Son of Del. courthouse shooter faces new probation violation charges related to ammo
New probation violation charges have been filed against the son of a man who committed suicide immediately after shooting to death two women at a Wilmington, Del., courthouse last month.
David Matusiewicz, 45, is accused in a violation petition filed Tuesday of living in a home in Texas in which guns and ammunition were present, reports the News Journal. The newspaper also says ammunition was found after the shootings in a vehicle in which Matusiewicz and his father traveled to Delaware.
Earlier news reports have said that David Matusiewicz lived with his parents in Texas while on probation following a federal prison term for kidnapping the children he had with his ex-wife, Christine Belford. His mother served a state prison term in Delaware for the same crime.
A federal court probation violation hearing originally scheduled for Thursday has been postponed, the newspaper reports. Matusiewicz is represented by Federal Public Defender Edson Bostic, who could not be reached for comment on Tuesday by the News Journal.
David Matusiewicz was not at the scene of the Feb. 11 slayings, having arrived at court earlier, with his father, for a child-support hearing. The younger man proceeded through metal detectors into the court building, where he and his ex-wife were scheduled to appear, while his dad, Thomas Matusiewicz, 68, waited in the lobby for Belford to arrive. Then he shot her to death, as well as a female friend, and shot, but did not seriously wound, two police officers who were wearing bulletproof vests.
The senior Matusiewicz also reportedly had a handwritten death warrant with him for Belford’s lawyer, but she had decided not to have him represent her at the hearing.
David Matusiewicz was taken into custody shortly after the shootings, questioned and charged with probation violation. The earlier case was based on allegations that he failed to pay court-ordered restitution and child support to Belford and had misrepresented to probation officials his travel plans concerning his trip from Texas to Delaware to appear at the court hearing, the News Journal explains.
After the courthouse shootings, the state attorney general’s office obtained a protective order barring David Matusiewicz’s mother, Lenore, from having contact with his children.
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Son of accused Delaware courthouse gunman is detained in probation case at judge’s order”
ABAJournal.com: “Courthouse shooter had prior run-ins with lawyers over family dispute”
