Elementary Teacher and His Husband Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide After Teen Accused Them of Sexual Assault: Reports

A married couple from South St. Paul, Minnesota, were found dead after an alleged murder-suicide on Lopez Island in Washington state last week, according to several reports. News of Aric Babbitt and Matthew Deyo’s deaths comes just two weeks after one of Babbitt’s former students went to South St. Paul police and accused him of sexual assault, according to a CBS.

Babbitt, 40, had taught at Lincoln Center Elementary School in South St. Paul since 2002. He lived in the town with his husband, 36-year-old Matthew Deyo, according to The St. Paul Pioneer Press. The Star Tribune reported that court documents show that on Aug. 14, a 16-year-old boy told his parents and claimed he had an ongoing sexual relationship with the couple.

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The teen also reportedly provided police with Polaroid pictures of himself naked with Babbitt, who he said became his mentor after he came out as gay, CBS reported. Babbitt and Deyo allegedly took the teen to a hotel and Babbitt’s cabin for sex, and allegedly provided marijuana and alcohol to the teen. After telling his family, the teen’s brother “became upset,” according to CBS, and said a fellow student told him he also had sexual contact with Babbitt and Deyo.

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Babbitt was placed on administrative leave on August 17, and after police questioned the couple, Babbitt and Deyo allegedly “borrowed a gun and several rounds of ammunition from Deyo’s brother and headed to Washington state,” according to the Tribune. The report added that a kayaker found their bodies with gunshot wounds and police later discovered a suicide note. Babbitt’s death has been ruled a homicide, according to a coroner’s report obtained by The St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Neighbors were shocked to learn of the investigation.