S.L. police file murder charges in 1998 case

SALT LAKE CITY — Investigators believe they have solved the 1998 murder of 10-year-old Anna Palmer, one of the Salt Lake City Police Department's highest-profile cold cases.

Anna was found stabbed to death on the front porch of her home, 1633 S. 300 East, on Sept. 10, 1998. Monday, police and prosecutors announced that charges were filed against a former Utah resident now serving time in an Idaho prison.

"We're very pleased. We're very relieved," said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Robin Snyder.

The Salt Lake District Attorney's Office has charged Matthew John Breck, 31, with aggravated murder, aggravated sex abuse of a child and child abuse. Breck was 19 and lived just down the street from Anna when the girl was slain, according to police. They believe Anna may have played with friends near his house.

Breck has been in the Idaho Correctional Institution-Orofino, in Clearwater County, Idaho, since 2001, when he was convicted of sodomy/lewdness of a child under 16.

DNA taken from Anna's fingernails, which had been preserved since her death, was matched to Breck's DNA using the FBI's CODIS system, a national database of DNA profiles.

Snyder said the match came back a couple of months ago. After police received that information, they started re-interviewing people who lived in the neighborhood at the time of the killing. They also went to Idaho and interviewed Breck.

During a post-Miranda interview, Breck denied ever having contact or even ever knowing Anna, according to court records.

Anna was stabbed five times in the neck, according to court documents.

Anna's friend who walked home from school with her the day she was killed told police of a person who walked behind them. The description of that person matched Breck in 1998, according to court documents.

Later that evening, after the slaying and while police were still at the crime scene, a neighbor saw Breck ducking in and out of cars, leaving the area and going down a side street, court documents stated.

Snyder said she did not believe Anna's family knew Breck. She said Breck was never a person of interest or suspect until the DNA profile from Sorenson Forensics was completed and matched in the CODIS system with Breck.

Anna's case was both disturbing and frustrating for police because it happened in a busy area and seemingly no one noticed. Her apartment was near an intersection that was traditionally full of cars between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. It was also across the street from Whittier Elementary, where there was a school event going on that night with lots of parents and children.

Yet, there were no witnesses to the crime.