SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Homicide Detectives for the Salt Lake City Police Department have secured a warrant for the arrest of 31-year-old Matthew John Breck for the 1998 homicide of Anna Palmer.
On the evening of September 10, 1998, the mother of the victim found her 10-year-old daughter on the porch of their home at 1633 S. 300 E. with what proved to be fatal stab wounds to the neck. During the initial autopsy, the victim’s fingernails were trimmed and kept for analysis.
Working with the cooperation of the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services and Sorenson Forensics, Salt Lake City Police Homicide Detectives recently were able to match a DNA profile with Breck.
The suspect was convicted in Idaho in 2001 for the offense of sodomy/lewdness of a minor child under 16, occurring in 2000. The Police Department and the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office now will seek to extradite Breck from the Idaho Correctional Institution-Orofino, in Clearwater County, Idaho, to face homicide charges in Utah.
The Police Department would like to thank the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office for the use of their facilities and material assistance, as well as the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office for their assistance and advice in this case.
----Information from: Salt Lake City Police
