ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A former Columbia Daily Tribune janitor who testified he saw convicted killer Ryan Ferguson at the scene of sports editor Kent Heitholt's death in 2001 now says his previous testimony was a lie.
Jerry Trump says he was coached to identify Ferguson and accomplice Chuck Erickson by former Boone County prosecutor Kevin Crane, who is now a circuit court judge.
Trump's videotaped testimony was shown Monday morning in a Cole County courtroom at the start of a weeklong hearing in which Ferguson is seeking a new trial.
Crane has previously denied Trump's revised account. He is scheduled to testify on Friday.
Ferguson is serving a 40-year sentence for second-degree murder and robbery in the strangling death of Heitholt in the newspaper's parking lot. Erickson will also testify this week.