A former St. Louis County police officer who was indicted by a grand jury after firing gunshots at a children’s trunk-or-treat in Kirkwood in October 2023 on Friday pleaded guilty to eight felony counts.
Dressed in black pants and a brown blazer at the St. Louis County courthouse in Clayton, Matthew McCulloch, 40, pleaded guilty to six counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of making a terroristic threat and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Hathaway said McCulloch made a blind plea, meaning he chose not to plead according to the prosecution’s recommendation, giving the court the full range of punishment at sentencing. The prosecution had offered him three years' imprisonment, she said.
“We believe the victims in this case, as well as the Kirkwood community, were deeply affected and traumatized by this incident so our recommendation has always been that prison is appropriate,” Hathaway said. “When there’s child victims, sometimes a resolution with a plea of guilty where the defendant is accepting responsibility keeps the child victims from having to testify and relive or be sometimes retraumatized by the experience of having to testify at a trial. That’s always something we think about with any victim, but particularly with child victims.”
Police said McCulloch was at a trunk-or-treat at North Kirkwood Middle School on Oct. 15, 2023, when he fired 12 shots from his gun straight into the air, shouting that “everyone would die.” Police affidavits show he was surrounded by hundreds of children, including four who were under the age of 17 and standing near him at the time. He was no longer employed by the St. Louis County Police Department as of Oct. 19, 2023.
The event was sponsored by the Parent Teacher Organization at Tillman Elementary School, which is part of the Kirkwood School District. McCulloch was there with his family and off duty, though he had his badge and weapon on him, police said.
St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo on Friday scheduled sentencing for March 14. The judge could sentence McCulloch to one to seven years in prison due to the felony charges. McCulloch is the son of the county's previous prosecutor, Bob McCulloch, who held the position from 1991 to 2019, before Wesley Bell took office.
The independent Conviction and Incident Review Unit is handling the case. Bell formed the unit in 2019 to handle cases involving police officers and other public figures.
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said Friday he’s confident that recently appointed St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith will continue to build on Bell’s work.
“This case was about protecting the county charter and ensuring St. Louis County can select its elected officials,” Page said. “It’s important that the prosecuting attorney’s office be successful, and Melissa Price Smith has my full support in working to keep St. Louis County safe.”
In November 2023, a St. Louis County grand jury indicted McCulloch on 15 counts that included seven counts of armed criminal action, six counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of a terrorist threat and a single count of unlawful use of a weapon.
