Reporter Freed in Drowning of Toddler

FRESNO — Kidnapping and murder charges were dropped Wednesday against a radio reporter who had confessed to killing a 2-year-old boy.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Henry said there was insufficient evidence and granted a defense request to dismiss the charges. Henry then ordered Steven Diddy released.

Prosecutors agreed with Henry’s decision.

“In this case, we believe the evidence is not sufficient beyond the reasonable doubt to prove that anybody killed Matthew Moorby,” Dist. Atty. Ed Hunt said.

Diddy, a former reporter for KMPH news radio, confessed last October to drowning the missing boy in Woodward Park in February 1996. Diddy later recanted his confession, saying he wanted police protection from an unidentified person.

Diddy, 26, was declared mentally incompetent and was sent to a state hospital in Atascadero. He returned last month after treatment and reinstated his innocent plea.