Cyberstalking Resulting in Murder: The Case of Christine Belford
Warning, this case discusses the topics of murder, crimes against children, and alleged sexual abuse.
For this case, I watched an episode of Web of Lies. It’s season 7 episode 10, titled ‘Web of Spies.’
A tumultuous family dynamic leads to murder.
Background
Christine met David Matusiewicz after her first marriage ended. At first, David seemed like a great and nice guy. He was a successful optometrist, and the two had met when Christine worked for him.
In 2001, Christine and David got married, and moved to a nice house in Middletown, Delaware. Christine had a daughter, Katie, from her previous marriage. David and Christine would go on to have 3 daughters together.
Christine Belford
The In-Laws
The marriage started to crumble as soon as David let his parents, Thomas and Lenore move in.
Thomas Matusiewicz was a former New Jersey police officer. The show hinted that he at some point had been fired. He was described as being very grumpy. Katie described Lenore as very strong minded and not nice.
Christine started to feel uncomfortable in her own home. After 5 years of marriage, Christine filed for divorce in January 2006. She had hoped that they could split on good terms, and split custody of their children. David wasn’t going to let that happen.
Christine spoke to a therapist about her issues with David. Christine said that David claimed she was bipolar and tried to have her committed. A psychologist had tested both Christine and David, and the results showed that David was the one who had issues. David always wanted to make all of the decisions, and he wanted the children to live with him full time.
Where Are the Kids?
In February 2007, Christine and David were granted shared custody of their daughters.
In August 2007, David told Christine he was going to take the girls on a trip to Disney with his mom, Lenore. Christine didn’t think anything would go wrong, so she agreed, as long as they were back by the start of school in September.
By September 2007, David, Lenore and the kids were 2 days late returning home. When Christine had spoken to one of her daughters on the phone, she had said they were stuck in the car for a long time. Christine had believed they were going to be flying back and forth, not driving.
The New Castle County police became involved. They checked David’s bank accounts, and learned that his bank account had last been used in North Carolina. The bank account had only been used a few times, which was odd considering they had been gone for over a month.
The police obtained a search warrant for David’s home in Middletown. They realized the fireplace had been used. In the ashes, the police found the divorce papers, and evidence of a New Zealand bank account.
The police spoke to Thomas, and David’s sister, Amy Gonzalez. Both Thomas and Amy claimed that they had not seen or heard from Lenore or David.
A friend of David’s revealed that David had sold his optometry business for about $650,000. David had also forged Christine’s name on a document for a line of credit for $249,000.
The Manhunt
Christine appeared in several news and media interviews talking about how she was doing everything she could to get her children back.
By November 2007, the U.S. Marshals became involved. They had learned that hundreds of dollars between the Matusiewicz’s accounts were being exchanged. A retirement fund of $100,000 had also been drained.
Lenore had purchased an RV for $82,000. A police bulletin with the description of the RV and the license plate was released worldwide.
Thomas had purchased a piece of property in Edcouch, Texas, about 20 minutes from the Mexican border. The police tried to contact Amy again, and learned from her boyfriend that they were moving to Texas.
The police and U.S. Marshals were also joined by Interpol. They had learned that David was in Panama. He had purchased a home there, but then had been tipped off and was able to get away again.
By March 2009, the children, David, and Lenore had been missing for 19 months. They learned that they were living in the RV in Catarina, Nicaragua.
The police reached out to the embassy in Nicaragua. The RV was surveilled and watched. Deputy U.S. Marshal William David was contacted that they were located, and calling themselves the Blanco family.
The kids were described as being very skinny, one had pink eye, and had cavities in their teeth. The locals had also referred to David and Lenore as the kidnappers because they thought something seemed off about them.
A Smear Campaign
David and Lenore pled guilty to avoid going to trial. David was sentenced to 48 months, and Lenore to 18 months.
Christine knew she needed to hire a lawyer to terminate David’s parental rights before he was released. Christine’s lawyer, Timothy Hitchings filed a termination of parental rights. This was the last straw for David.
Less than a month into David’s sentence, a webpage was created and circulated online. The website made and listed serious allegations against Christine. Lenore called it her affidavit, and it claimed that Christine abused and molested her children.
In March 2011, surveillance footage of Christine and her kids was posted on YouTube. It was clear that Christine and the kids were being watched and filmed from inside a car. In the footage, one of the girls had ran into the street, and Christine goes to get her. It was clear that whoever was filming wanted to make it seem like Christine was grabbing her daughter’s arm.
On September 16, 2010, Lenore was released from prison. She moved to Texas to be with her husband and daughter.
The Messy Matusiewicz’s
Christine confided in one of her friends that she felt as if she was being watched all the time. Christine’s religion really helped her cope, and she loved to teach Sunday school.
In July 2011, Christine’s friends and colleagues at her church received Lenore’s webpage pages in the mail. The Matusiewicz’s had printed out these pages and mailed them. They mailed them to the principals at the schools too.
Christine resigned at the church and became even more depressed. Katie said that her mom put on a very brave face around her and the other kids.
Christine also went online, and found a friend online to talk to. Well, she thought it was a friend. (More on that soon). The friend, Cindy, claimed to be an ex of David’s, and had heard about everything that his family was doing.
Cindy asked almost everyday how the children were, and Christine would tell her and share pictures with her. Katie and Christine’s boyfriend, Jerald, were skeptical of Cindy.
In December 2011, Thomas and Lenore drove to Delaware from Texas, and showed up at Christine and Jerald’s home. Christine wasn’t there, and Thomas and Lenore left after a confrontation with Christine’s friend.
Christine wanted to sell her house because Lenore and Thomas knew where they lived. A real estate agent just so happened to be in the area, and agreed to take photos of the house.
Before David was released from prison, Christine and Jerald put up surveillance cameras around the house and bought 2 German Shepards. David was released on April 13, 2012, and moved to Texas.
The Shooting
Christine was able to file for child support after David was released. He refused, so a court date was set for February 11, 2013.
The morning of February 11, 2013, Christine and her friend, Beth Mulford, arrived at the courthouse around 8am. Thomas and David drove in from Maryland, where they had stayed the previous night.
Around 8am, several shots rang out from the lobby of the courthouse. There was a large number of shell casings everywhere, and broken glass from the revolving front door.
The surveillance footage showed a man stepping out from behind a pole and firing his gun. The shooter was Thomas Matsuiewicz, who then turned the gun on himself.
Christine had walked into the courthouse first followed by her friend, Beth. Christine was shot several times in the chest. Beth had tried to runaway, but Thomas had caught up to her. Christine and Beth were both transported to the hospital, but they were both pronounced dead.
The Plan
David was found in the courthouse by the New Castle Co. police, and taken into custody. When David was told that his dad was dead, he had no reaction.
The police were able to race to the schools to pick up the children before Lenore or Amy could get to them. They were all transported to an undisclosed location for their protection.
David revealed to the police that his car was parked in the parking garage next to the courthouse. A bomb squad was used to clear the car. Inside, the police found binoculars, several sets of handcuffs in different sizes, a cattle prod, and a large knife.
David also revealed the address of the home in Maryland where they had stayed. Lenore was located at the house. Amy was also located, and claimed to have no knowledge of anything.
In the days after the shooting, Amy had tried to file for custody of the children. It was of course denied.
The home in Edcouch, Texas was searched. Inside the house, the police found guns, ammunition, and a handwritten note from Thomas. It was clear that Thomas knew he would never be going back to that house. There was also evidence that the family was part of a domestic terrorism group called the Sovereign Citizens Movement. It was clear that they hated the government and believed the government favored Christine over them.
The Convictions
Inside the Texas home, the police had found a notebook. In the notebook, there was a hit list. The number one target was Christine, but the second name listed was Timothy Hitchings, Christine’s lawyer.
The police believed that David was the leader. They said after his arrest for kidnapping, he was orchestrating everything from his prison cell. He had been the one who came up with the idea for the webpage about Christine. Lenore had written some of her ideas down, and then had her daughter help her type it up. The digital trail led right to them, and the YouTube video came from the hospital where Amy had worked.
The Matisuewicz’s had also asked Cindy, who was in love with David, to befriend Christine online. Christine had her profile set to private, but by friending her, Cindy was able to see everything she was posting.
They had hired the real estate agent to obtain photos of the inside of the home. They had also hired several of their friends to drive by the house to see who was visiting. The friends would even write down the license plate numbers of every car they saw.
Just one day before David was released from custody, the prosecution brought their indictment to the grand jury. David, Lenore and Amy were all going to be charged with cyberstalking resulting in murder.
There were over 600 exhibits of evidence. The prosecution said that the Matusiewicz’s operated in a cult like fashion. The defense claimed that the Matusiewicz’s had done nothing wrong.
Christine’s audio tapes from her therapy sessions were played for the court. Christine’s daughter testified that the sexual and physical abuse allegations were untrue and all lies. Christine’s daughter, who was 13 at the time, had Googled herself, and found the YouTube video that had been posted. She said she was not surprised when learning that Thomas had shot her mom, and said they all knew it would happen at some point.
On February 18, 2016, David, Amy and Lenore were all found guilty. They were all sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The 3 girls were put into foster care after Christine’s death. Katie hopes to one day be reunited with her sisters. Katie also has a daughter of her own.
David, Amy, Thomas and Lenore
Other
Lenore has since died in prison.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I hope David and Amy are rotting away in prison. They are complete scum, and so was Thomas and Lenore. Thomas is definitely in hell, if you believe in that. It’s clear that Thomas and Lenore brainwashed the shit out of their kids. They put so many people in danger, and killed someone who truly loved her children.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/where-are-christine-belfords-daughters-now/
https://apnews.com/article/90be2701c7aa4b2a900fcc78837ec47c
