Teacher, Husband In Murder-Suicide Under Child Sex Crime Investigation
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- The South St. Paul school teacher and his husband found dead last week were both under investigation for sexually assaulting minors.
The couple's bodies were discovered in Washington state on Thursday, in what police describe as a murder-suicide.
Aric Babbitt, 40, was a longtime teacher at Lincoln Center Elementary in South St. Paul. He lived with his husband, 36-year-old Matthew Deyo, in a house on 5th Avenue South.
Court papers show that earlier this month a 16-year-old former student and his parents went to South St. Paul police with a disturbing allegation.
The teen accused Babbitt of sexual assault and turned over some Polaroid pictures of himself naked with the teacher.
He said Babbitt became his mentor when he came out as gay to his family.
The teenager described how Babbitt and his husband took the teenager to a hotel and Babbitt's cabin for sex, using marijuana and alcohol to get the teenager intoxicated.
A transgender friend of the boy was also at the cabin and said she thought she was drugged.
Court papers detail another encounter in a rented room in downtown Minneapolis during Pride Week.
The teenager says he eventually had a breakdown and told his parents and brother what had been happening.
His brother became upset because another former student had told him about sexual contact with Babbitt and Deyo.
South St. Paul police launched a criminal investigation which triggered the school district to place Babbitt on paid leave in mid-August.
A search warrant of the couple's home shows investigators were looking for any signs of drugs or child pornography.
The couple's neighbors are shocked by the murder-suicide and had no idea of the allegations.
"It gives you cause to pause," said Gerren Bond, who lives a couple of houses down the street. "It scares me for a lot of different reasons. Especially as a person having kids."
Court documents show police did find a variety of computers, cameras and containers with what appeared to be marijuana in the couple's home.
South St. Paul police are not commenting on the case because they say it is still an active investigation.
