A Wisconsin couple who owned and operated the Union Star Cheese Factory were found dead in their Wolf River home, with their son, Erik Metzig, 25, accused of the killings.
Court documents reveal that Erik Metzig, who now faces charges on two counts of intentional homicide, allegedly wrote in his journal that he wanted to “eliminate” his parents, Jan and David Metzig.
Winnebago County dispatchers received a 911 call from a person who hung up, prompting deputies to visit the Metzig home on Saturday, March 18.
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Wisconsin man murders Winnebago County parents whom he wrote in diary that he ‘wanted to eliminate’. https://t.co/YqaBX39dJy #Erik Metzig #David and Jan Metzig #Union Star Cheese Factory
— Scallywagandvagabond (@ScallywagNYC) March 22, 2023
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There, they discovered the bodies of David and Jan Metzig, aged 72 and 71, in their bedroom.
The couple had bags over their heads and were covered in blankets, dead from apparent gunshot wounds, according to the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office.
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The Metzigs had run the Union Star Cheese Factory since 1980, continuing the family’s operation of the business that began in 1911.
The complaint stated that Erik Metzig lived with his parents, but his car was not at the home.
Deputies found an automatic rifle on the kitchen table, which the sibling said Erik had “recently shown interest in.” The sibling also believed that Erik was responsible for their parents’ deaths.
Authorities located Erik Metzig at a YMCA in Kimberly, approximately 25 miles away from his home, less than three hours after the discovery of his parents’ bodies.
He was found lying on a bench in the locker room, upset about his family.
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He agreed to sit in the lobby while officers conducted a search warrant on his vehicle in the parking lot, where they found “red smears” believed to be blood on the driver’s side visor and the roof liner above the driver’s seat.
Inside the Metzig home, detectives found additional evidence connecting Erik to the crime scene.
Unfired 9mm bullets were found near the bodies, and a 9mm handgun was discovered in a garbage bag in the garage.
The journal in Erik’s bedroom detailed his plan to “eliminate his parents and make it look like they went missing while out for a walk,” according to deputies.
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Erik Metzig was detained at 8 a.m., with charges issued by the Winnebago County District Attorney.
A $1 million bond was set during his initial court appearance, as reported by WGBA.
Court commissioner Eric Haywood expressed concern over “the evidence of pre-planning to avoid detection, the level of violence demonstrated by shooting and killing both parents and leaving the scene to go to a distant location.”
Wolf River is situated about 60 miles southwest of Green Bay.
