Columbia man seeks new trial for editor's slaying

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- The man convicted of robbing and killing former Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt is back in court seeking a new trial.

Ryan Ferguson was sentenced in December 2005 to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder and 10 years for robbery. He was convicted of killing Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt, who was strangled and beaten in the newspaper parking lot on Nov. 1, 2001.

Ferguson returned to the Boone County Courthouse on Wednesday for the start of a three-day hearing to determine whether he deserves a new trial.

He claims that the prosecution's key witness, Charles Erickson, fabricated claims about their involvement in Heitholt's death under pressure from police.

Erickson pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for his testimony.