A man in Iowa is headed to a life sentence in prison for the murder of a friend he repeatedly ran over with a truck after a fight about mayonnaise, according to reports.
The Woodbine Twiner-Herald reported that on Dec. 17, 2020, Caleb Solberg, 30, and Kristofer Erlbacher, now 29, and a third person were at a bar in Moorhead drinking and eating, according to the verdict. Erlbacher put mayonnaise on Solberg’s food. So Solberg punched Erlbacher, which sparked a bar fight.
“It was just another bar fight in Harrison County,’ until it wasn’t any longer,” said Solberg’s half-brother Craig Pryor during the trial.
Erlbacher and the third person drove to a cafe in Pisgah, located about 10 minutes from the bar, the Register reported.
According to a criminal complaint, Solberg arrived at the cafe and spoke with Pryor before a fight broke out between Solberg and the other person, the newspaper reported.
After that fight ended, Erlbacher exited the bar and used his 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck to hit Pryor’s vehicle while Pryor was inside it, according to a criminal complaint. When Pryor got out to assess the damage, Erlbacher rammed Pryor and Pryor’s vehicle.
Sometime after that, Erlbacher spotted Solberg outside the cafe and ran him down with his truck, from the accident report. He doubled back and ran over Solberg two more times, the Register reported.
“Erlbacher’s first blow to Solberg did not kill him. He can be heard screaming for his brother, Craig Pryor,” District Judge Greg Steensland wrote in the verdict, according to the Twiner-Herald.
“Rather than just leave, Erlbacher went down the street, turned around, and came back to strike Solberg a second time … To be sure he had completed the job, Erlbacher drove his truck up and over Solberg one last time.”
Erlbacher then drove off, but his truck broke down a short while later. On the phone, he told Pryor that he had killed Solberg.
According to the New York Post, Erlbacher was convicted after a bench trial in December last year and sentenced Monday.
In a report by the Register:
Erlbacher said he acted in a reckless manner and did not intentionally kill Solberg, the newspaper reported. During the trial, he attempted to have his charge reduced to second-degree murder, claiming he was intoxicated. The sentence for a second-degree charge is 50 years in prison.
Sources: Scallywagandvagabond, Desmoinesregister, Loganwoodbine
