Carl Ericsson waited 53 years to kill Norman Johnson over a high school humiliation that may never have happened.
The 73-year-old shot his former classmate twice in the face after Johnson answered yes when asked if he was Norman Johnson at his front door.
Ericsson, a retired insurance agent from South Dakota, had tracked down Johnson after more than five decades. When detectives asked why he had murdered a man he hadn't seen for 53 years, Ericsson said he was getting even for a locker room prank Johnson and other students had played on him in 1957.
The Uncorroborated Memory
According to Ericsson, football players had forced him to wear a jock strap on his head during the incident he had brooded over for decades. The prosecutor said he had no other details about the locker room story, which was never corroborated, with no one remembering or acknowledging it other than Carl.
Ericsson had graduated from North Dakota State University and recently retired from a 25-year insurance career. He had been married to his wife Deanna for more than 44 years.
A Community Mourns
More than 600 people attended Johnson's funeral — about one-sixth of Madison's population.
Johnson's daughter Terri Wiblemo took the witness stand and stared into Ericsson's eyes during sentencing. She opened with "I'm speaking to you, Carl," noting that Father's Day was coming and her dad looked forward to his favorite meal of fried chicken, potato salad and rhubarb pie.
Another daughter, Beth Ribstein, addressed the court and accused Ericsson of envying Johnson's success in the Madison community.
Mental Health and Violence
A psychiatrist found that Ericsson had a long history of anxiety problems and severe depression that was mostly treatment-resistant. His thinking was irrational and his judgment impaired.
Ericsson's brother said in an affidavit that Carl suffered from depression and alcoholism. Ericsson was carrying a Glock 45-caliber pistol with a 17-round clip, one of many handguns he owned.
Life Without Parole
Carl Ericsson pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder. Before sentencing, he apologized to Norman Johnson's widow and said he wished he could turn the clock back.
On June 16, 2012, a judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole for a high school memory that existed only in his mind.