June 17, 2005

New charge and trial date set for man with body in cellar

by Anthony Glassman

Dayton--The man charged in the death of a Minnesotan whose body was found in his basement was arraigned on a new charge of reckless homicide.

Matthew Caddy was silent during a May 18 hearing, so the judge entered a not guilty plea for him. His trial has been tentatively set for July 18, after an earlier trial date of November 15 was pushed back to May 23 following the release of an autopsy on Daniel Everson.

Caddy, 53, was also indicted by a grand jury last year for abuse of a corpse.

Everson?s handcuffed body was discovered in Caddy?s basement on August 31, 2004. Everson was reported missing in July after he failed to return to work from vacation.

Investigators believe that Everson, 43, took a bus from his home of Litchfield, Minn., to Dayton after meeting Caddy online.

Caddy?s internet profiles detailed his interest in extreme forms of sadomasochism.

The coroner?s report listed the cause of death as ?acute renal failure? due to ?extensive soft tissue blunt force injuries,? meaning that Everson?s kidneys failed because of blows to the area. The autopsy report listed many deep bruises on Everson?s back.

Caddy?s case illustrates a consequence of not following the leatherman?s credo, said Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend president Dennis McMahon.

?The leatherman?s credo is ?Safe, Sane and Consensual,?? he noted. ?You never go home with someone you don?t know. If you do, make sure someone knows who you?re going home with and where.?

He also suggested checking around the leather community about someone?s reputation.

?It?s the quiet ones that have no reputation and no one has ever heard of before that you have to look out for,? he noted.

Caddy, once known as Stephen Lee MacFarland, had been involved with Dignity Dayton in the 1980s. He left the group when they refused to stop meeting on Catholic church property. He became involved in the peace movement after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but left the September 11 Coalition because it did not adopt a religious stance against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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