Iowa teen Cody Metzker-Madsen testifies in murder of foster brother Dominic Elkins
A teenager on trial for murder told a court he believed he was defeating an army of goblins with a sword and a brick while he beat his five-year-old foster brother and drowned him.
Cody Metzker-Madsen bludgeoned Dominic Elkins to death in the garden of their foster home in Logan, Iowa, last year while the pair were playing.
The 18-year-old then drowned him in a pool of water at the bottom of a ravine and dumped the body.
The pair had only been in the house for a couple of weeks, both being removed from their biological parents, before the attack took place.
During harrowing testimony on the first day of his murder trial, he told the judge that he was playing a game based on Roman mythology with the youngster and was transported to 'his own world' before he is suspected of killing him.
Harrowing: Cody Metzker-Madsen, 18, bludgeoned his five-year-old foster brother Dominic Elkins to death in the garden of their foster home in Logan, Iowa, last year while the pair were playing
Fantasy: Testifying in court, Metzker Madsen said he was in his 'own world' during the attack and thought Dominic (pictured) was a goblin attacking him
Metzker Madsen then claims he saw 'green, ugly little creatures' that were fighting people he knew.
The scene was similar to something from Skylanders, a video game the teen played, he said.
During the harrowing account Metzer Madsen said he 'fought the goblin's commander' and pushed him into ravine.
'I remember attacking him with it and smashing it into his face,' Metzker-Madsen said.
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Share'At that very moment did you realize it was Dominic?' the teen's attorney Michael Williams asked.
'No, I did not,' the teen responded. 'I started pushing his head into the water as I was hitting him with a brick.'
The teen said he wanted to keep the goblin to make sure it wouldn't come back to life and fight him. Goblins are 'kind of tricky little creatures,' he said.
However, talking about Dominic, he said: 'I loved the little guy, I would never hurt him. Not even a hair on his fricken' little head.'
Fantasy: Metzker Madsen (mugshot taken last year) claims he saw 'green, ugly little creatures' that were fighting people he knew and remembers smashing the brick into Dominic's face - but didn't realize it was him
Devastated: Barbara Kunch, Dominic's biological mother, left the courtroom as Metzker-Madsen described the attack on her son
After killing the goblin commander, Metzker-Madsen said he was called out of the ravine by a screaming ally who needed his help.
His 'vision' ended after he helped the other person. He then went to tell his teenage foster sister that he couldn't find Dominic.
The biological mothers of Metzker-Madsen and Dominic sat in the courtroom and cried as the teen testified.
The boys were both in the care of Julie and Don Coolman at the time who were also raising their own children. They haven't spoken publicly about the death.
Barbara Kunch, Dominic's mother, left the courtroom as Metzker-Madsen described the attack on her son.
She put her son into foster care because he had behavioral problems and did not know how to handle him.
The five-year-old would throw uncontrollable tantrums and physically abuse others.
That aggressive behavior had apparently come under control in recent days after he received months of therapy at a local treatment center before he was put into the Coolman's care.
Metzker-Madsen said that he only realized he was involved in Dominic's death when he was in a car a short time later.
He also got frustrated during cross-examination by assistant attorney general Denise Timmins.
Witnesses to tragedy: Don Coolman pictured with his twin 12-year-old daughters, who discovered their foster brother dead in a ravine
Prosecutors noted that Metzker-Madsen provided more than one story for why Dominic died and was able to lead his foster family to his body.
On cross-examination, Metzker-Madsen said he told different people varying versions of the stories depending on a symbol that only he could see on top of people's heads.
'You don't really believe me, do you?' the teen asked Timmins at one point.
Metzker-Madsen's biological mother, Peggy Madsen, also took to the stand. She told the court how she would use $20 of crystal meth a day for three months while she was pregnant with him.
She had custody of him until he was seven and claimed that he grew up having imaginary friends and likened himself to a Power Ranger.
The teenager has been kept isolated in prison since last year and his attorney is using an insanity defense.
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