Erik Metzig pleads no contest to murders of parents, the owners of Union Star Cheese Factory

OSHKOSH — The son of David and Jan Metzig pleaded no contest to the couple's murders in Winnebago County Circuit Court Monday morning.

The no contest plea means Erik Metzig, 27, accepts a guilty verdict without admitting or denying his guilt.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 30.

On the morning of March 18, 2023, David Metzig, 72, and Jan Metzig, 71, were found dead in their Wolf River home with gunshot wounds.

Investigators quickly identified Erik Metzig as the sole suspect. Family members said Erik's vehicle was missing, and during a search of the Metzigs' home, officers located a loaded AR platform rifle on the kitchen table and a Glock handgun in the garbage, according to testimony at his preliminary hearing .

In Erik's bedroom, they located a spiral notebook containing written plans for his parent's murders, according to a criminal complaint.

Officers arrested Erik around 7:45 a.m. that day, about 2 1/2 hours after the Metzigs' bodies were discovered, at the Heart of the Valley YMCA in Kimberly.

The Metzigs owned Union Star Cheese Factory in Fremont for over 30 years.

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Erik Metzig previously pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect — commonly known as an insanity plea, to both charges of first-degree intentional homicide.

His no contest pleas took away a jury trial scheduled to begin Oct. 14.

Metzig faces a mandatory life sentence on each charge, but it will be up to a judge to determine if he will ever be eligible for release from prison on extended supervision.

Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com . Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @ArseneauKelli .

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Erik Metzig pleads no contest to murders of parents, the owners of Union Star Cheese Factory