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Sandra Yi ReportingThe teenager accused of stabbing a group home counselor to death will likely be charged with murder as an adult.
Seventeen-year old Robert Houston was booked for aggravated murder and aggravated sexual assault. Prosecutors are expected to file formal charges sometime today.
Meantime, family and friends are remembering the young victim. Family members say Raechale Elton loved the kids she counseled. They say helping them was her life's passion. She died doing what she loved.
Mike Chabries: "It was just a tough day, a tough day."
Mike Chabries had just met Raechale Elton in January when she enrolled in his criminal justice management class at Weber State University. He recalls a student with a bright future.
Mike Chabries, Asst. Professor, Weber State Univ.: "She was on the road to getting and 'A.'"
He says, her desk sat empty today. As students talked about what happened, they voiced a range of emotions.
Mike Chabries: "Everything from shock, absolute disbelief, to anger, to very emotional, for some."
On Wednesday, Elton was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death, allegedly by a teenager who, police say, was infatuated with the woman. Elton was a group home counselor and gave the boy a ride to the agency's transition home, where he lived.
The suspect, 17-year old Robert Houston, was at the group home earlier that day playing basketball.
Mike Chabries: "Of all the people, you look at a student in a class that's just young in her education, young in her career, committed, and say, 'why her? Why her?'"
Elton's grandmother was too devastated to talk on camera, but said, "I think he should take responsibility for what he did because he took a life of someone who means so much to us. She had so much potential for life and to give."
Mike Chabries saw that potential from the beginning. He remembers the first day of class when Elton described her desire to help troubled kids.
Mike Chabries: "You could tell by the way she explained it, she loved what she was doing, she loved working with youth. She felt like she could make a difference."
Raechale Elton was a 2003 graduate of Tooele High School. She was going to graduate from Weber State's Criminal Justice Program in September. Her funeral is scheduled for Tuesday in Tooele.
