TUESDAY, 03/26/2024, 4:13 p.m.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – A man from the Upper Peninsula who went on a multi-state crime spree that included allegedly killing one man in Wisconsin and killing another in Alabama was back in the Brown County Courthouse on Tuesday.
Caleb Anderson, 25, entered a not-guilty plea for the first-degree intentional homicide charge for allegedly killing 65-year-old Patrick Ernst in early August of 2022.
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A status conference for Anderson has been scheduled for June 4.
No additional details were provided.
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THURSDAY, 02/01/2024, 2:00 p.m.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – A man from the Upper Peninsula who went on a multi-state crime spree that included allegedly killing one man in Wisconsin and killing another in Alabama made his initial appearance in the Brown County Courthouse on Thursday.
25-year-old Caleb S. Anderson from Caspian, Michigan, is facing a 1st-degree Intentional Homicide charge for allegedly killing 65-year-old Patrick Ernst in early August of 2022.
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Prosecutors recommended a $2,000,000 cash bond for Anderson. The judge presiding over the case agreed with prosecutors and set Anderson’s bond at $2,000,000. Additionally, a no-contact order was arranged.
Andreson and his attorney waived the time period for a preliminary hearing, and Anderson will be back in the Brown County Courthouse on the morning of February 27 for the preliminary hearing.
Anderson’s crime spree started on August 1, 2022, in Gaastra, Michigan, where he allegedly attacked an 18-year-old woman who was out on a run. The woman was able to fight off Anderson and flee the area. She reported the assault to police and helped build a suspect description for Anderson.
A day later, Anderson’s crimes got significantly more violent and crossed state lines into Wisconsin.
Caleb Anderson’s booking photo. (Brown County Jail)
On August 2, 2022, officers with the Green Bay Police Department were sent to an address on Packerland Drive for a welfare check for Ernst, who didn’t show up for work. Ernst’s car was missing from the residence, and this behavior was “unlike him,” according to those who knew him.
Authorities made entry to his residence and found him dead with multiple stab wounds and covered in a pile of clothing. Police were able to tie Anderson to the crime scene after finding his vehicle in the parking lot. Anderson also left a note stating, “I am so sorry, he didn’t deserve this.”
Following Ernst’s death, Anderson traveled south to Alabama on August 3, 2022, where he admitted to burning a church down and murdering 52-year-old Dwight Dixon from Flomaton, Alabama. Anderson was eventually taken into custody in Alabama and admitted to all the crimes he committed.
During the interview with authorities, Anderson told police that he was driving down a road in Michigan and saw a woman jogging and claimed, for some reason, he wanted to kill her.
The criminal complaint obtained by Local 5 News states that Anderson wanted to tie her hands behind her back, but during the assault, he thought of his mother and decided to hit the woman a couple of times and leave.
After the attack, Anderson says he drove to Green Bay and bought a phone from a local Walmart. Anderson downloaded a dating app and used the app to meet with men and possibly get a new car.
Anderson met Ernst through the app and eventually was invited to his residence. He eventually told police that he decided to use a knife to kill Ernst and that ever since he was 14 or 15 years old, “…I always just wanted to kill somebody.”
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After the crime in Green Bay, Anderson told authorities he drove to Alabama and re-downloaded the dating app. There, he talked with Dixon and killed him as well. When trying to determine a motive, Anderson told authorities that he “just snapped.”
Anderson pleaded guilty to the murder of Dixon in December of 2022 and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He now faces another life sentence for the death of Ernst.
