UPDATE: Erickson released from Missouri prison on parole

A high-profile inmate who pleaded guilty to the 2001 killing of the “Columbia Daily Tribune” sports editor but later recanted his testimony has been released from prison on parole.

Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann tells 939 the Eagle that 38-year-old Charles Erickson was released from the Boonville Correctional Center this morning. Erickson served more than 17 years of a 25-year prison sentence and was given credit for time served in jail as well.

Erickson testified against co-defendant Ryan Ferguson in 2005, but later recanted and testified that Ferguson was innocent. The courts overturned Ryan Ferguson’s murder conviction in 2013, and Ferguson was freed from the maximum-security Jefferson City Correctional Center (JCCC).

As for sports editor Kent Heitholt’s murder, Columbia assistant police chief Jeremiah Hunter tells 939 the Eagle that it’s an open, active investigation. Hunter emphasizes that they occasionally receive calls or leads about the case and always look into it.