LOGAN, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa teenager who claimed he killed his 5-year-old foster brother because he thought the child was a goblin has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Harrison County District Court Judge Kathleen Kilnoski issued her ruling Friday in the bench trial of Cody Metzker-Madsen, who was charged with first-degree murder in the August 2013 death of Dominic Elkins.
Authorities say Metzker-Madsen killed Dominic while the two played outside of their home in western Iowa. Metzker-Madsen was 17 when the boy's body was found at the bottom of a ravine.
Metzker-Madsen told the judge during the trial that he believed he was in a fantasy world and thought he was killing a goblin instead of Dominic.
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