Matthew Laughrin, Richard Laughrin

UPDATE, July 16, 2010: Man sentenced in Kiefer's death

The man held responsible for the overdose of a Whitefish Bay girl, whose death has raised awareness about the growing problem of prescription drug abuse, was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison for second-degree reckless homicide.

Matthew Laughrin, 23, also a Whitefish Bay resident, could have been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison in the death of 15-year-old Madison Kiefer.

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In 2006, Matthew Laughrin was dreaming of a better life. He and his mother, Sandra, were picking up the pieces from Laughrin's drug abuse and overdosing.

Matthew grew up in Shorewood and later in Whitefish Bay in a nurturing family with four siblings. A strong upbringing, however, is not the complete antidote for depression, according to his mother.

“We couldn’t help him with his depression and anxiety. That’s who he was. Those were his demons,” she said.

“You can have the most loving, caring, supporting family, but if you deal with depression and anxiety, you have to learn coping mechanisms that help you. Sadly, those who deal with depression and anxiety want a quick fix, they want it to go away fast,” she said.

From his perception, according to his mother, street drugs eased the keen pain more quickly than anti-depressants.

“I believe that kids will self-medicate. Kids self-medicating is what I see happening with a lot of kids when they are depressed and dealing with anxiety,” she said.

Sandra strongly contends that her son is not alone in his battle with depression.

“These are not kids that have had an easy life necessarily; these are not kids going along and everything has been perfect in their life and all of a sudden, wham bam,” she said. “Sure, there are kids like that. Sure there are kids that experiment and get hooked, but the majority of kids that I know that have had problems, there have been problems before that.”

Matthew dreams of one day getting his GED and going on to Milwaukee Area Technical College where he would like to study a trade and perhaps become an electrician.

He is still haunted by several friends who have died as a result of a drug overdose.

“It’s a good day because I am still alive. But I have seen death. … I have nightmares that I am going to sit in jail the rest of my life. My dreams are haunted by nightmares — of death. Right now I am living in hell,” he said.

Matthew, who said that teenagers should stay physically active and keep a clean circle of friends, blames himself and his depression for his drug use.

“When you get a kid like me that’s so depressed and stuff and has all of these emotional disorders, its just so hard for a parent to stop it,” he said. “I’ve had the ideal parents; Mom is a great lady. She’s done everything she can to get me not to use anymore, but my advice to parents is not to be naive about everything.”

Amazing.

This reminds me of former Archbishop Rembert Weakland's letter to his lover, Paul J. Marcoux.

Dear Paul,

If I have great hesitancy in saying how I feel inside, I have even greater fear about writing about them. It all seems so permanent and irreversible that way. One of my traumatic memories during high school days was getting caught writing in my diary during study-hall rather than working and having the diary confiscated and read -- I felt sure -- by all the prefects. My mother's sage advice when I lamented about the injustice of it all was to warn me that I should not put down on paper what I would not want the whole world to read. But here goes anyway. It will make our walk less heavy -- or at least it will give you a jump on how I feel and a chance to reflect.

Of course in Laughrin's case, he didn't do the writing like Weakland, but he did the talking and there's a record of what he said. And what he said in 2006 probably makes him a bit uncomfortable now as he sits in jail faced with possible charges in the death of Madison Kiefer.

Reflect on what Laughrin said.

[Laughrin] is still haunted by several friends who have died as a result of a drug overdose.

“It’s a good day because I am still alive. But I have seen death. … I have nightmares that I am going to sit in jail the rest of my life. My dreams are haunted by nightmares — of death. Right now I am living in hell,” he said.

As it turns out, 2006 wasn't hell for Laughrin. His hell is now.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The 22-year-old man suspected of selling drugs to Madison Kiefer from the Whitefish Bay home he shares with his mother has said teens routinely came to their home to do drugs with him when he was a teen.

The comments by Matthew Laughrin are contained in a lengthy article about his drug addiction that was published in July 2006, two months after his second felony drug conviction.

Laughrin is in jail awaiting possible charges in connection with the death Sunday of Kiefer, a Whitefish Bay resident. She was 15.

His mother, Sandra Laughrin, who is the early childhood education director at the COA Youth and Family Center in Milwaukee, was not arrested.

Matthew Laughrin, according to the article in CNI Newspapers, also lived with his mother when, as a teen, he and friends engaged in widespread drug activity at their home. The article does not say whether that home is the one where they currently live.

Matthew Laughrin dropped out of Shorewood High School as a sophomore and became involved with other teens who used drugs, the article says.

...A woman who answered the phone Thursday at the center where Sandra Laughrin works said that she was not in and that she did not know when Laughrin would return. No one answered the phone at the Laughrin home.

Brittany Laughrin, Sandra's daughter, said Thursday her mother would not comment about Matthew.

Sandra Laughrin told police that her son had informed her Sunday of Kiefer's death, but that she didn't know Kiefer had been in their home overnight.

Police have asked that a reckless homicide charge be filed against Matthew Laughrin in the death of Kiefer, who had a history of drug abuse.

Laughrin's father, Richard Laughrin, 58, of Shorewood, said he helped his son take an unresponsive Kiefer from his son's home to the nearby home of a friend of Kiefer's.

Kiefer was dumped in the driveway and was pronounced dead a short time later. No cause of death has yet been determined.

Richard Laughrin was arrested, but was released from jail Tuesday without charges being filed.

Also arrested was Brittany Blue, 18, a Glendale resident. She told police that on Friday she gave Matthew Laughrin several pills of Suboxone, which is prescribed for addicts of opiates such as heroin. Blue, who according to police had a prescription for Suboxone, also has not been charged but remains in jail.

According to that 2006 article, "Matthew grew up in Shorewood and later in Whitefish Bay in a nurturing family with four siblings." He had a "strong upbringing."

Really?

What sort of parent helps his son dump an unresponsive 15-year-old girl in the driveway of a home?

I find it hard to believe that Matthew Laughrin had a "strong upbringing."

Now, the father, Richard Laughrin, says he's sorry.

The man who helped his son dump Madison Kiefer in the driveway of a Whitefish Bay home said Wednesday that he believed the 15-year-old girl had only passed out, but that "looking back now, I wish I had done something different."

...Richard Laughrin, 58, a Shorewood resident, said in an interview that only his son carried Kiefer out of the car and he didn't see where his son put her. He said a girl had come outside to meet them.

"I had no idea what was going on," the elder Laughrin said.

What?

No idea what was going on?

Are we supposed to buy that the elder Laughrin didn't ask his son what was going on?

That's absolutely ridiculous.

It seems that the apple didn't fall far from the tree in this case.
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FOX 6 EXCLUSIVE: Matthew Laughrin Speaks

Man Charged In Connection With Kiefer's Death First Spoke With FOX 6 In 2007 About His Drug Problem

Watch a FOX6 News special: Heroin in the Suburbs