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Monday, December 11, 2023

The Eric Koula Double Murder Case

     Eric Koula, a 41-year-old day trader who lived in West Salem, Wisconsin with his wife and teenage son, called 911 on May 24, 2010 from his parent's house in nearby Barre to report that someone had shot and killed Dennis and Merna Koula. Homicide detectives who worked on the case soon determined that Koula's parents had been murdered three days earlier with a .22-caliber rifle. (The murder weapon was never identified.)

     After the LaCrosse County prosecutor Tim Gruenke charged Eric Koula on July 29, 2010 with two counts of first-degree murder, police officers took him into custody. According to the prosecutor, Koula, in financial trouble, murdered his parents in order to inherit their estate. While the prosecutor had motive, means and opportunity supporting his theory, it was what the state didn't have that made acquiring a conviction unlikely. What the prosecutor didn't have included a confession, an eyewitness, physical evidence pointing to Koula's guilt or the murder weapon.
     Eric Koula, represented by attorneys Jim Kolby and Keith Belzer, went on trial on June 6, 2012. In his opening remarks to the jury of five men and seven women, prosecutor Gruenke stated the defendant executed his mother as she sat at her office computer, then shot his father when he walked into the room. Eric Koula's attorneys assured the jury that their client had an airtight alibi and pointed out the obvious weakness of the prosecution's case. According to the defense theory of the murders, the victims had been killed by professional hitmen who entered the wrong house. (That doesn't sound too "professional.") The defense didn't elaborate on who had masterminded the contract killing, or why.   
     According to a forensic accountant who testified on behalf of the state, the defendant had only $3,000 in the bank and owed the IRS and several credit card companies $150,000. Shortly after his parent's violent deaths Koula had deposited into his bank a $50,000 check drawn on his father's account. 
     Investigators took the stand and testified that the defendant had planted evidence to make himself look innocent. He had written "fixed you" on a piece of paper and put it into his mailbox. The defendant hoped the note would make it look as though the killer was trying to frame him for the murders. The defendant later confessed to fabricating that evidence.
     After the state rested its case on June 14, 2012, the defense put their own forensic accountant on the stand who testified that Koula's assets exceeded his liabilities. 
     On June 16, 2010, Eric Koula took the stand on his own behalf. Questioned on direct examination by his attorney Keith Belzer, the defendant said that in 1994 he, his cousin and his father purchased a Ford dealership. Eric became president of the company, but in 2006 his father sold the business. Although his father owed him $1million from the sale of the car dealership, the defendant only received $500,000. After the sale of the company Eric began his stock trading enterprise. In 2007 he made $300,000 in profits but the following year he lost $661,000.
     In 2009 Eric's Koula's father gave him $100,000 and in May 2010 his parents promised him another $50,000. On May 20, 2010 the defendant went to his parent's home to pick up the $50,000 check. His father handed him a blank check and told him to fill it in himself. That's why he signed his father's name on the check and tried to make the signature look like his father's handwriting. According to the defendant this was the last time he saw his parent's alive. 
     On Friday, May 21, 2010, the day Dennis and Merna Koula were gunned down, the defendant detailed his activities in a way that established an airtight alibi. The next day he deposited the $50,000 check bearing his father's fake signature. 
     On Monday, May 24, 2010, someone at the school where Mrs. Koula taught called Eric to inform him his mother had not shown up for work and that no one at her house was picking up the phone. Eric drove to Barre to check on his parents. He became alarmed when he saw their cars parked in the garage. Inside the house he found his father lying dead on the home office floor and his mother at her desk slumped over the computer. After calling 911 he phoned his wife and his pastor, both of whom rushed to the scene to give him support. 
     LaCrosse County deputies took the defendant to the sheriff's office for questioning. In his statement he forgot to mention the $50,000 check he had deposited containing his father's phony signature. A week later, investigators came to his house to speak to him about the whereabouts of his son Dexter on the day of the murders. The detectives also wanted to know if the boy had access to a .22-caliber rifle. Worried that the police were going to arrest his son for the murder of his grandparents, the defendant wrote the "fixed you" note and placed it in his mailbox. He testified that he had fabricated this evidence to protect his son. 
     The defendant admitted that on July 29, 2010, when he met with detectives for the third and last time, he denied signing the $50,000 check and didn't reveal that he had written the "fixed you" note. 
     On cross-examination, prosecutor Gary Freyburg pressed the defendant regarding his financial troubles. The prosecutor reminded him about the forged $50,000 check and the planted evidence. The cross-examiner pointed out that in Koula's 911 call the defendant started out by explaining why he was at his parent's house. Once he justified his presence at the murder scene he reported his emergency. 
     The testimony phase of the trial came to a close on June 26, 2012. The outcome of the case depended entirely on whether the jurors believed the defendant's testimony. After deliberating less than a day the jury returned a verdict of guilty. Pursuant to Wisconsin law the judge had to impose a sentence of life. The judge could, however, decide to make Koula eligible for parole after serving 40 years behind bars. So the best Koula could hope for was to walk free at age 83.

     On August 12, 2012, Judge Scott Home, at the sentence hearing, said this to the convicted killer: "You took the life of the two people who gave you life and you'll spend the rest of your life incarcerated." The judge sentenced Koula to two consecutive life sentences without the chance of parole.

     On August 9, 2019, Eric Koula, acting at his own attorney in his second appeal for a new trial argued that his trial attorneys should have presented fingerprint and other evidence that supported his hit men theory of his parents' murder. A panel of judges with the Wisconsin District IV Court of Appeals denied the 59-year-old's request.

47 comments:

  1. Guilty as charged.

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  2. This guy was clearly railroaded. Yes, he did some stupid things but, Eric is innocent of this. Why didn't they look at the sister? She had the motive. She was ticked because Eric got more than her. She jumped right on the "Eric is a Murderer Wagon" very fast. If my brother was accused of killing our parents and they had the same evidence as they had for Eric, I would never believe my brother could have done it. NEVER... He is INNOCENT> plain and simple.

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    1. I SOOOOOO, did I say so? I so agree with you on this. Why didn't' they look at the sister? The parents were indeed going to cut her off too! Her parents paid ALL her bills and we going to cut her off too! She talked about her brother using his parents as a ATM, we hey world so did she! She is fake crying and there is NO evidence of her brother doing it. Why be so gung ho about it? BTW her brother was closer to his parents esp his father. He played much more involvement in his life helping him. Sorry but something is not right here. I am not necessarily saying the sister did it, but what if it was meant for the banker across the street? Or, what if she did do it??? Regardless, the faster the sister put her brother in jail for life, she gets every single dime. Dimes she never had to earn as her parents paid all her bills and she leeched off her parents as well. Sorry something is fishy here, and it's sad there is NO proof he did it, and the jurors and his sister are ready to send him to jail for LIFE over no proof whatsoever. I am all for the true murder to be in jail, but you should really get some proof before saying who actually did this brutal act of evil to that poor couple. They deserve that, if nothing else.

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    2. dude you sound shady as hell

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    3. did eric or cindy go to college? what jobs did they and their spouses have? Eric is a discusting loser, murderer. Hisparents are at part responsible for raising them as losers.Eric daytraded his dads money
      away. he had no respect for his parents, but again,the parents did not demand it. paying everything for these dumb ass adults and their spouses and kids.
      during the episode it was mentioned cindy's husband played games all day. eric's wife probably laid aroud all day with him and their kid sucking merna and dennis dry. show mentioned cindy did go to work.















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    4. Eric worked at the pharmacy with his father. When they questioned checks from the father's account that the son had signed himself, it was discovered that he often signed checks for his father at the pharmacy (per the father's instructions and with his knowledge), so Eric's signature on the father's check would not be unusual.
      The theory about it being a botched hit was suggested because a search on google maps shows the Koula house when one searches for a neighbor who had gotten a number of death threats and was worried that someone had put a hit out on him.

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    5. Please get your facts straight - Eric worked at a car dealership with his Dad and did have access to double checks. So what ? And the botched hit theory is ridiculous and no hitman uses a 22 rifle and opens dresser and goes through dresser drawers. How did the "hitman" know Merna/Dennis schedule ? Most Fridays, they went for a fish fry with friends but not 5/21/10. As for the Google Map theory, Steve Burgess was still receiving threats AFTER the Koulas were murdered.

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    6. They DID look at the his Sister, AND her husband. In fact they suspected the sister before Eric. But BOTH had a Rock Solid Alibi, NO WAY they could have been there to do it. Sorry but Eric is 100% guilty.

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  3. He not only did some 'stupid' things but they were also 'criminal' things. ....things that his sister did 'not' do. If she were involved, he would have implicated her. He's guilty.

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    1. Couldn’t agree with you more! The sister & both spouses were investigated thoroughly. Im lost as to how anyone could believe eric koula could be innocent. Hes a pathological liar, hes incompetent, lazy and most likely has helped himself to more of his fathers money than his father knew about. There are certain things compulsive liars do & eric is accomplished at that. About eric signing his fathers cheques in his fathers signature & full knowledge. Its not believable, its illegal - very.! It simply required a cheque acct that allowed either or signatures, it’s interesting as to why that wasnt done!…

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  4. I watched the this on 48 hours and i really this the man did not do this,i mean i cant believe his sister did not stand by her brother,its very strange i think.something is not right here,this man should get a new trial,he deserves that much!!!!

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    1. Id like to know if they ever did the time line to see if he could have killed his mom, waited for his dad to get home kill him, and get to the store and purchase the plant by the time on the receipt. Id really like to get ahold of the guy if this was never done, it could prove he didnt do it. just watched it on OWN and i dont think he did it either.

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    2. They did. (ID The perfect Murder)

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  5. Forging his Dad's signature, writing a fake letter, sponging off his parents and is in debt for over 100,000..no he didn't do it.

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    1. You’re not serious are you!? I can’t believe that anyone could think the sister wasn’t investigated … seriously?

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  6. The mother was at her computor desk, shemust of known it was Eric who came in, and did not get up, she knew who it was.He cashed the check the day after the killings, knowing full well his father could not do anything about it.The exact time he was to be at Shopkos, where there is absolutly no evidence that he was there, the killings took place.The "Fixed you" note was a blatent attempt to suggest the killer was taunting him.What innocent person would ever do this, the innocent would be demanding the police to find the killer, not complicate the investigation with something so indiotic.A thief would only leave the bottom drawer open when stealing, you need to close the upper ones to rifle through each drawer, and a thief would also actually steal things.This guy is guilty as charged, no resonable doubt, the jury did a great job.

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    1. There are two sorts of burglar - the amateur and the professional. The amateur makes his job slower by opening drawers starting at the top whilst the pro starts at the bottom and therefore has no need to close them again.

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    2. That’s exactly what thejudge said too & I couldn’t agree with you more!!

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  7. Guilty people tend to give much more info than needed. When he called 911, he first explained why he was in his parents' home. That is precious time that should have been used to get the police to the home. That to me, is very fishy, along w/the note & forging the check.

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  8. Just watched a re-run of this murder on tv. I was on his side until:
    1. Eric said to the investigator in his interrogation, "the cameras are lying and I was there." He was obviously not shopping for a plant for his wife at the store he said he was at AT THE TIME OF THE MURDER. His story just crumbles.
    2. He writes a note and puts it in the mailbox and starts loosing control of his body once cops get their, knowing he was lying and about to land his son in jail for murder... and hiding something, something bigger than the note...murder. My evidence: Mens Rea.

    The only hope I had for Eric was that the person that threatened his neighbor with death did it, or a hitman going to the wrong house hired by the death-threat-guy. But unfortunately, the more I think about it, the hitman would of had a picture of who he had to kill to get the job done, hence, "not really professional." The hitman would of not got paid if he did not get the right people. Eric may have known this and used it in his murder scheme.

    Eric had a demon growing in him. He must of obsessed over killing his "best friend." He must of planned this well in advance. He prepared his mind but it eventually turned on him..."fixed you."

    We are all animals and capable of anything. Some of us had the mental nurture or mental exercise to see past our own torments. Eric was immature in his core and gained a mental issue unnoticed. Bad animals need to be caged.

    I feel bad for his wife and kid who believe in him. But this tamed lion was ready to pounce, and did. Eric is only maintaining his innocence to not be totally alone, to keep his wife and kid. Eric should of thought of that before he did the ultimate immature action of taking a life. His wife and kid need to leave him. He should suffer that much and more for taking away two people. Eric is a lion, a nice one, but a lion none-the-less that had tunnel vision. Who knows what else this lion may have start doing if he was not caught? We do not accept that in this world. The sad thing is that their are many lions walking among us.

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  9. no ballastics on type of gun. no fibers matched. at least tv csi does this... i hope i never encounter a kangaroo court like this..... not much
    evidence.

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    1. So TV CSI is more "real" that an actual case? Do you know that in the 1920's, for instance, there was no ballastics or fiber matches (not until Wayne Williams in 1981) and PLENTY of people were fairly found guilty of murder. Logic gone out the window in America these days ...

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    2. FAIRLY? How do you know?! Im sure plenty of people were found guilty that were innocent!

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  10. How about you know the facts before accusing him there are a lot of innocent men in jail and only he and God know if he did it or not

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  11. This was a circumstantial evidence case as 90% of them are. When have you ever seen a murder case where there is an actual video of the killing? You'll have thousands of cases before you'll ever see anything like that. The isn't CSI and I'm surprised at the stupidity of people saying there wasn't any evidence to convict him/her. I heard a prosecutor once say each piece of circumstantial evidence is like a pencil gripped in your hand. Each pencil you add to the ones in your hand makes the pile of gripped pencils stronger. There was no one else with a motive that could have killed his parents. He was in debt to his eyeballs and his parents had the money he needed to get himself out of debt. He wasn't even smart enough to take the valuables that were in plain site. It certainly wasn't a robbery and there was only one person who was lying to the police and throw them off his scent.

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  12. Guilty. The evidence proved i, motive also got proven.

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  13. So answer me this...if he killed them for the over 700,000 worth of inheritance then y would he go and deposit a 50,000 check and risk the police finding out?Also y would he put himself there in the home finding them dead knowing full well he would be the 1st suspect?maybe dumb?however he was smart enough to not have any trace of the murder weapon .surely somebody would have come out the wood work and said yes that's the man I sold that gun too...blah blah blah.no one knows what they would do in his situatio nll

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  14. I'd like to ask Eric, How does it feel to know that you'll be in prison for the rest of your life for wacking your parents in cold blood. Didn't work out like you thought, huh?

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  15. Not a single shred of evidence he actually committed the murders. The sister had the same motive and seemed to really quickly throw the person she would have to split the inheritance with in jail.

    During 48 Hours she came across as the psychotic child.

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    1. He is guilty. He did some stupid things like forging the check and also the fictitious note that he wrote

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    2. Eric often wrote and signed checks on his father's account while working at the pharmacy with him (and with the father's knowledge and permission), so the fact that he wrote a check to himself that he signed was not an isolated incident, and likely was done with the father's consent and knowledge.
      There was also unidentified DNA found at the scene.
      I think he deserves another trial where the evidence that the judge didn't allow in the first trial. If he really is guilty then there should be no problem finding him guilty again....

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  16. Guilty
    1. Check/note/Shopkos
    2. Lies easily
    3. Neighbor saw EK truck go up driveway ( F150 - dark stone in color)
    4. Mom knew attacker and never got up from keyboard
    5. Dennis went into house knowing EK truck in driveway
    6. Neighbor claimed to see Dennis/Merna from 700' away at almost sunset
    7. Bridgeview Shopko has 67 on the same plant purchased @ Onalaska Shopko
    8. EK told friends about receipt b4 police released time of death
    9. EK made up fake story about laundry and Mom
    10. EK drove wife's car Mon 5/24 so police wouldn't look in his
    11. EK drove own truck to anniv dinner supposedly with grout everywhere
    12. EK was broke and didn't want a real job

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  17. 13. Genz gave 2 different time windows for Loomis St departure
    14. Who else knew Merna/Dennis schedules ?
    15. Sister/husband alibis verified
    16. EK had fire in backyard on 84 degree day
    17. Badly staged burglary
    18. Merna/Dennis killed with 22 rifle - hitman theory joke

    Wonder what EK was thinking after he killed his mom and had to wait for his dad to come home ...

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    1. 15: How well was the son in law's aliby actually verified, how robust is it? Could they prove it was him who played and not a friend 'standing in' for him? Or could he have logged on and then gone out to kill them while the XboX was still running at home?

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    2. I guess the La Crosse police and S of W investigators thought it pretty good. Did the son-in-law cash a check the next day and lie about it ? Did the son-in-law lie about being at Shopko ? Did the son-in-law write a note deflecting attention from himself and then fake being upset when the police came ? Did the son-in-law tell friends about a dinner receipt before the actual time of death was known ? Did the son-in-law lie about helping put his mom's underwear away ?

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  18. 19. EK fake stumbling and concern after "note found"
    and finally ...
    20. No forced entry to home - killer had key

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  19. I think it highly probably given the circumstances that Eric was desperate enough to want to have all the funds in his hands. Also they didn't pay him his entire half of the auto dealership sale which might have made Eric frustrated with his Dad; having to ask for money he considered his own anyway.

    But I don't see Eric as the one with the gun in his hand. I think he may have hired a pro to shoot his parents and make it look like a robbery.

    So I guess that would still make him guilty while at the same time leaving behind no evidence. Desperation can make people do completely uncharacteristic things.

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    1. To look like a robbery, a pro would have actually stolen something and not opened the dresser drawers from bottom to top. There would have been evidence of a payment to someone as where did the money come from to pay a pro. EK is guilty as hell as who would tell their friends about a Shopko receipt if the actually time of death was not released by police. Also, neighbor saw a dark colored truck driving up the Koula driveway on 5/21. Eric owned an F-150 in dark stone color which may have appeared black when driving by.

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    2. Greg the detectiveMay 29, 2018 at 4:58 PM

      Indeed, uncharacteristic things. This is why I firmly believe Eric pulled the trigger. Never mind friends & family who say that he was never violent. I see no contradiction there.
      Also, a pro would not shoot just once, or even try to stage a burglary. If you are emotionally detached to the target, you might as well empty your clip. Eric couldn't do that though. He couldn't even move himself to use a larger caliber. If I want to kill someone for sure, I would never use a 22, let alone one round.
      To me the note was the last nail in the coffin. So you fake a note because they are after your son? If you know he is innocent, just let the police investigate! Also the note came less than a week after the investigation started. Eric simply panicked.
      Oh yes, and he wasn't on the CCTV of that first Shopko. Bummer. As Eric said during the interrogation, "videos don't lie".

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  20. Appeal denied - looks like Koula will have to find some new exculpatory evidence to get a hearing.

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  21. if he was at shopko even without video would someone in the store not noticed him a well known figure in town

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  22. He wasn't at the Shopko - he is a liar

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  23. He made mistakes cos he is not a hitman
    He killed them and made mistakes any normal person would make killing parents
    Do you think you would think rationally
    Guilty of being a coward a liar and a hopeless murderer
    Don't waste money on appeals let him rot

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  24. The sun in law....with the xbox-login times....weird

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  25. Parents are to be balmed, for ignoring the fact that their kids are turning out to be good at nothing. This is 100 percent Erics fault, but obviousy the parents missed the signs of this sociopath, in a big way or on purpose. If a 30 yer old son wants to utilize y retirement funds for his Business, then i will personally ensure to lock him out of my life and publically proclaim about it.

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    1. Correct. I know everyone involved quite well. You cannot develop character without some challenge in life. From Eric running from cops in his '68 Charger graduation present, to plans to be a professional golfer, professional bowler; he was protected from the real world. His dad started with nothing, growing up with a drunk dad who walked out, and became a successful businessman... as for the sister, she was the black sheep, kinda shunned by her own family some. At the car dealer she was the janitor. She didnt get $500k to go daytrade...

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