WEST SALEM—The death of a 14-year-old boy in West Salem this past June remains unresolved, and sources close to the family have reported that his family is disturbed by the delay.
The family of Maxwell Kirk Elliott, the West Salem eighth grader who was found dead in his room at his father’s house June 7, has not been able to bury the boy: His body has been held in a morgue by the Edwards County coroner, Mark Curtis, since that time, with Curtis telling the family that “It’s up to the court system now” when they make inquiries as to what will happen next.
However, Edwards County State’s Attorney Mike Valentine has said that there is nothing to indicate that Maxwell’s death was anything other than a tragic suicide, and that no charges are being considered against anyone over any aspect of the boy’s death.
June 7
The situation arose at about 4 in the afternoon of Saturday, June 7, when the Elliott boys, Sam, 15, and Maxwell were at their father George Elliott’s residence on Pinhook Street in West Salem.
Sam was on the phone to his mother Regina Cashmore, who was reportedly in Mt. Vernon at the time; George Elliott was at work at the Walmart Distribution Center in Olney.
Reports indicate that the two boys were quarrelling about listening to music on their father’s computer through the Pandora music service website, and were fighting about Sam having taken the remote to the computer.
During this quarrel, which occurred while the boys were moving about the house, a door hit Max on the arm. He got mad and stormed out of the room. When he came back, he indicated that he was wanting to fight his brother.
With their mom on the phone, she could hear them bickering back and forth. Around 20 minutes later, Sam indicated to his mother that he thought he could hear his brother in his room “packing,” as if he were angry and ready to leave. Cashmore advised her son to stay in the kitchen, possibly wishing to offset any further confrontation between the two.
Went to check on brother
But at around 4:30, Sam advised that he was “just gonna go see” what Max was up to, and disconnected the call to his mother.
He called her back in a few minutes, advising that “Max hung himself” and that he had already called 911.
Reports indicate that Sam, worried about the lack of emergency response after a few minutes, actually ran into town where the ambulance barn is located, trying to get someone to come help, but there was no one there.
Ultimately, Sam called his father, while his mother was calling village police chief Harv Fenton.
The coroner was called at 4:30. Maxwell was declared deceased when Mark Curtis arrived.
Illinois State Police were also called to the location of Maxwell Elliott’s death, as it was indicated that those examining the scene were unclear exactly how the boy had managed to hang himself.
Further details unavailable
Details of what Maxwell used to effect the hanging (rope, twine, belt, some other object), how he used that item (as in whether there were rafters or another independent object he could have hung from to effectively create a hanging situation, either by strangulation or by a broken vertebra) and how long it took for him to either suffocate or strangle were never made known.
What is known is that Illinois State Police investigator Rick White was the primary interviewer in the hours after Maxwell’s death. White spoke to Sam along with others in the family both present in the home at the time as well as away from the home.
In the preliminary investigation, the matter was considered a suicide.
However, official cause and manner of death have not yet been made public. Those can only be called by the county coroner and/or a coroner’s jury, and one of those has yet to be held.
Valentine and Curtis
Friends of the family advise that Curtis has only deferred questions to Valentine.
Valentine told Disclosure that officially, “There is insufficient evidence of homicide and/or murder.
“But there were some issues,” Valentine said on September 4, nearly three months since the death of Maxwell Elliott. “We waited until some DNA evidence that needed to be processed came back, and there was no question that this couldn’t have been a homicide.”
That leaves only two conclusions: suicide, or unknown causes, something only the coroner can call.
“All interviews corroborated with the boy’s (Sam’s) story,” Valentine said.
He declined to give any further details of what was found at the scene, what item Maxwell used to hang himself, and more importantly, how, deferring those questions back to Curtis…whom Disclosure was unable to reach, as the listed number for “Edwards County Coroner” is not a valid phone number.
Valentine did say that he was supposed to have been meeting with Curtis soon, and would hopefully be able to get answers at that time.
Sources have advised that Curtis has stated openly that he’s “not done with his investigation” and is “not ready to sign off on suicide.”
However, friends of the family have advised that the family is hoping that whatever the outcome, they can take possession of the teen’s body and have a formal funeral, as to date they have only been able to have a memorial service and not a burial.
Disclosure will continue to keep apprised of the situation, and report when something happens that will give closure to the Elliott family.