Erik Olson pleas guilty in uncle’s 2019 murder and arson case; Monterey DA’s Office
SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) — The Monterey County DA’s Office announced Wednesday that 42-year-old Erik Bjorn Olson of Seaside plead guilty for murdering his 68-year-old uncle, Greg Leonard Kolbo, in early 2019.
According to the DA’s office, Olson admitted to 2nd degree murder and is awaiting his sentencing on January 28, 2025. They announced that Olson will be facing 15 years-to-life in prison, and that his crime was a “violent and serious strike within the meaning of California’s Three Strikes Law.”
At around 3 p.m. on March 7, 2019, the DA’s office says that neighbors witnessed black smoke billowing out of Kolbo’s home and so they immediately called 911. Kolbo, an Air National Guard Veteran, had his nephew Olson, an unemployed Army Veteran, living with him in Kolbo’s Fort Ord duplex home, said the Monterey County DA’s Office.
The DA’s office says that witnesses reported Olson feeling from the fire scene, and that he left behind a suitcase.
After the Monterey Fire Department extinguished the fire, they reported human remains later identified as Greg Kolbo. They said that Kolbo was found wrapped in a blanket, partially burned and reeked of gasoline.
The DA’s office says that an autopsy report later attributed Kolbo’s cause of death to blunt force trauma to the head and neck with no signs of smoke inhalation in his lungs.
According to the DA’s office, a criminal investigation and simultaneous manhunt was underway to find Olson and bring him to justice, which ended up taking place after a number of state, local and federal agencies got involved (Army Criminal Investigations Division, the Presidio of Monterey Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, the California Department of Justice and the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office).
The DA’s office says that they were able to apprehend Olson within 48 hours after finding him hiding in a tent within a secluded area of San Jose.
Upon his initial arrest, the DA’s office says that Olson admitted to his uncle’s murder as well as leaving behind a bloody hammer that was later determined to be the murder weapon.
Seaside fire suspect expected back in court in late August
The man in custody on murder and fire-related charges is expected to face a Monterey County Judge in court in late August, 2019.
The judge in the case made this determination after a setting hearing took place this morning.
36-year-old Erik Bjorn Olson is accused of setting fire to a home in Seaside, killing 68-year-old Gregory Kolbo in the process.
Investigators found Kolbo lived on the property, as well as Olson. In their initial investigation they also said Olson was at the home when the fire started.
Investigators also revealed that Kolbo is the uncle of Olson.
Olson is expected back in court by August 27 and again on August 29 for a preliminary exam hearing.
