehyde had been stolen from their premises
the formaldehyde is often used as an embalming fluid but it can also strengthen the potency
of cannabis prompting some drug dealers to seek it out theorising whether the murders could
have been motivated by theft investigators carried out a thorough inventory of the o'connell
family funeral home in an attempt to ascertain whether anything had been stolen however everything appeared to be in its
place ruling out burglary as the perpetrator's motive there were also no signs of a break-in
which indicated the killer had simply entered via the front door the crime scene was thoroughly examined
but no further evidence was found phone records revealed that at 108 pm dan o'connell had made an outgoing call
from his office landline 15 minutes later at 1 23 pm a call was placed to james ellison's
cell phone that went unanswered at 1 36 pm a call to the funeral home also rang out consequently
police believed the murders must have been committed between 108 and 1 23 pm looking for other possible leads
investigators considered whether escaped criminal stephen dwayne neal could be responsible
for the murders neil was a fugitive from arkansas who was wanted for a triple homicide
a month earlier his two accomplices had been arrested outside an apartment building in hudson
but neil was still on the run police theorised that neil could have also fled to hudson
where he killed dan and james but there was nothing tying him to the murders and no sightings of him had been
reported in the area police also looked into the unsolved homicide of a retired mortician named boyd novanger who had
been murdered in his iowa home five years earlier however the only similarity between boyd dan and
james was that they had all worked in the same field and police soon abandoned this line of
investigation they issued an appeal to the public asking anyone with information to come
forward especially if they had seen any vehicles parked at the funeral home on the day of the shooting
on saturday february 9 four days after the murders dan o'connell's funeral was held at
saint patrick's catholic church where he had been married years earlier and regularly attended mass with his
family a crowd of more than two thousand mourners gathered to pay their respects
making it the largest funeral in hudson's history with extra chairs having to be brought
in to accommodate everyone dan's father tom and his brother mike had prepared a two-hour service
that paid tribute to dan and the shining example he had set as both a colleague and beloved family member
mayor bralt delivered one of the eulogies father ryan erickson read a verse of scripture
and the saint patrick's choir provided music [Music] after the service dan's coffin was
driven to the saint patrick's catholic cemetery escorted by a procession of 61 police
fire and ambulance vehicles james ellison's funeral was held two days later on monday february 11 in his hometown of
baron james was then buried at wayside cemetery in a family plot where his parents could be laid to rest
alongside him upon their eventual passing james's parents set up an annual scholarship in their son's name
the mortuary science students at the university of minnesota where the faculty agreed to let james
graduate posthumously alongside his classmates in may 2002 meanwhile the investigation into the
murders continued and on tuesday february 12 police set up a roadblock outside the o'connell family funeral
home where they pulled over every passing car over two hours approximately 300 motorists were asked
whether they recalled seeing anything unusual on the day of the shootings when this failed to generate any useful
leads hudson police called the federal bureau of investigation to see if they could offer any
assistance and the department was provided with an fbi spokesperson a possible lead emerged when it was
discovered that a wisconsin-based religious group called the rest of jesus ministry had
sent more than 400 threatening letters to various mortuaries over the previous year
including the o'connell family funeral home the group was opposed to the embalming
techniques employed by morticians as they believed that it desecrated the human body
instead the rest of jesus ministry felt the deceased should simply be wrapped in
a linen cloth prior to burial the group's leader was a woman named catherine padilla
who lived in the wisconsin city of eau claire approximately 67 miles east of hudson
on tuesday february 12 for the threatening letters she had been circulating padilla was charged with two counts of
disorderly conduct and stalking padilla denied any responsibility for the murders of dan
o'connell and james ellison remarking i am a mailman for god and i am not an assassin for the devil
the charges against padea were eventually dropped on the condition that she ceased sending
letters to funeral homes and with no direct evidence tying padilla or her followers to the murders this
lead also went cold on friday february 15 hudson police launched a website where people could
submit tips relating to the double homicide reassuring the public that they could
remain anonymous if they wished two weeks later the grieving members of the o'connell family
appeared at a press conference alongside investigators where hudson police chief richard trendy
revealed that police were chasing up a number of leads regarding vehicles seen in the area on the day
in question he stated it will take time unfortunately it's not like the sitcoms you see on tv
dan's father tom thanked the community for their ongoing support and urged them to pray for the killer
stating we're praying for them because they must be very sick justice will take place but we're praying for
them on tuesday april 30 almost three months after the murders the hudson police department announced a
100 000 reward was available for information leading to the arrest and conviction
of dan and james's killer the funds had been donated by the citizens of hudson who were concerned that the person
responsible still hadn't been apprehended that same day police also released a description of a man who was seen near
the funeral home between 1 and 1 30 p.m on the day of the murders he was described as between five foot
eight and six foot one with a slender to medium build and had been wearing a short-sleeved
light-colored t-shirt light blue pants and a baseball cap a witness had seen him enter a white
mid-sized vehicle that was either new or very clean and had later reported the sighting to
police investigators stressed that the man wasn't a suspect and that they simply wanted to know if
he had seen or heard anything that could be useful to their investigation despite the announcement of the reward
and the description of a person of interest months passed without any significant
developments in the case investigators continued to pursue every lead that emerged
but none seemed to be connected to the crime by the end of 2002 a team of officers
led by sergeant paul larson and detective jeff knopps were working on the case full
time but the first anniversary of the murders approached with no breakthroughs in the lead-up to the anniversary the
leader telegram newspaper published an article about the case in which police chief trendy reiterated
his department's commitment to solving it the o'connell and ellison family speculated that the murderer had
likely only planned to kill one of the men but ultimately decided to kill them both
to avoid having a witness they weren't sure whether dan or james had been the target
or why with the james's mother sally remarking it's going to be a stupid selfish reason
there is no reason that will justify what happened and i'm not sure knowing will make it
any better both families drew on their religious beliefs to support them through their grief dan's mother
janet said that hugs and prayers from well-wishers had helped sustain her while james's father carsten noted
we do have faith and if we didn't have that it would be too hard what bothers us
is the unfairness of it on wednesday february 5 2003 to mark the one-year anniversary of the
deaths a quiet remembrance for dan and james was held outside the o'connell family funeral
home 300 people attended the 20-minute ceremony which began at 1pm the approximate time
the two men had been killed a year prior dan's wife jenny told the crowd quote we as a community have rallied
together searching and praying for answers i truly believe they will be answered each one of you
has done something special for me whether it was a hug or a kiss a thought or a prayer
or just the smile it has never gone unnoticed i feel your strength i feel your love
james's mother sally referenced the verse from the bible saying rejoice in the world
always rejoice we rejoice in the lives they lived while they were here and rejoice that they reside with the
lord now although sergeant larson and detective knops were still working on the investigation full time
another year passed by with no further developments in the case in early 2004 they were joined by
detective sean petty who had known dan o'connell since they were both children and had promised to dan's wife jenny
that he wouldn't rest until her husband's murder was solved one day while reviewing some files
detective knobs came across something that caught his attention a year earlier in march 2003
a man who was later given the pseudonym thomas smith had gone to his local police station in
the city of bismarck north dakota to report some unsettling behaviour that had occurred when he was an adolescent
living in wisconsin in 1999 then 15 year old thomas was training to be an altar boy at st
anne's parish in the wisconsin town of somerset there he had met a 26 year old seminary
intern named ryan erickson a bespectacled baby-faced man with the dark hair a year later father eriksen became an
ordained priest and was assigned to saint patrick's church in hudson sixteen-year-old thomas got into some
minor trouble with the law and was assigned community service to be completed under father ericsson's
supervision father erickson lived at the house adjacent to saint patrick's church
known as the rectory according to thomas when he visited the rectory father eriksen would apply him with beer and
liquor which he stored in a model globe the pair would play drinking games that required thomas to drink a shot
every time he lost over the course of two years thomas estimated he consumed around 1200
beers and 1200 shots in father eriksen's presence the drinking occasionally caused him to
vomit or pass out at which point father eriksen would say all the college kids are going to laugh
at you you need to hold your liquor better when speaking to the bismarck police thomas also hinted that there had been
some other inappropriate behaviour from father ericson but the issue of underage drinking was
the primary focus of his report on april 8 2003 the report was forwarded to the hudson police department
but because it simply appeared to involve someone serving alcohol to minors it had gone unnoticed
when detective knops read the report in early 2004 he decided to get in touch with thomas
smith to discuss the issue further on april 9 thomas was interviewed about the times
he spent with father eriksen he claimed that during their drinking sessions the pair would often lie
side by side in bed dressed only in boxer shorts discussing subjects such as masturbation
father ericsson also revealed that he often got drunk and participated in orgies
he disliked the fact that thomas had a girlfriend and tried to convince the teenager to
join the priesthood instead according to thomas on approximately 10 occasions father
eriksen had groped his genitals and attempted to intertwine their legs together while these assaults never escalated to
intercourse thomas said he was often so drunk that he couldn't remember what had happened
the next morning around this time he became prone to mood swings and later struggled with alcoholism and
physical intimacy with his girlfriend thomas hadn't realised that his experience with father eriksen was wrong
until he took a psychology course in college that described the way predators groom their victims
it was only then that he reported father erickson's inappropriate behavior to the
bismarck police for detective knobs the conversation with thomas led to the crucial discovery that there
was someone who'd been living in hudson at the time of dan o'connell and james ellison's murder
who might have something to hide father ryan erickson had arrived at st patrick's church in hudson
shortly after being ordained in june 2000 he began working alongside the church pastor
father peter schlinsky who was almost immediately taken aback by the young priest's extremely
conservative views and approach to spiritual guidance while the other priests wore suits to
church father eriksen preferred to wear a traditional full-length cassock he also liked to
speak latin when offering mass even though his latin skills were poor and the mainstream catholic church had
ceased conducting latin services during the early 1960s father eriksen's sermons predominantly
fixated on sexual sins he often cried and sobbed as he preached from the pulpit or spoke to members of
his congregation denouncing those whom he deemed to be lukewarm catholics an elderly parishioner named gene
ritchie eventually grew so irritated by father eriksen's constant tears that she confronted him during one of his
outbursts asking aren't you ever doing it a bit can't you quit crying to gene's surprise
he was able to stop sobbing instantly while the more moderate catholics who attended mass at st
patrick's found father eriksen off-putting the conservative worshippers applauded
him with one describing him as the ultimate priest who was extremely faithful to his
religion there was a school associated with the church and father erickson was responsible for teaching sex education
to its students he lectured them on the evils of contraception abortion and masturbation and often
forced them to confess their sins to him conservative parents appreciated father
eriksen's approach and wanted him to take on a larger role at the school but other parents and the school
principal were upset by the things he was telling their children father ericsson also preached against
masturbation in a weekly newsletter that he emailed to his congregation he criticized the some of the women who
attended st patrick's writing even sunday mass is not safe from the immodest address of some
devils they come to read give out holy communion etc looking like an advertisement
their immodest address says to all present i'm easy please go home and masturbate
to my beautiful body the sad thing is that some do father eriksen became particularly close
to the conservative members of his congregation and sometimes stayed at their houses
as he was known to have a passion for firearms one family gifted him a nine millimeter
semi-automatic pistol which he took to wearing underneath his cassock one day the church pastor father
shloshinsky became extremely unwell and was admitted to hospital father eriksen told his congregation
that the pastor was sick because he had a demon inside him and added that if father shlashinsky died he hoped
to be promoted to pastor eventually some of the parishioners complained about father erickson to
bishop rafael fless who governed the diocese that saint patrick's fell under in response bishop fliss met with father
eriksen and instructed him to tone down his behavior though father eriksen complained to his
supporters that some congregants were out to get him nothing else came of the matter he
remained at st patrick's until september 2003 just over a year and a half after the murders of dan o'connell and
james ellison at which point he was reassigned to serve the our lady of sorrows parish
in the small city of ladysmith located approximately 107 miles northeast of hudson
in november 2004 investigators working on the double homicide decided it was time to speak with father eriksen
directly by this point he was 31 years old and had moved to saint mary's church in the wisconsin
city of hurley on thursday november 11 detectives petite and knops travelled to hurley explaining
to father eriksen that they wanted to speak to him purely because he had been the priest of
the church that dan o'connell attended at the time of the murders father eriksen welcomed the two
detectives into the rectory where he lived he explained that the last time he had
seen dan was on january 30 2002 about a week before his murder when the pair had been driving together to attend
a burial at the cemetery dan had mentioned that he planned to attend confession soon
and was also hoping to have his house blessed which father eriksen said he would be
happy to do any time he theorised to the detectives that the mafia could be responsible for
the double homicide as he had heard rumors that dan's father had been associated with the organized
crime syndicate until the group had turned against him when asked about his whereabouts on the
day of the murders father eriksen said he'd been out buying cigars when he returned to the church at around
3 p.m his secretary informed him what had happened he instructed the secretary to call and
ask if he needed to visit the scene to perform the victim's last riots before taking it upon himself to go
to the o'connell family funeral home police at the scene had denied him entry so he had gone to council dan's wife or
jenny at her residence instead father eriksen explained quote i just wanted her to know that i was
there i was new at this you know i never had dealt with anybody dying from a tragedy before
later that evening he had conducted a mass in which he asked his congregation to pray
for dan's family during the course of the interview father eriksen explained that he was an
avid gun collector and hunter and that he planned to go deer hunting soon he said he mainly used single shot
shotguns for hunting because quote my grandfather used to say if you can't hit it with one you
shouldn't be out there shooting he also showed the detectives his extensive handgun collection
describing his ruger red hawk 44 caliber magnum revolver as being quote like a two dollar [ __ ]
the detectives also noticed the model globe filled with bottles of liquor that thomas smith had described in his
original report roughly an hour into the interview father eriksen began speculating as to
how dan o'connell and james ellison's bodies had been found remarking if i had to say
what took place i would say james was at the door and to dan was at the desk he also stated his belief that each man
was only shot once [Music] these comments immediately alarmed detectives petite and
not as police had been consistently tight-lipped about the crime scene and had never released these details
when they asked father eriksen how he knew this information he explained that he'd either been told
by father james de bruzi the priest who had gone to anoint the victims bodies or by one of dan's
siblings detectives pati and knops were troubled by father eriksen's revelations
after the interview they asked for his permission to take his handguns in for examination
which he agreed to a forensic examination determined that none of the firearms had been used
to commit the double homicide but investigators remained suspicious father de bruzi and dan's siblings all
denied providing father eriksen with information as to how the bodies of dan and
james were found moreover the person of interest who was witnessed entering a white
mid-sized vehicle near the funeral home on the day of the murders shared the same build as father eriksen
at the time he owned a pale silver buick regal which was a mid-sized car that could
easily be mistaken as white the detectives requested a search warrant for father eriksen's rectory
and then asked him to attend a follow-up interview at the rusk county sheriff's department in the city of lady smith
father eriksen agreed and on tuesday december 7 2004 he arrived at the station without a
lawyer this time when the detectives asked how he knew where the bodies of dan and
james had been found father eriksen said that while he wasn't entirely sure he believed he'd heard the details from
either the media or gossip in the church office one of the detectives responded quote
in the course of this investigation never once has anybody from the hudson police department
ever mentioned where the bodies were nor in the course of this investigation through
1900 some people has anybody ever brought up a speculation a probability a possibility
or anything like that as far as where the bodies were if that hasn't been brought up in 1900
and some interviews why do you know that father eriksen simply repeated that he'd
overheard the information somewhere when detectives raised the subject of him having behaved
inappropriately with minors father eriksen appeared visibly shocked and began to noticeably perspire
he conceded that he had served alcohol to at least four miners and had also laid in bed
fully clothed alongside one of the teenage boys but denied ever having sexual contact
with any child or adult father eriksen described his behaviour as foolish and acknowledged that dan
o'connell wouldn't have approved of such actions had he known about them stating dan was an outstanding member of
the community as the interview went on it was obvious that father eriksen was becoming
increasingly uncomfortable he claimed there was a group of five women in hudson who loathed him
and he suspected they were making trouble for him when the detectives asked whether he
would tell them who killed dan and james if he had that information father eriksen replied if i knew
and it was outside the sacrament of reconciliation i would tell you he admitted that the
fact that he was being considered a suspect made him nervous and reminded the detectives that he had
willingly cooperated by submitting his guns for examination father eriksen stated
if i did it and i've been living with it for this long and you guys had me cornered here i'd
break i'd tell you i know i would i think the guilt would be overwhelming i really do
he admitted to having suicidal thoughts in the past and said that he would be having those
thoughts again if he had committed the murders the detectives were concerned that he
might be at risk of harming himself and offered to take father ericsson to a hospital for treatment
but he emphatically denied being suicidal father ericsson agreed to undergo a polygraph test
and an appointment was scheduled for the following week on monday december 13 a state public
defender called the hudson police department to inform them that they would be representing father eriksen from there
on in and their client would not be taking the polygraph test three days later a warrant was granted
for police to search father ericson's rectory inside investigators discovered a number
of post-it notes scrawled with brief messages although they were signed with father
eriksen's first name of ryan they weren't written in his handwriting one read try me on for size
i'm upstairs come up when you're through another said i'm up in my room some of the notes finished with xo xo
to the detectives the notes suggested that father eriksen may be having an intimate relationship with another
individual which violated the life of celibacy that catholic priests were required to adhere
to they also found a white paper bag that had a poem written on it in father eriksen's handwriting
the poem consisted of four stanzas and repeatedly featured racial slurs against the black americans
detailing how they would be massacred by a quote fighting white boys from the four
corners of the united states when the detectives switched on father eriksen's personal computer
they found a document that appeared to be his last will and testament it had been written a month earlier on
november 15 just four days after his first police interview and was then modified the day after his
second interview the will had been written in the past tense and contained statements such as i tried to make a
difference which sparked concerns that father eriksen may be suicidal once again investigators confiscated his
gun collection giving them to the church deacon for safe keeping they also seized 22 other items of
interest for further examination including father eriksen's bible and both his and his secretary's
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podcast app brought to you by pushkin industries when word spread to some of father
eriksen's friends in hudson that he was being investigated by police they wanted to make sure he was all
right on friday december 17 local men richard reams and tom burns drove the almost
200 mile journey to hurley to visit their old friend for the weekend they arrived at saint mary's church in
the evening and father eriksen welcomed them into his home the following day father eriksen told richard that the
police had been quite aggressive in their questioning of him he said they had asked whether he'd had
any sexual affairs with either men or women which left him feeling violated he adamantly denied to richard that he
had anything to do with the murders of dan and james that evening the three friends went out for dinner
richard and tom noticed that while father eriksen was obviously upset he didn't seem distraught he remarked
that his life had been lived to a fuller extent than most 80 year olds which struck richard and tom azad but
they didn't press the matter after their meal the trio returned to the rectory and watched two films
before retiring to their respective beds the next morning richard got up just after 7am
and greeted father eriksen before spending some time getting ready for mass a short while later he went outside to
clear some snow from his truck that had fallen overnight but stopped suddenly hanging from the roof of the external
walkway that connected directory to the church was a body with a rope wrapped around
its neck richard raced to the rectory door and rang the bell before spotting the church's maintenance
worker clearing some snow outside richard called out to him father ryan has killed himself
but the employee assured him it must be a mannequin his father eriksen was prone to playing
practical jokes placated richard went back to his truck to remove the snow before going inside to tell his friends
to take the mannequin down he found tom but father eriksen was nowhere to be seen
richard and tom went back outside and noticed that there was frost on one of the mannequins ears
thinking it was unlikely that frost would form on a mannequin they raced into the rectory where lying
on a table they discovered three letters and a ring they had given father eriksen
two years earlier police were called to the scene and confirmed it was father eriksen's body that was hanging
in the rectory hallway within minutes a television news camera crew also arrived by complete coincidence
they had learned of the investigation into father eriksen and had planned to interview him about
the abuse allegations hurley police chief daniel aspar who had attended father eriksen's church
fronted the media to explain that the priest's death was being investigated and an autopsy would be conducted
chief of spama later revealed that he had spoken to father eriksen in the afternoon prior to his death
and had appeared to be doing well elaborating further chiefer spama stated under wisconsin law i could have
detained him if i thought he was a danger to himself or others but when i talked to him he
assured me he was fine he had an attorney he had friends he had support and he was fine
early media reports about the priest's death stated that police were refusing to confirm or deny
whether there was a connection to the 2002 murders of dan o'connell and james ellison on tuesday december 21
a spokesperson for the catholic diocese of superior stated that they didn't know of any
evidence linking father eriksen to the crime a deacon from saint mary's church told the daily globe that eriksen had
nothing to do with the murders stating we do not believe he did it because of his personality
it was not within him that is how we feel from our hearts father eriksen's friend tom burns
described him to the associated press as a man's man who loved hunting fishing and the actor john wayne tom added
quote there's no doubt in my mind that eriksen had this sexual problem i believe
that's true there's also no doubt in my mind that he didn't murder anyone that didn't
happen the three letters richard and tom had found in father eriksen's home turned out to be suicidal notes one was
addressed to them another was for his parents and one wasn't directed at anyone in
particular in the general letter father eriksen addressed the allegations of his sexual
misconduct writing ultimately i have grown tired of this weary world and of all the evil it has unleashed in
the last 100 years i'm extremely tired and disappointed with myself and all of the evils i have all too
often performed i do not know why i did what i did believe me i have often thought and prayed about it
why was i so lustful was i wired that way too easy an excuse i chose be it in the heat of passion to
do things i did please believe when i say that i was always sorry for my actions
after i performed them i did not however kill dan o'connell or james or anyone for
that matter none of my guns matched no dna of mine was found no one saw me leaving the funeral parlor
on thursday december 23 chiefer spama released the coroner's report confirming that
father eriksen had died by suicide within the theology of the catholic church suicide is considered a mortal
sin as taking one's own life is to wrongly assert dominion over what is god's regardless father eriksen was given a
catholic funeral service at saint matthew's church in his hometown of campbell's port
wisconsin with five religious leaders officiating meanwhile the investigation into his
possible involvement in the murders of dan o'connell and to james ellison continued father eriksen's friends were
angry uncooperative and resented investigators attempts to question them with tom burns telling one officer quote
i want to tear your [ __ ] head off but then i'd get arrested in early january several of his friends
were subpoenaed to give evidence as part of the ongoing investigation slowly more details about father
eriksen's life began to trickle out though many described him as a jovial person who enjoyed playing pranks and
having a laugh those he attended high school with remembered him as a violent bully with a
bad temper who picked on smaller children he had been polite and deferential when
around adults but around friends he swore drank and told crude jokes he had also
exhibited extreme cruelty towards animals with some old friends saying that he would pour water down
gopher holes then hit the animals with a golf club when they emerged on one occasion father eriksen had made
a small electric chair to execute a gopheron and he was known for burning animal
remains and crucifying them on stakes his callous treatment of animals continued well into adulthood
when he adopted a rescue dog named beast witnesses often saw father eriksen beating the dog
and he was known to stub out his cigars on beast's ears multiple witnesses also reported having
seen erickson point a bb gun or pretend to aim a rifle out of the rectory window
at the parishioners he disliked as they exited the church car park he also harbored extremely racist views
which he concealed from others when eriksen was in his final year of high school
his father who was a corrections officer was transferred to another town more than 200 miles away
while the rest of the family relocated ericsson had gone to live with a priest so that he could continue at his school
and graduate with his classmates during this time the religious convictions he had held since he was a
young child grew even stronger after graduating in may of 1992 at the age of 18 he entered the
immaculate heart of mary seminary in the city of winona minnesota that summer eriksen went camping in
northern wisconsin and met a 14 year old boy who was staying at the same campground
one night he invited the boy to visit the trailer where he was staying and after telling him scary stories
about the devil he rested the boy's head in his lap and started massaging his back
the boy eventually removed his clothes and eriksen fondled his genitals before offering to perform oral sex on him
the boy refused and returned to his own trailer where he reported the incident to his
mother who in turn phoned the police the case was investigated but as the 14 year old had a history of depression and
was receiving therapy for emotional trauma investigators ultimately concluded that
he wasn't a reliable witness and that it would be difficult to prove the allegations
though the county district attorney suspected there had been some impropriety on erickson's part
he gave him the benefit of the doubt and decided not to file charges ericsson continued with his religious
studies and was eventually ordained on june 4 2000 it was shortly after this that he was
sent to saint patrick's parish in hudson where he spent the next two years grooming and assaulting thomas smith
the teenager who later reported the abuse to bismarck police in 2003 one of thomas's friends who was given
the pseudonym edward jones was also present for a number of father eriksen's drinking
sessions at the rectory edward was 14 when he first started spending time with the priest
but three years later he realised that he was being groomed for quote more than being a good
christian investigators soon learned that father eriksen's preference for the company of
young boys had been noticed by some parishioners at st patrick's on one occasion a church-goer had
observed him swimming with a group of boys at a rural retreat and noticed that he
was rubbing mud on the boy's backs another parishioner had once seen father eriksen share an
intimate embrace with a young man outside the rectory analysis of father eriksen's personal
computer uncovered a hidden folder containing more than 40 explicit images of prepubescent and teenage males
engaged in sexual acts in a file path labelled my pictures slash boys police also found photographs of
boys sleeping at the last two rectories where father eriksen had resided [Music]
in addition to gathering evidence that father eriksen had groomed and abused the miners detectives
also received several statements relating to the murders of dan o'connell and james ellison a local journalist who
was one of the first to arrive at the funeral home on the day of the shooting claimed that
at around 2 30 pm she had noticed a baby-faced priest dressed in a cassock standing nearby this description matched
father eriksen although police couldn't recall seeing him there nor could father de bruzi the priest who
had gone to anoint the victim's bodies located several blocks northwest of the o'connell family funeral home
was the carmelite monastery one of the nuns that resided there sister gemma reported that between 2 30
and 2 45 pm on the day of the murders father eriksen had visited and told her that dan o'connell
and his assistant had both been shot he claimed to have gone to anoint the bodies but had been turned away
this was an interesting detail because at that point the police hadn't yet notified the
public about the murders and father eriksen wasn't at st patrick's when they called to request a
priest therefore it posed the question of how he could have known about the crime
unless he had some involvement then about three weeks after father eriksen's suicide
the police received a letter from deacon russell lundgren of saint mary's church
in hurley although he had previously told the media that he didn't believe father eriksen could have committed the
murders deacon lundgren revealed that father eriksen had met with him on november 12
2004 the day after his first police interview he had been visibly upset and stared out the window as he confided
that he was being investigated for the unsolved double homicide in hudson as the conversation progressed father
eriksen became angrier and angrier eventually declaring to deacon lundgren quote i done it and they're going to
catch me do you know what they do with young guys in prison especially priests [Music]
for investigators this confession was proof that they had been correct to suspect
father eriksen yet they still didn't have a clear explanation as to why he would target a
funeral home director and his trainee the investigation continued for the following
two months during which they uncovered some fascinating details in march 2005 hudson resident mary pagle
who also drove the st patrick school bus contacted the police to make a report on the morning of february 5 2002
the day of the murders mary pagel had run into dan o'connell at the hudson walmart
and the pair decided to have a coffee together as they chatted dan asked mary if she
had ever seen father eriksen touch a child in an inappropriate manner when she replied that she hadn't
dan then inquired if she'd noticed whether the priest mainly spent time with boys or girls
mary answered that father eriksen mostly ignored the girls and seemed to associate more with boys
dan then revealed that he had a meeting with father eriksen scheduled for later that day
during which he planned to confront the priest regarding an allegation that he'd sexually assaulted
a boy mary was concerned and had warned dan to be careful she suggested he consult police before
speaking to father eriksen but dan assured her that he could take care of himself
after her coffee with dan mary had driven to st patrick's church where she saw father
eriksen leave directory in his silver buick regal at 11 15 am rather than wearing his usual cassock he
was dressed in jeans and a light-coloured t-shirt in the days following the murders mary
met with dan's family and told them about the coffee they'd shared but she neglected to mention what dan
had said about father eriksen it was only after father eriksen's suicide that it occurred to her that the
murders could be linked to dan's plan to confront the priest a report was also made by hudson
resident michael swamby who recalled having an interesting conversation with father eriksen
several months after dan and james were killed although father eriksen had told police
that the last time he'd seen dan was a week before his death he got drunk and told
michael that he'd had an argument with dan the night before the murders he didn't mention what the argument had
been about but investigators deduced it had likely related to his inappropriate behaviour with
children with the reports from mary pagel and michael swamby detectives finally had evidence
connecting father eriksen to dan o'connell and a clear motive for the crime they theorized that the priest knew dean
intended to take action against him and had killed him to prevent his crimes from being
exposed when james ellison unexpectedly witnessed the murder father eriksen killed him as well
the fact that he'd worn civilian clothes which he thought were beneath him suggested the crime was planned in
advance and he was attempting to avoid detection altogether investigators compiled 700 interviews
and 18 boxes of evidence relating to the murders on august 24 2005 hudson police chief richard trendy
submitted all investigative material to the saint croix county district attorney
eric johnson so that he could determine what the next step would be the available options included a
coroner's inquest known as a john doe hearing further investigation or leaving the case as it stood
before announcing his decision mr johnson met with dan o'connell and james ellison's loved ones to brief them
on the evidence that had been accumulated both families were adamant that the evidence be heard in court
so mr johnson concluded that a john doe hearing be held in response an attorney representing
father eriksen's parents released a statement on their behalf claiming that the evidence was weak and
would never be enough for a jury to convict their son if he was still alive dan o'connell's father tom had a
different reaction telling the media that the entire case made sense to him now that he'd viewed the evidence he
stated i am sure justice will come it is hard for anyone to look at the fact that there is a priest involved
the john doe hearing commenced in the sancroy county court on monday october 3 2005 and was presided over by judge eric
lundell it was closed to the public but 15 members of dan and james's family were able to attend as
were several reporters a two-page biography of father eriksen's life was presented to the court
detailing his history of anti-social and at times criminal behavior it was revealed that
father eriksen not only exhibited a pattern of sexual misconduct from an early age
but that the church had been aware of this before he was ordained while studying at the immaculate heart
of mary seminary ericsson had openly admitted that his first sexual encounter occurred when he was just six years old
and had involved a four-year-old male cousin in 1994 while erickson was still attending the
seminary the diocese of superior was also informed of the incident at the campground
where eriksen had assaulted the 14 year old boy two years earlier this led bishop raphael fless to remove eriksen
from all duties that had him associating with young people and referred him for a psychiatric
evaluation focused on his sexual interests a psychiatrist named dr george planowski
met with erickson and concluded that he had no significant reservations regarding
him joining the priesthood father eriksen was consequently moved to the st paul seminary in minnesota but the
admissions committee were concerned about his history and referred him to psychologist dr mark
hanson for another evaluation dr hanson was troubled by eriksen's failure to reflect
clearly on these past incidents and reported having serious reservations about him
as this finding conflicted with dr planowski's assessment the seminary requested a third
evaluation be conducted by another psychologist this time dr j mcnamara concluded that
erickson's behavior was within normal limits and that he didn't exhibit predatory
or manipulative traits dr mcnamara added that his only concern was that quote ericsson might be
vulnerable to women who would make romantic or affectionate initiatives with him
thomas smith the boy who father eriksen had abused during his time at saint patrick's
parish also gave evidence at the hearing about his experiences with the priest the court heard how prior to his suicide
father eriksen had given detectives inconsistent answers and was unable to provide a clear alibi
for the time of the murders he had claimed that he left saint patrick's church at 1 30 p.m to buy
cigars but a church-goer named betty caruso gave evidence that contradicted this
claim betty lived across the street from st patrick's and father eriksen sometimes visited her
house to escape the frequent phone calls made to the rectory at around 11 15 am on the day of the
murders father eriksen had asked betty if he could nap on her couch that afternoon
which she agreed to she later went out returning home at approximately 1 45 pm to find father eriksen seemingly asleep
on her couch dressed in his usual priestly garb mary pagel the bus driver who had met
with dan o'connell on the day of his murder told the court what dan had said to her
and also described having seen father eriksen leave directory at about 11 15 am wearing jeans and a
t-shirt deacon russell lundgren also testified that father eriksen had confessed to
committing the murders shortly after police began investigating him throughout the course of the hearing no
physical evidence supporting the case was submitted although investigators had previously
examined father eriksen's firearm collection they never found the gun that killed dan
and james it only took one day for judge lundell to rule that father ryan erickson had
most likely committed two counts of first-degree intentional homicide as well as felony sexual assault
he told the court on a scale of one to ten i would consider it a ten it is a very
strong case of circumstantial evidence father eriksen's parents remained convinced that the case against
their son was weak and later claimed that he had been framed but the families of the victims were
pleased with the findings throughout their hearing james ellison's mother sally had been crocheting a baby blanket
for her expected grandson whose due date was the same as james's birthday at the end of the day she remarked
there are so many emotions at a time like this we are just glad this is done and we can
move on it will never go away because we think about james all the time when asked how she felt
about the fact a priest was responsible for her son's murder sally replied only god is without sin
he is not god he is a human being dan o'connell's wife jenny who father eriksen had
visited and comforted on the afternoon of the murders admitted that her catholic faith had
been destroyed by the crime she was particularly distraught that father eriksen had officiated at dan's
funeral and at a church event for her son noting that she felt betrayed and invaded by the priest
dan's brother mike insisted that father ericson didn't represent the church as a
whole stating i think a god is as sad as everyone today within four days of the hearing's
conclusion three more individuals contacted police claiming they had been sexually
assaulted by father eriksen one survivor had been on the high school wrestling team with eriksen
and was aged 15 when eriksen was 17 years old one day eriksen invited the younger boy
to his home where they drank alcohol and watched pornography together before falling
asleep the boy laid awoke to eriksen groping his genitals he left immediately and they never spoke
again although the murder investigation was closed hudson police chief richard trendy said he and his team
welcomed any new information and would refer the sexual assault reports to the relevant jurisdictions
the issue of child sexual abuse by catholic priests was first publicised in 1985
before receiving further attention around the world throughout the 1990s in 2002 the same year that dan o'connell
and james ellison were murdered the boston globe newspaper published a series of articles exposing
hundreds of cases of abuse within the church their research indicated that more than
800 people had accused 248 priests based within the boston archdiocese of abusing them as children
when these allegations were made public members of the community were outraged to learn
that many of the accused were still practicing as priests there was also evidence to indicate that
the church hierarchy had concealed these crimes by failing to refer reports of abuse to
law enforcement when offenders were reported by a victim or their parents bishops often didn't remove them from
the priesthood but instead moved them to new parishes where they would have access to other
children in the wake of the boston globe expose the us conference of catholic bishops
adopted a policy requiring all dioceses to establish boards separate from the church administration
to review charges of clergy sexual misconduct when the findings from the hearing into
the murders of den o'connell and james ellison were made public survivors of clergy abuse
expressed their dismay that father eriksen had been ordained despite what church officials
knew about him peter eisley the midwest coordinator of the survivors network of those abused by priests said the case
raised serious questions about the church's supposed reforms peter asked quote where was the review board that
was supposed to investigate reports of sexual abuse by priests why didn't they review this file
he described dan o'connell as a hero stating he tried to help people like us he needs to be honored by cleaning up
what is going on in response several church representatives released statements condemning father eriksen as
a troubled individual who had concealed his true nature reverend jim brinkman who had supervised
eriksen at minnesota's saint paul's seminary between 1996 and 2000 said eriksen was a smart man who knew how to
conceal the secrets of his life and control how others perceived him bishop raphael fless who governed the
diocese that all of father eriksen's churches fell under was accused of mishandling allegations
of clergy sexual abuse he had known of the accusations against father eriksen prior to his being
ordained and was also alleged to have helped conceal the crimes of another priest
who abused up to 200 deaf children at a boarding school in milwaukee in the wake of the john doe hearing into
den and to james's murders bishop fliss released a statement that read in part quote i know that
ultimate responsibility for much of what has taken place rests upon my shoulders while i am truly
sorry for not doing more to find out what happened i must apologize to the entire diocesan family and the
people of northern wisconsin for these tragedies i know the lord is willing to forgive i
hope you will find it in your hearts to do the same bishop flesh promised to reach out to
dan and to james's loved ones but made no attempt to contact either family on november 1 2005 the fondulac
commonwealth reporter newspaper revealed that both the o'connell and ellison families had retained an attorney
who was known for representing victims of sex abuse in lawsuits against religious
organizations the families told the newspaper that they believed the murders could have
been prevented had the catholic church properly disciplined eriksen when they first
learned of him abusing minors they wanted church leaders to be held accountable for their failures
and called for further reforms to prevent future sexual abuse cases that afternoon bishop fliss was filmed
for the television news as he read a statement to the parishioners of saint mary's church in
hurley he told the congregation that he should have paid more attention to the red
flags raised by father eriksen's conduct and apologized for not listening to those who had questioned erickson's
priesthood when he divided the catholic community of hudson the o'connell family were unhappy with
this response the following day dan's sister kathy said bishop rafael fliss's purported apology
delivered last night not to us personally or directly but only to a tv camera was way too
little way too late in fact it was a joke and a slap in the face dan's mother janet requested a meeting
with bishop fliss stressing that action was needed she stated i don't expect an apology i expect a
confession i want to know what bishop fliss did and why he did it if he knew what we think he knew he
should be reprimanded for what he did and if he slips away that's on his conscience
two weeks later members of the o'connell and ellison families flew to washington
dc where the us conference of catholic bishops were holding their annual meeting
in an effort to speak with church leaders family members stood outside the hotel where the conference was taking
place holding photographs of dan and james sally ellison told a reporter from the
washington post quote because of their negligence my son is dead i think that's a pretty
good reason for them to listen to me don't you the bishops refused to meet with the families
prompting their attorney jeff anderson to comment there are over 200 bishops in there and
they can't find one to listen to us on january 15 2006 just over three months after the john doe hearing
bishop bliss finally addressed the congregation at st patrick's church in hudson
700 people attended with the o'connell and ellison families sitting in the front pews bishop flesh
apologized and promised systemic changes in the way the church handled sexual abuse
cases including better evaluation of priests and improved communication with parishes
when one parishioner asked why their concerns about father eriksen's conduct as a priest
weren't taken seriously bishop fliss replied i think i got more letters praising him
than condemning him fless noted that he should have appointed a group to look into the matter more closely
the following month the o'connell family met bishop fless to discuss a five-point
plan they had drafted for the church to reform its handling of sexual abuse they described the meeting as a good
first step but despite their high hopes no further action was taken in august 2006 the o'connells filed a
civil lawsuit against 194 bishops throughout the country seeking the disclosure of names and
locations of clergy members accused of molesting children by doing so janet o'connell said that
the family was finishing a job dance started her husband tom clarified to the media
quote we're not looking for money we're looking for people the ellison family declined to join the
suit on account of not being catholic and thus feeling like they lacked credibility in the matter
however in december 2006 they filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the diocese
seeking an unspecified amount of damages which they hoped to use to start a foundation in james's name
their plan for the foundation was to fund programs to prevent child sexual abuse
and provide support to survivors one year later on december 28 2007 judge eugene harrington threw out the
o'connell's civil lawsuit he ruled that the diocese couldn't be forced to reveal information
about how the church dealt with sex abuse by priests as it violated the first amendment
and had no basis under wisconsin law dan's brother tom expressed his disappointment at the decision
asking where does church and state the first amendment protect a molester nine months later on september 23 2008
the ellison's wrongful death lawsuit was also dismissed judge paul lance deemed it too remote that the diocese
would have had reason to believe that father eriksen would murder someone even if they'd known about his violent
tendencies and possession of child abuse material judge lance concluded the diocese couldn't
have foreseen that murder would follow as a result over the years that followed james's
parents sally and carsten did their best to move forward with their lives approximately nine years after their
son's murder they took a trip to ireland and participated in a catholic mass which they found to be especially
healing they also shared their story with grief support groups and other organizations just after the
10th anniversary of james's death sally told a reporter from the leader telegram
quote there will always be a hole where james should be in our lives but you can't shut yourself
off we've learned over the years that we have been able to help others deal with
tragedies dan's wife jenny and the couple's two children had left the catholic church following the
murders and jenny later started working as a clerk for the hudson police department
though the pain of dan's loss stayed with her she took comfort in the fact that her husband made
such a positive impact on his community quote our children are proud of who they
are and they like that people remember their father so well dan's mother janet passed away in 2017
followed by his father tom in 2019 dan's brother mike still operates the o'connell family funeral home in hudson
where a permanent garden memorial to dan has been planted out the front another marks its entrance and a celtic
cross surrounded by flowers lies at its center for those who knew dan the memorial provides some comfort with
one friend telling the o'connells it is nice to drive by the funeral home and smile
rather than cry trellises crafted by dan's loved ones form a border around the garden and the prayer of saint
francis of assisi is engraved on a limestone rock the prayer reads in part where there is hatred let me sow love
where there is injury pardon where there is doubt faith where there is despair hope
where there is darkness light and where there is sadness joy [Music] [Music] you

Case 151: Dan O’Connell & James Ellison

In the early afternoon of Tuesday, February 5 2002, Saint Croix County Medical Officer Marty Shanklin headed over to The O’Connell Family Funeral Home to conduct a routine visit...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research – Jessica Forsayeth Writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-151-dan-oconnell-james-ellison

Brief Summary

The episode details the 2002 murders of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison, linking Father Ryan Erickson to the crime and exploring community impact.

Key points

The O'Connell Family Funeral Home Tragedy. A double homicide shakes the Hudson community as beloved funeral director Dan O'Connell and trainee James Ellison are found dead.
Community Mourning. Thousands gather for Dan O'Connell's funeral, the largest in Hudson's history, as the community grieves.
Community Remembers Dan and James. A quiet remembrance ceremony for Dan and James was held on the one-year anniversary of their deaths, attended by 300 people.
Detective Knops Makes a Key Discovery. Detective Knops uncovers a report from a man named Thomas Smith, linking him to the investigation.
Father Eriksen's Alarming Speculation. During an interview, Father Eriksen reveals details about the crime scene that had not been made public.
Father Eriksen's Disturbing Notes. Investigators find notes in Father Eriksen's rectory suggesting inappropriate relationships, violating celibacy.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I'm so proud that I can help people in the worst time of their lives.

James Ellison expressing pride in his work as a trainee at the funeral home.

5:33WatchAug 1, 2020

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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