Son of courthouse shooter is held without bail after 'unique' cyberstalking indictment
Appearing in court on Monday in what the public defender called a “unique” cyberstalking case against multiple family members accused of playing a role in a fatal Delaware courthouse shooting earlier this year, David Matusiewicz was ordered held without bail.
A prosecutor in the Wilmington case called him a flight risk and a danger to the community. However, neither Matusiewicz nor his mother and sister are accused of a direct role in the slaying of his former wife, Laura Mulford, or the other woman killed in February at the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington. Instead, a federal indictment says they participated in a campaign of stalking Mulford with intent to “kill and injure and harass and intimidate,” according to the Associated Press and the News Journal.
Matusiewicz’ father, Thomas Matusiewicz, reportedly shot the two women to death and injured police at the courthouse before killing himself on Feb. 11. The family had been trying to obtain custody of David Matusiewicz’ three children with Mulford, even though he had previously lost his parental rights. He was convicted of kidnapping, and his mother was convicted of lesser charges, after they absconded with the children to Central America in 2007.
Mulford and a woman friend had come to the courthouse for a hearing on her child-support case against David Matusiewicz on the day when Thomas Matusiewicz shot them both to death.
Defendants Lenore Matusiewicz and Amy Gonzalez–the mother and sister, respectively, of David Matusiewicz–are scheduled to appear in federal court on Wednesday in the Southern District of Texas, the state in which they reportedly reside. Prosecutors are expected to seek their extradition to Delaware.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “3 relatives of courthouse shooter indicted, feds say cyberstalking resulted in death of victim”
