Man receives life sentence after murdering his friend over mayo

An Iowa man received a life sentence in prison after running over his friend with a pickup truck after arguing about mayonnaise.

According to the Des Moines Register, Kristofer Erlbacher, the man in question, used his truck to repeatedly ram Caleb Solberg outside of a café in Pisgah on December 17, 2020.

Erlbacher initially drove away from the scene, but he returned and decided to run over Solberg two more times, the outlet further reported.

The Woodbine Twiner-Herald said both men had been drinking at a bar accompanied by another person earlier in the night.

Things turned sour after Erlbacher spread mayo on Solberg’s food which upset him and caused a bar fight.

Angered, Erlbacher phoned Solberg’s brother Craig Pryor when he was on the way to the café and even threatened to shoot and set Solberg’s house on fire.

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Due to the threats, Pryor decided to drive down to Dave’s Old Home café in Pisgah to attempt to diffuse any adverse situation that could happen, the newspaper said.

Eventually, Erlbacher rammed his truck into Pryor’s, and Pryor eventually left the scene.

Soon after, the Erlbacher rammed into Solberg.

In the verdict written by District Judge Greg Steensland, he noted that Erlbacher’s initial “blow” to Solberg wasn’t fatal because he was heard “screaming” out for his brother.

“Rather than just leave, Erlbacher went down the street, turned around, and came back to strike Solberg a second time. This time, Solberg ended up on the pavement under the back side of an SUV parked just outside of Dave’s Old Home… to be sure he had completed the job, Erlbacher drove his truck up and over Solberg one last time,” Steensland said as evidenced by Twiner- Herald.

Afterward, Erlbacher drove off but his truck eventually broke down. He then told Pryor that he killed Solberg, according to the verdict.

Erlbacher was convicted of first-degree murder after a bench trial in December 2021 and was sentenced on Monday.

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