September 16, 2005

Caddy gets six years for the death of his visitor

by Anthony Glassman

Dayton--A man who pleaded no contest to two charges related to the death of a Minnesota man was sentenced to six years in prison on September 13.

Matthew M. Caddy entered the no contest plea on August 29, two days before the one-year anniversary of the discovery of Daniel Everson�s body in his basement.

Caddy was sentenced to five years in prison for reckless homicide and one year for gross abuse of a corpse, the maximum penalties for both crimes.

Judge G. Jack Davis� also handed down an eight-month sentence for a third charge, possession of criminal tools, but that was to be served concurrently with the time from the other two charges, which are to be served consecutively.

Everson had traveled by bus from his home in Litchfield, Minnesota to visit Caddy after meeting him online. Everson and Caddy shared an interest in sadomasochism, and Caddy was to serve as Everson�s �master� while he was in Ohio.

According to the coroner, Everson�s kidneys failed because of severe bruising on his back and shoulders. Bruising can cause muscles to secrete proteins which, in great enough quantity, can overload kidneys.

Investigators said that Everson was beaten with a rubber sex toy. He had been handcuffed in a chair, and the cuffs were tied to a board affixed to the floor of Caddy�s basement.

On August 31, 2004, Caddy went to a local attorney�s office and told the secretary that he needed legal help and had just killed somebody. The secretary called in a tip to police, according to Det. Carol Johnson, who arrested Caddy when he returned to his home with the attorney later that day.

Caddy had apparently tried to bury Everson in a shallow grave in his basement before going to seek legal help.

This is Caddy�s third brush with the law.

Under his birth name Stephen Lee MacFarland, he was charged with aggravated robbery, rape and kidnapping after an assault on a male co-worker at the Suicide Prevention Center in 1977. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was given three years� probation.

In 2003, an Australian man told police that Caddy tied him up and briefly held him captive, but the man refused to press charges. As in the current case, Caddy met the Australian man on the internet.

Caddy�s involvement with S/M web sites indicates the risks involved with meeting strangers online.

�You never go home with someone you don�t know,� said Dennis McMahon, president of the Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend and a former Mr. Cleveland Leather.

�The leatherman�s credo is �Safe, sane and consensual,� � he continued. �Ask around about someone before going with them. [Leather] is a small community and most people know one another. It�s the quiet ones that have no reputation, and no one has ever heard of before, that you have to look out for.�

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