By Steve Huff
The body found in the drainage canal was indeed 15-year-old Aaron Brooks. The boy who had planned on joining the wrestling team at Galt High School, who liked skateboarding and boxing, who had braces and was missing a tooth, was dead.
Apparently Aaron had been dead since October 26, 2005. The boy sighted near the Galt Market had undoubtedly been someone else.
The male a witness saw emerging from the drainage canal on October 26 had been wet, covered with mud, and was vomiting. He was the same male police were seeking even as they stated they believed Aaron Brooks was a runaway.
His name was Salvatore C. Maggio. When he was arrested on November 5, 2005, he was just 17 days shy of his 20th birthday.
The witness who saw Maggio emerging from the drainage canal where Aaron Brooks's body was eventually discovered called 911 that day — the 26th of October. Police and EMTs responded, and upon arrival were told by Maggio that 3 juveniles had attacked him and then fled. Medics treated Maggio, and he left the scene.
In reality, Maggio, also known as TC, and Brooks had clashed, police say, over a small amount of marijuana.
The Internet age sometimes gives us an opportunity to see what is truly lost when such a senseless death occurs. A look at Aaron Brooks's page at the social networking and blogging domain, myspace.com, moves him from just a name in a news story to a very real boy of 15.
In his profile at myspace.com, Aaron expressed simple desires likely common to a million other teen boys all over the world. Under a section of his profile titled, "Aaron's Blurbs," he wrote that he'd like to meet "Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson." In the section set aside for his interests, he stated general interests that were simple, "I like playin my guitar. Chillin w/my homies. Can't wait till I get my truck..."
A glance at Aaron's 88 friends proved poignant. Many had changed the caption for their profile photo to "RIP Aaron" — Rest in Peace, Aaron.
In the comments left by friends on Aaron's profile page there are numerous messages filled with mixed emotions, some in the online pidgin often referred to as "chat-speak," where words like "people" are shortened to "ppl," and phrases like "laughing out loud" translate to "LOL." One from a friend named Jake was particularly powerful in its simplicity:
Dude remember when me you kyle and casey used to ride our go-peds around town back in the day. I think yours was the fastest in galt. I don't wanna say that im gonna miss you because (sic) I know ill see you again but its gonna be reall hard not to see you every day and shake your hand whenever I passed you in the halls (...) I love you and I will never forget you. Your boy — Jacob.
Perhaps those who had originally thought Aaron Brooks a runaway needed to take a look at his myspace profile. With so many friends who cared so much, it was obvious that Aaron had nothing to run from.
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