Eric Matthews

Confirmed Kills
4
Suspected Kills
4
Total Possible Kills
8
Years Active
1994–1998
DOB
May 3, 1974
Zodiac
Taurus
Gender
Male
Race
White?
Identified
Yes
Status
Sentenced to life imprisonment
Alive or Dead?
In Prison (Life)
US States Operated
Indiana,Louisiana
Country
US
Synopsis
Info Box

American serial killer Eric Dawon Matthews was born on May 3rd, 1974 Indianapolis, Indiana. His criminal record dates back to 1994 when he was only 20 years old. By then he had already killed two of his ex-girlfriends in Indiana. A few years later – in 1998 – he murdered his wife and stepson in Louisiana. He is also suspected of two rapes that took place while he was a fugitive from the law. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was handed a life term without a chance of parole. He is still serving time today.

Early life

Eric Dawon Matthews had trouble starting from early on in his life; one of his uncles molested him when he was just 3 years old. Over the ensuing years, he was convicted of several petty crimes, but could not be prosecuted due to his young age. In an attempt to help Eric throughout all these events, he was sent to a mental hospital in various regions of Michigan, Chicago and Arizona when he was 9 years old. When he was 10 years old, he happened to commit rape on one of the staff workers at one of these mental hospitals. 

Despite his violent past and criminal record, Matthews was released and returned to Indianapolis, where he graduated from Lawrence Central High School. He had a reputation of being a charming, but very violent character. Matthews also had quite the way with the ladies.

Arrest and Confession of Murders

On Monday, May 21, 1998, 24-year-old Mr Matthews was arrested in Chicago for the brutal slaying of James, his 1 ½-year-old stepson who was found dead in a trash bin in New Orleans. Investigators say that Mr Matthews had initially confessed to dropping the boy off at a hospital but then admitted to an investigator that he had strangled the child out of rage, before confessing to killing two ex-girlfriends, his wife as well as committing a couple of rapes.

Eric’s killing spree began on January 18th, 1998. He killed his wife, Lashann Matthews at the couple’s trailer home in Hammond, Louisiana. He then fled with their two children, Rosalyn and James. It was discovered two days later that he killed his 1 ½-year-old stepson who was found dead in a trash bin in New Orleans. FBI agents continued to interrogate Eric Matthews. Eventually, he told them that he killed the child out of rage. The wife’s body was found in the couple’s trailer home in Hammond. The wife had been bound, gagged and beaten.

Eric Dawon Matthews also admitted to committing two rapes in Indiana and Louisiana as well as murdering two ex-girlfriends in the early 1990s before he moved to the New Orleans area around 1996. Authorities believe these two murders occurred in Indianapolis and Michigan areas. The gruesome murders saw both women dumped unceremoniously in bins, covered with trash.

Convictions 

In 2006, eight years after Matthews’ arrest, he went to trial. Having agreed to a plea deal with the prosecutors who promised not to seek the death penalty, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and proclaimed that he would not appeal his sentence. As a result of this, Matthews was handed a life term without a chance of parole. He is still serving time today.

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