Prodigy's 'puzzling' fall leads to murder charge (Young Iowa Republican)

[Blue Gardener]

Saw this in the Register today and thought I would share with those who missed it. Too bad he couldn't be stopped before taking the life of an innocent little baby.

Farragut, Ia. -- Matthew Joseph Elliott seemed destined for the spotlight.
He was elected governor at the Iowa Boys State mock government convention in 1998 as a junior. He followed the accomplishment with a year as head of his high school student council. Later came a term as student body president at Drake University and a front-line job in legislative campaign battles for the Iowa Republican Party.
"We all thought, 'Here's a kid who may someday amount to something.' "
Elliott, 26, sits instead in the Polk County Jail, accused in the murder of a 7-month-old West Des Moines girl who was the child of a teenage roommate. Authorities say Elliott killed the baby while on the run for escaping from a halfway house and violation of the state's sex offender registry law.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080427/NEWS05/804270347

[Hobarticus]

1. How tragic, all around....

A life wasted and a life snuffed out. Pointless.

[progressoid]

2. He's clearly a troubled young man.

I can understand why nobody from the GOP wants to talk about it.
But why the sealed documents and "secret details of a search warrant"? I hope it's to protect the innocent and/or the legal process and not cover some politician's butt.

[Sophia_Karina]

3. yes, that was my question

perhaps someone knows? why the secrecy?

[DU9598]

4. Lots of questions raised ...

I think it is important to ask why there is so much secrecy ... but more importantly, was this kid either set up on the child porn charge or was he given preferential treatment in not being federally prosecuted on the child porn charge. Who has ever read a newspaper item where child porn charges just get worked out? No - this "Justice" department fully prosecutes all allegations of child porn possession. It would be convenient for them to get resolved without federal prosecution, place the kid on the offender registry, and end the primary challenge against the incumbent republican. How convenient ... until the kid went ape-ass crazy and killed a baby. The DMR or a real journalist should be asking questions.

[Sophia_Karina]

5. a very good point!