NEW DETAILS EMERGE IN COMPLAINT
Friday, July 30th, 2010 -- 3:23 PM
An eight-page criminal complaint filed in La Crosse County Circuit Court Friday explains how investigators solved the murders of a La Crosse area couple, and why they believe the victims? son did it.Eric Koula was officially charged with 2 counts of 1st degree intentional homicide and one count of forgery. He allegedly murdered Dennis and Merna Koula on May 21st, and then wrote himself a check for $50,000 from their account. If the allegations are true, Eric Koula made some major missteps while trying to hide his offenses.
While Eric told investigators he was making big money playing the stock market full-time from his home in West Salem, financial statements showed otherwise. In fact, Eric and his wife received a $100,000 check from his parents in October of last year, but that money had already dried up.
The couple were heavily in debt with thousands of dollars in various credit cards, a home mortgage, and a line of credit.
Then, came the all too obvious clue for investigators. A badly forged check, signed the day of the murders and deposited in Eric Koula?s account the day after. The handwriting belongs to Eric, according to an expert.
Eric claimed to be at Shopko during the time investigators believed the Koula?s were murdered, but surveillance video from the store shows no sign of him.
While not directly stated in the complaint, it appears investigators believe Eric used a .22-caliber firearm Dennis kept in a spare bedroom closet to commit the murders.
Still, the document contains no admission of guilt from the suspect and no hard DNA evidence.
Eric Koula is being held on a $1-million cash bond. A judge ordered a mental competency evaluation, which will be completed within 10 days.
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