A 29-year-old Iowa man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of killing his friend following an argument over mayonnaise.
Kristofer Erlbacher was sentenced Monday to mandatory life in prison in the death of Caleb Solberg, 30.
Erlbacher, who pleaded not guilty in the case, was accused of hitting Solberg with his pickup multiple times outside of a bar in Pisgah, about an hour south of Sioux City.
The incident took place on the night of December 17. The pair had earlier been drinking at a bar in Moorhead with another friend when Erlbacher spread mayo on Solberg's food, which sparked a fistfight, the Woodbine Twiner-Herald reported.
Erlbacher and the friend left the location and were heading to the bar in Pisgah when Erlbacher called Solberg's half-brother, Craig Pryor, told him about the fight, and threatened to set their house on fire and kill Solberg, according to the newspaper.
Eventually, Solberg and Pryor went to the location where Erlbacher was at, police said. When Erlbacher realized the brothers were outside, he allegedly got into his truck and drove it into Pryor's vehicle multiple times. Pryor fled the scene at that point.
Erlbacher also left the area, but he returned a short time later and struck Solberg, who was standing outside the bar, several times, according to police.
"Erlbacher's first blow to Solberg did not kill him. He can be heard screaming for his brother," 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."
After the murder, police said Erlbacher called Pryor to tell him his brother was dead. Erlbacher tried to leave the scene, but his truck broke down just outside of town and he called his father for help. Police said the father took Erlbacher back to the scene, where he was taken into custody.
Erlbacher was convicted of first-degree murder after a bench trial in December.
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