Son of slain cheese factory owners wrote he wanted to ‘eliminate’ his parents, cops say

A man accused of killing his parents — the owners of a family-operated cheese factory — wrote in a journal he wanted to “eliminate” them, according to Wisconsin cops.

Erik Metzig, 25, is charged with two counts of intentional homicide after his parents, David and Jan Metzig, were found dead in their Wolf River home Saturday, March 18, court documents show.

Deputies went to the home after Winnebago County dispatchers received a 911 call from a person who hung up.

The deputies found the bodies of the couple in their bedroom, according to the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office. The Metzigs, ages 72 and 71, were “covered in blankets, with bags over their heads and deceased from apparent gunshot wounds,” deputies said in the complaint.

The Metzigs were the owners and operators of Union Star Cheese Factory, which they ran since 1980. The cheese factory has been operated by the family since 1911.

Another son of the victims said Erik Metzig lived with his parents, but his car was not at the home, according to the complaint. An automatic rifle was found on the kitchen table, and the weapon was one the sibling said Erik Metzig “had recently shown interest in,” the sheriff’s office said.

The sibling, sheriff’s officials said, believed Erik Metzig killed their parents.

Erik Metzig was discovered less than three hours later at a YMCA in Kimberly about 25 miles away from his home, according to court documents.

He laid on a bench in the locker room and told a YMCA staffer he “was upset about family,” according to court documents. Metzig agreed to sit in a chair in the lobby while officers conducted a search warrant on his vehicle in the parking lot, the complaint says.

“Red smears which they believe could have been blood (were found) on the driver’s side visor and the roof liner above the driver’s seat,” sheriff’s officials said.

Inside the home, detectives found further evidence related to the crime scene. Unfired 9mm bullets were discovered near the bodies, and a 9mm handgun was located in a garbage bag in the garage, authorities said.

A journal in Erik Metzig’s bedroom further linked him to the killings, according to the documents.

The journal, deputies said, detailed how Metzig “wanted to eliminate his parents and make it look like they went missing while out for a walk.”

He was detained at 8 a.m., and the charges were later issued by the Winnebago County District Attorney.

A $1 million bond was issued to Metzig during his initial appearance in court, WGBA reported.

“The court is concerned based on the evidence of pre-planning to avoid detection, the level of violence demonstrated by shooting and killing both parents and leaving the scene to go to a distant location,” court commissioner Eric Haywood said, according to WGBA.

Wolf River is about 60 miles southwest of Green Bay.

Couple in 80s found dead in retirement community. Florida cops investigate homicide

Married couple found slain after wife doesn’t show up to work, Ohio sheriff says