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Murder of 17-year-old heightens awareness about young police informants
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January 7, 2000
Web posted at: 11:55 p.m. EST (0455 GMT)
By Correspondent Greg LaMotte
NORWALK, California (CNN) -- The murder of 17-year-old Chad MacDonald has led to new California laws regulating the use of minors as police informants.
MacDonald's death and the near death of his girlfriend at the time have launched his mother Cindy MacDonald on a crusade to reform police informant legislation nationwide.
Chad was 17 when police arrested him for possession of methamphetamines. Hoping to avoid a criminal record and possible jail time, he agreed to act as a police informant.
Within weeks, MacDonald was beaten and strangled to death, police say, in a house in Norwalk, California, his body dumped in an alley. His girlfriend was shot in the face and left for dead. MacDonald's killers accused him of being a "snitch."
Richard Leonard, an attorney for the MacDonald family, says Chad went to the house with his girlfriend to set up one last deal for the Brea, California, police.
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"It's always been our contention that ... the only reason Chad MacDonald was killed was because he was a police informant," said Leonard.
But police disagree. They say MacDonald had stopped working for them weeks before he was killed.
"My heart goes out to the family, but Chad's involvement with Norwalk was Chad's own," said Brea Police Chief Bill Lentini.
Eventually, three people were convicted for MacDonald's murder and the attack on his girlfriend. They were sentenced to life in prison.
The MacDonald case led to a new California law that requires minors and their parents to obtain permission from a judge before becoming a police informant.
Although MacDonald's mother had given permission for her son's police role, she's now taking the matter to court, seeking $10 million in damages .
"I live every day with this gaping hole that his death has left in my life," said MacDonald, "and I will live with that for the rest of my life."
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