Eric Hanson: 'All I know is, I didn't do it'

Second of two parts.

More than two years after he's accused of killing them, Eric C. Hanson said he still has dreams about his parents.

"They come to visit me," he said. "I say, 'Will you get me out of here? Tell them you're really alive.' "

Hanson's parents, along with his sister and brother-in-law, were found slain Sept. 29, 2005, in an upscale Aurora home.

Hanson, 31, is charged with the four murders. Earlier this month, he met -- against the advice of his lawyers, who were not present -- with a Daily Herald reporter for nearly two hours.

More Coverage Stories Eric Hanson: 'All I know is, I didn't do it' [01/28/08] How authorities came to charge Eric Hanson [01/27/08] Multimedia Video: Hanson trial: Synopsis Video: Hanson trial: victims Photo Gallery: Hanson trial legal team Daily Herald Archives Four in family found slain [09/30/05] Police question victims' relative [10/01/05] Fireplace poker could be crucial piece of puzzle [10/02/05] Relative fighting extradition [10/04/05] Charges loom in quadruple murder case [11/04/05] Suspect set for return to Illinois [11/09/05] Details in quadruple homicide [12/09/05] Death penalty sought in four murders [02/18/06] Alleged threat can be heard [05/18/06] Judge will allow tape in court [05/23/06] Family details get out [06/21/07] The Full Reports Nov. 4 arrest warrant Wisc. extradition request Wisc. arrest warrant Sept. 29 arrest warrant Intimidation charge

In a wide-ranging jailhouse interview, Hanson said he was sleeping downstairs at the time police allege his parents were being shot in their bedroom.

He was arrested 20 hours after the bodies were found, headed for the Minnesota home of a surviving sister who had implicated him as the likely suspect. Hanson said he just wanted to talk to her, not kill her, as police alleged.

And, while acknowledging "nearly everyone is against me," Hanson has an explanation for the evidence that prosecutors say is key to the case.

Parental support

Dressed in an orange DuPage County jail-issued jumpsuit, Hanson sat behind a bulletproof glass partition.

He no longer is the impeccably groomed blond-haired man who spent his time juggling women and playing golf. Hanson appears haggard, his hair darker from a lack of sunlight during the past 28 months behind bars.

He is charged with fatally beating his sister, Katherine "Kate" Hanson-Tsao, and her husband, Jimmy, and shooting his parents, Terrance and Mary Lynn Hanson. Opening statements in his murder trial may begin later this week.

Prosecutors lack a confession and the murder weapons. They argue other physical evidence and the timeline are proof Hanson made good on a threat to kill Kate if she told their father about Eric's $80,000 in credit card fraud, mostly in his mother's name.

Hanson admits the theft, though he said he took less than is alleged. But he denies it is a motive to kill, because his parents agreed to let him pay them back without involving the police.

"Obviously," he said, "your parents aren't going to do that. I don't think there's anything I could have done that they wouldn't have supported me."

During the interview, Hanson is polite but cautious, his tone never heated and rarely emotional. His hazel eyes are hard to read, offering little insight into his thoughts.

Hanson doesn't get many visitors other than his legal team. He reads a lot, he said, crime thrillers by James Patterson and Stuart Woods.

His own story could be a plot from one of those books.

'CSI'

The afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005, Eric came home after dropping off a tuxedo. His sister, whom he calls "Katie," painted flower pots in their parents' garage.

Eric lived with his folks on Rock Spring Court in Naperville. Kate owned a home just five miles away, in the affluent White Eagle subdivision on Aurora's far east side.

"It was just kind of like, 'Hey, what's up?'" Hanson said of their conversation. "It wasn't anything too in-depth."

Hanson said he and his mother had dinner together that night. His father was due later from a business trip.

About 7 p.m., Eric and one of his girlfriends, Christine Undesser, had drinks at the Fox and Hound Pub in Aurora. She said they stayed until 9 p.m. then drove to her Aurora apartment. He told her of his plans to see an ex-fiancee in Los Angeles the next morning. Eric left about 10 p.m., she told police later; they argued about his trip.

Hanson said when he went home, he chatted with his dad, who had returned from a business trip in Ohio, and prepared for his morning flight.

That same night, Jimmy Tsao, 34, was attacked on his couch while using his laptop at 10:43 p.m., the time of his final keystroke. Kate, 31, was found near a bedroom doorway. Both were beaten to death, possibly with a golf club.

The bodies of Terry, 57, and Mary, 55, both shot in the head, also were found in the Tsao home and garage.

Prosecutors say the elder couple were killed in their bed after 11:30 p.m. -- that's when Terry answered a call from his son's ex-fiancee. The killer later transferred their pajama-clad bodies to the Tsao home in Aurora.

In Naperville, evidence technicians found the couple's blood after flipping over a mattress; someone patched over a bullet hole in the headboard; a vacuum held its splintered wood. A fire still burned in the fireplace.

Eric Hanson said he slept in the basement, without hearing a disturbance. He left for the airport the next morning, assuming his parents were at work. Police later found a note in the kitchen. It was from Eric, wishing them a fun weekend in Galena.

When asked how he didn't hear gunshots, Hanson questions the two-crime-scene theory of police. Maybe, he said, his parents went to Kate's for an emergency? His father's car was found there.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Eric said. "The whole thing about transporting of bodies, none of that makes any sense. There's just a lot of things that don't add up.

"I'm not an evidence technician. I don't know. I guess I'm kind of ignorant to that kind of stuff. All I know is, I didn't do it.

"I sit here night after night and try to think about what happened or didn't happen."

Prosecutors argue Hanson's SUV held key evidence: A glove contained Terry's blood; a pair of Eric's shoes had a mixture of three people's blood. Experts couldn't pinpoint whose, but the victims couldn't be ruled out as matches, either.

Eric also had Kate's wedding ring and Jimmy's Rolex, the latter had a speck of Jimmy's blood, officials said.

Eric said Kate accidentally left the ring while painting the flower pots, and he planned to return it to her. As for his brother-in-law's watch, he will argue at trial the family was buying Terry a similar one for his recent birthday. Terry had tried it on for sizing.

"I would find it hard to believe you wouldn't find DNA all over," Hanson said. "We're living in a 'CSI' time. I think it would be different if they said there was blood-soaked gloves over here and fingerprints over there."

Picture perfect?

Eric Hanson recalls a happy childhood, as the youngest of three, with family vacations at their cabin in Minnesota camping or visiting the Wisconsin Dells.

Born in Atlanta, he lived in Hoffman Estates until the third grade. He went to Apple Valley High School in Minnesota, where he wrestled and played hockey.

His oldest sister, Jennifer Williams, lives in Bloomington, Minn. Hanson said the rest of the family still gathered for Sunday dinners.

Hanson spoke of long talks with his mother on their patio. She was a great listener, he said. Eric said he and his dad loved watching Minnesota Viking games.

Hanson attributes his criminal history, which includes stints in prison for burglary and shoplifting, to adolescence.

Though still living at home, Hanson said he had begun a mortgage broker business, and it was starting to take off.

"I think the older I got, the closer I got with my parents," he said. "As you're getting older, they kind of want to see you off on your own and get more independent. I think I was getting to that point."

His oldest sister, Jennie, recalls things differently. On the outside, she said in court testimony and police reports, the family seemed "picture perfect," but her brother's freeloading and lying caused friction. They had "interventions," and Eric promised to straighten up.

Jennie told police that her brother has a short fuse, spent time in a Minnesota home for troubled youth and, in middle school, chased Kate with a knife.

Thirty minutes after the bodies were found, Jennie told police Eric had to be the killer. She said Kate told her Eric threatened on Aug. 13 to kill her if she told their father about the credit card fraud. Mary, worried her son might hurt himself, planned to cover for Eric. But not Kate.

"My father would have called the police and turned Eric in," Jennie said.

Hanson admits often bickering with Kate, whom he called "Miss Gossip Queen," but he said he loved her.

"I never threatened to kill my sister," he said. "That's a complete lie. I don't think Jennie has a motive (to lie). But, things are getting relayed second and third hand. I remember the conversation. It was, 'Why are you constantly in my business?' "

Hanson said his father found out about the credit card fraud two to three weeks after the discussion with Kate, and they worked things out.

"You put it under a microscope, and it looks huge. But, if you'd really been there in the house, it was like, 'Yeah, it's a bad situation, but we'll deal with this.'

"I loved my family, and I still do. Our family has been through worse than money being taken. We've all been there for each other. Why is this any different?"

Under a microscope

Thief. Charming con man. Cocaine user. Narcissist. Violent. Those are the descriptions of Eric, given by family and friends, in police reports.

Of the harsh portrayal, Eric said: "I do feel like nearly everyone is against me. It's kind of overwhelming.

"I never would have guessed that in a million years. I always looked at my family as kind of a rock; someone you could rely on no matter what. Maybe I just had that impression because that's how my parents were."

Eric's cousin Robert Stutelberg, while outside the Tsao home Sept. 29, told Eric about the murders. Stutelberg later told police Eric sounded "fake," as if "playing dumb." Hanson, in Los Angeles at the time, said he was in disbelief.

"I don't even know if I heard him right," he said.

He flew home early the next morning, at 4:55 a.m. Police said he lied, claiming to still be in Los Angeles. He was arrested at 10:56 a.m. Sept. 30, near Portage, Wis.

Hanson admits stalling police. He was on his way to see Jennie in Bloomington, Minn. Police said he planned to kill her, but Hanson was unarmed with $747 cash.

"I wasn't trying to hide from anybody," he said. "I'm in California; how far am I from Mexico? Why take a flight home if I'm trying to flee? I had access to money.

"My first priority was wanting to talk to Jennie. I think that would be anyone's first reaction. You'd want to try to find out what's going on."

Hanson did not confess, but police question his lack of emotion during questioning.

That shouldn't be surprising, he said.

"When you're accused of something like that, you're in shock. You're being told you killed your family. They bombard you with questions and try to intimidate you.

"Everyone shows emotions in different ways. I'm someone who waits until I'm by myself. I don't wear my heart on my sleeve."

But will the jury, made up of 12 total strangers, believe him?

Eric Hanson said he is looking forward to his day in court. He'll likely testify.

"I'm scared, worried and somewhat hopeful at the same time," he said. "Your life is now in the hands of 12 individuals."

Though not a "holy roller," Hanson said he prays and thinks about his slain family daily. Yet he is feuding with Jennie in civil court over his parents' estate.

Hanson said he hasn't thought much about the death penalty.

"I guess I haven't gotten to that yet," he said. "But, the idea of living in an institution -- I can't think of anything worse. I hope I'm afforded the opportunity to have a family of my own. You always have to have hope."