Iowa Man Receives Life Sentence After Killing His Friend Over Mayonnaise

An Iowa man received a life sentence after being found guilty of running over his friend with his car following a fight over the condiment mayonnaise.

 Kristofer Erlbacher, 29, of Woodbine, was convicted of first-degree murder for the killing of 30-year-old Caleb Solberg. On Monday, he was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence, which came two months after his conviction.

The two men were friends and were eating and drinking at a bar on Dec. 17, 2020. The confrontation began when Erlbacher decided to put mayonnaise on Solberg’s food. Apparently, this upset Solberg, who punched Erlbacher. The two begin fist-fighting.

Erlbacher made threats to hurt the victim and others. And he acted on those threats when he spotted Solberg later that evening. He saw him outside nearby a café and ran him down with his truck, Complex reported.

“Erlbacher’s first blow to Solberg did not kill him. He can be heard screaming for his brother, Craig Pryor,” District Judge Greg Steensland wrote in the verdict. “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.”

Erlbacher claimed he was intoxicated at the time of the crime and had no intention of killing his friend. He unsuccessfully attempted to reduce his charge to second-degree murder, which would have lessened his sentence to 50 years in prison. 

“Even if Erlbacher is under the influence of alcohol, he is responsible for his acts if he had sufficient mental capacity to form the specific intent necessary,” Steensland said.

“Intoxication is a defense, only when it causes a mental disability which makes a person incapable of forming specific intent.”