Mom Fought for Her Children for Years Before Being Gunned Down at Courthouse | Chistine Belford

Now part of the Darkcast Network. Welcome to Indie Podcasts with a Dark side. On the morning of February 11, 2013, people were arriving at the New Castle county courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, for what should have been a routine day. Instead, chaos erupted in the lobby. Steven Rinehart, a corporal with the Delaware Capitol Police, described what he saw, saying, quote, I could see there was a man chasing a woman. He opened fire on her. As a woman fell, the shooter turned his attention to another woman. He chased her and fired several more shots. Officer Reinhardt drew his weapon and ordered the gunman to drop his gun. Instead, the man turned the weapon on himself. According to reporter Chris Barish, quote, the man, while he’s standing there, takes a gun and blows his head off. No one could make sense of the carnage. But as investigators began digging into the case, they discovered that the shooting was only the final chapter of a conflict that had been building for years. Welcome, LaMs. Welcome to a new episode of Love and Heartbreak to Homicide, your weekly true crime podcast telling you cases of relationships that turn to murder. I am your host, Kai, and today’s case is about a custody battle that became so obsessive and so vindictive that it ended with gunfire inside a courthouse and a landmark cyber stalking conviction that changed legal history. But before we get back into that, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you’re on. You can also subscribe to the podcast for free through our Patreon patreon.com loveandmurder as a free sub. You won’t miss any episodes as they’re emailed directly to you. And you also get some bonuses. But if you want more, Kai, more cases, more ranting, then become part of the lamflam by choosing any of the paid tiers we have there, starting at $3 a month and above. As part of the lamfam. You don’t get intros like this one, so we get directly into the case. You also don’t get commercials, but you do get more cases like the after show coming up after this case that starts at the $3 a month and above. And like the last bonus I have in there about the a little girl who was supposed to be finally safe. Instead, after her death, investigators began uncovering, um, allegations that would leave an entire community asking how something like this could happen without someone stepping in sooner. After you listen to that case, you’re going to have so many questions. You’re also going to probably flip your phone over because that case pissed me off. Join the LaM Patreon fam for that full case also add free listening, exclusive bonus episodes, and more stories you won’t Hear anywhere else. Patreon.com loveandmurder to join now and listen now. Oh, and not only do you get that bonus, but you also get back bonuses too. Patreon.com uh, forward/loveandmurder now let’s get back into this case of Christine Belford. Christine Belford, who was 39 years old at the time of this case, was from Newark, Delaware with one daughter from a previous marriage that had ended in 1988. In 1999, she started dating David Thomas Matusiewicz, and the two married in 2011. At the time, David was an optometrist who owned a successful practice and Christine worked as the office manager. Together they had three daughters, Laura, born in 2002, Lei born in 2003, and and Karen, born in 2005. However, his personal life was complicated by his parents, 68 year old former New Jersey police officer Thomas Matsiewicz and Lenore Matsiewicz, who moved into the couple’s house in 2003 because they couldn’t afford to live on their own. Which is not a problem for some in laws. It just depends on how much they get into your life, you know. So I guess with this arrangement it actually caused tension inside the household. And Christine later felt that her in laws had inserted themselves into decisions involving the children and family life. That’s exactly what I was talking about. You know, it’s not a problem as long as the in laws know their place in the household and their boundaries, but when those boundaries are constantly crossed, then it can become a bit of a problem. By January 2006, the, uh, marriage had reached its breaking point. Christine and David separated. Their divorce was finalized in February 2007, and the court awarded shared custody of the children. What followed after that was a bitter custody battle. David claimed Christine was an unfit mother. But a psychologist noted that David himself had significant issues seeing, quote, the world from his perspective only, which actually most people do that. So for a psychologist to say that he had to be, I’m, uh, going to say allegedly significantly narcissistic. And I’m not a psychologist, so I’m not diagnosing anybody with anything. I’m just saying most people see the world from their perspective only. So for a psychologist to say this, like, imagine how much, like how high, how hard he had to see the world from his perspective only. So despite David’s allegations and claims, the court maintained the custody arrangement. In August 2007, David asked Christine for permission to take the children on a two week trip to Disney World. Lenore was supposed to accompany them, so Christine agreed. The two weeks came and went, but David never brought the girls home. After a short time, Christine reported the children missing. The investigation, led by Detective Jeff Shriner, began looking into the disappearance, and they discovered that David had spent months prepping for the trip. He had sold his optometry practice for approximately $900,000 and emptied his house of furniture. For the next 18 to 19 months, David and Lenore moved the children through Central America, eventually settling in Nicaragua. While authorities searched for them, the family lived in an RV which served as their primary residence. While they remained fugitives. During that time, David worked to separate the girls emotionally from their mother. He told his oldest daughter, Laura, that Christine was dead. While David and Lenore were hiding the children, law enforcement agencies in the United States continued searching. And because the search spanned across borders, Detective shriner enlisted the U.S. marshals to conduct a search that extended countrywide and beyond. Investigators tried to get information from David’s father and, uh, his sister, Amy Gonzalez. But this endeavor turned out to be fruitless. So they decided to follow the money and David’s digital footprint. Detectives analyzed financial transactions and toll records to map out the family’s movements. A major lead developed when it was discovered that David had forged Christine’s signature on mortgage documents for their marital home. This fraud allowed him to funnel money directly into his parents bank accounts and get more money. By subpoenaing the family’s financial records. Investigators realized they had purchased a motorhome, which then allowed authorities to issue a BOLO for that specific vehicle. Detectives were also able to track the family’s email communications, which provided further clues to their whereabouts. Finally, on March 12, 2009, uh, can you imagine being away from your kids for so long and just worrying about them that long? Authorities located them living in the motorhome in Nicaragua. Investigators flew to Central America along with Christine. David and Lenore were taken into custody without incident, and the children were reunited with their mother. Both David and Lenore were extradited back to the United States, where they eventually pleaded guilty to crimes related to kidnapping. In December 2009, David was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, while Lenore received just 18 months. On January 8, 2010, Christine successfully petitioned the court to terminate David’s parental rights, as well as Thomas’s and Lenore’s grandparental rights. So what did you get from doing that? Did you think she was just going to lay down and let you take her children like I’m just wondering what was the thought process behind this? And then, uh, you went to South America for some reason thinking that our officers can’t cross international borders. I, uh, mean, you work with other police officers, you don’t go into their jurisdiction, but you work with them. And then you get caught, you come back and you lose everything. What was the point? You were granted half, half custody. So you would. It’s not like you lost your children. I mean, now you lost your children, but that was on you. Like, I know divorce and split in parental rights can be hard, but like in this situation, he had half, half. It’s not like he never got to see his kids or only got to see his kids like one day a week or something like that. So you know what I’m saying? Like, I don’t understand it. So during the proceedings of, uh, terminating his parental rights, David continued to attack Christine’s fitness as a mother. He and his family used the court battle as a platform to repeat scandalous and pernicious accusations. Okay, so I don’t know that word. I might have said it incorrectly. So let me spell it out for you. P E R N I C I O U S. Pernicious. That’s what it looks like to me anyway. These accusations claimed that Christine had sexually abused their eldest daughter. Wow. Now they’re just going, uh, just low really. David attempted to use these allegations to justify his prior criminal conduct and to regain custody of the children. Yeah, right. During the custody hearing and while David and Lenore were behind bars, their campaign against Christine, uh, did not stop. It only evolved into a, uh, years long, three pronged campaign designed to stalk, harass and intimidate her. They even enlisted Thomas and Amy to help carry it out. Now, you know, I don’t care what family members, siblings, cousins, anybody ask me to help them break the law. You know, I’m not helping. You know, I’m not, I’m not breaking the law and I’m not helping you break the law. One of the most important tools in that campaign was a website called Grandmother’s Impossible Choice. The site portrayed Christine as a crazed, mentally unstable child molester and repeated allegations that she had sexually abused her daughters. Something. I know this is the second time I’m saying this, so I want to point out that it was completely false. The family sent letters and emails to Christine’s church, her children’s schools, and people in her community directing them to the online accusations. These people have way too much time on their hands for something that they did to themselves. They Also posted videos to YouTube and hired private investigators, a, uh, real estate agent, and other third parties to gather information about Christine. In private writings, they referred to Christine as the whore bitch. Thomas wrote to Amy, quote, we must drink to WB’s final days. And Lenore said in a letter that she should have killed the bitch when she had the chance. David even cited a passage about hanging milestones around the necks of those who harmed children. As the campaign continued, the children became aware of what’s happening because children are not stupid. They realized that they were being watched and monitored by members of the Matsuitz family. The situation caused substantial emotional distress and left them living in constant fear. Meanwhile, David’s accusations against Christine continued to fall apart. So I told you his parental rights were terminated. And that was because in August 2011, a Delaware family Court judge had rejected all of his allegations of abuse and, and said that what he’s trying to allege were baseless and made up. And because you’re, uh, the one who’s acting like out of your fricking mind, I’m terminating your parental rights because you’re harming your kids and you don’t even look like you care. So as we well know, instead of learning their lessons, they just continued on. And that’s when they started building the website and doing all kind of crazy crap. So that was between January 8, 2010 and August, uh, 2011. So, you know, in all this time, they’re, instead of trying to be on their best behavior ever, they’re setting up websites, harassing this woman, sending email, sending letters, all of this stuff. And the consequences of their actions came to fruition. They lost parental rights. And even though their actions caused this, they learned absolutely nothing. And they just continued harassing this woman. By 2012, David had completed his prison sentence and moved to Texas, where he lived with Thomas, Lenore and Amy. By the way, all of this was happening while he was in prison. So he’s out now, he’s living with his family. And, uh, he’s still trying to regain access to his children, but not in any kind of sane, rational or correct form or fashion. Instead, they, uh, just continued repeating their claims against Christine publicly. Later that year, David wanted to travel to the east coast, but had restrictions because of his probation. You can’t just do what you want. Between September and November 2012, requests to travel to New Jersey were denied. Then on November 9, 2012, David filed a petition in Delaware seeking a reduction in his child support obligations. I thought you wanted them. So why you need the reduction in your Child support now. Well, by filing this petition, this guaranteed a court hearing that Christine would be required to attend. On January 8, 2013, David received permission to travel to Delaware for the hearing. But what he failed to tell his probation officer was that Thomas and Lenore would be traveling with him. Between February 4th and February 7th, 2013, David, Thomas and Lenore drove from Texas to the Delaware Valley in two cars packed with arsenal firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, restraints, a, uh, military style knife, an electric shock device, binoculars, gas cans, a shovel, a bulletproof vest, and pictures of Christine’s house. On the morning of February 11, 2013, David and Thomas entered the courthouse at 7:30am Video surveillance showed David hug his father one last time before David passed through the security to another floor. Thomas remained in the lobby. A short time later, around 8am Christine arrived at the courthouse accompanied by her friend, Laura Beth Mulford. As soon as they got there, Thomas opened fire. He shot Christine multiple times in the chest before killing Beth and then himself. David was arrested at the courthouse that same day for violating the terms of his probation. I already see why this happened. I haven’t even gone further, but I already see why this happened. He had his father do it. He’s probably going to claim he had no knowledge of it, but being that the mother’s dead, he thinks he’s automatically going to now get custody of these children. I don’t think he was banking on being arrested. Even though Thomas was dead, authorities were convinced the entire family was responsible. They think they’re smarter than police and everybody. The evidence pointed towards years of planning, coordination, and a shared purpose. Shockingly, just two days after the murder, Amy filed a petition for custody of Christine’s children. Is she serious? She filed it using a check dated the day after the shooting to pay for the filing fee. Meanwhile, authorities continued reviewing years of emails, letters, website recordings, and the family communications. Basically everything I went through with you. In addition to all of that, investigators found what was described as a hit list containing the names of judges, attorneys, and others connected to David’s legal troubles. They weren’t done. They also recovered what appeared to be death certificates made out in the names of Christine and her attorney. While this investigation was being conducted, Lenore and Amy remained free, during which they continued to record and post defamatory videos targeting Christine, who’s dead. Are you kidding me right now? Later, prosecutors argued that the courthouse shooting was not an isolated act, but the foreseeable outcome of a conspiracy that had been building for years. And in August 13, the grand jury finally indicted David Lenore and Amy, on charges including interstate stalking and cyber stalking, resulted in death. Their trial started in June 2015 and lasted six weeks. It also became the first ever federal conviction for cyberstalking resulting in death. Lead prosecutor Jamie McCall and his team argued that the shooting was not a lone wolf act by Thomas, but a symbolic attack on a judicial system that the family loathed. They presented the hit list and other evidence they’d found. As for David telling Laura that her mother had committed suicide when she was a little girl, U.S. attorney Ed McAndrew described that that lie was a, quote, very, very devious, evil thing to say to a child. Then, to prove the stalking was malicious, the government called Christine’s oldest daughter Laura to testify. Laura, who was now a young woman, looked the jury in the eye and swore that her mother had never abused her, debunking the central lie of the family’s years long campaign, which the family would just say, oh, she’s just brainwashed. The defense, led by David’s attorney, Dena Shavar, argued that the family was simply, quote, misunderstood and frustrated with a system that didn’t listen to their concerns. Ma’, am, how are you representing these people? There is literal evidence galore pointing to the horrid things these people have done, and you’re labeling them as misunderstood and frustrated. They claim David had no part in the murder. Didn’t I tell you that’s what they were going to try? Didn’t I tell you that? And that the letters, including the one where David told Amy there would be no more playing Mr. Nice Guy, were just expressions of a father who felt defenseless. Yeah, right. The defense even tried to introduce polygraph results for Lenore and Amy to suggest they truly believed the abuse allegations. But Judge Gerald Austin McHugh excluded them, noting that polygraphs are generally unreliable in court. After weeks of testimony, on July 10, 2015, David, Lenore and Amy were found guilty on all counts. Sentencing followed in February 2016. Judge McHugh described the crimes as a crime of malice that had robbed Christine’s daughters of both their mother and their childhood innocence. 70 year old Lenore was sentenced to life in prison. While laying in a hospital bed in Philadelphia, family members told the court that she was terminally ill and had only months to live. She should have thought about that. All that time you spent harassing this woman, you should have thought about that. Y’ all are probably saying, oh, Kyle, that’s so mean. She should have thought about that. You spent years harassing this woman and these children are now like traumatized and on top of that, lost their mother. And I’m supposed to feel sorry for you that you got life in prison and you’re laying in a bed about to die? Like I said before, how much time did you have on your hand? I could have named thousands of other things that I could have been doing with my time. Instead of building websites, sending out letters to harass a woman, hiring private investigators. All that time, you should have been spent living life trying to mend, uh, like, a bond with her so you could see your grandchildren instead of going the opposite route. So, no, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, lambs. I’m really not sorry. But I don’t feel sorry for her. David, now 48 years old, and Amy were also sentenced to life in prison. David showed no emotion as he was sentenced. During her sentencing, Amy told the court what she said. I cry for them every day, and I pray for them every single day. You’re the one who put them in this position. You’re crying for something that y’ all did. What the hell are you talking about, woman? You know what would have been better than your stank ass crocodile tears? Their mother being there. Nobody wants to hear about you crying for them. How the hell, first of all, did you make this about you? Oh, uh, my God. Some people. Acton. U.S. attorney David Weiss said the life sentences were necessary to protect Christine’s children, quote, and anyone else in this community who happened to draw the Irene of the Matsuitz defendants. Kevin Perkins of the FBI said the case demonstrated that people who help plan crimes can be held accountable even if they don’t pull the trigger. See why I’m not helping nobody commit a crime? Nope. Nope. More than a decade later, the case remains one of the most significant cyber stalking prosecutions in U.S. history. What started as a custody dispute grew into a, uh, years long campaign of harassment, intimidation, and surveillance that ultimately ended in gunfire inside a courthouse lobby. And while Thomas was the one who pulled the trigger, federal prosecutors successfully convinced a jury that the years of stalking, threats, and manipulation and planning that came before it made the rest of the family responsible as well. Whew. What did you think of this case? You heard my thoughts, and now I want to hear from you. Do you believe the rest of the Matsiewicz family was just as responsible for Christine’s death as Thomas, who pulled the trigger? Or do you think there’s a difference between stalking someone for years and actually committing murder? I mean, there is, but to me, it all tied together, culminated into this situation. And I’m telling you they knew exactly what they were doing. They, I don’t know, pulled straws or the father said, look, I’ve lived my life and whatever, whatever, I’ll do this for you. And that’s why he hugged his father. He knew what he was doing. They all knew it. I don’t believe for one second that they didn’t know what was happening. Especially since they all drove down with two cars full of guns and ammunition. Nobody opened the trunk and was like, what’s, what’s this here? Nobody saw the grenade launcher in the backseat and was like, um, is that a. Is that a grenade launcher? Or are you trying to tell me that only Thomas knew this? Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. So again, you heard more of my thoughts, so I want to know what you think. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Now, today’s show does have an after show coming up. And that case covers the case of a 300 pound woman who killed her boyfriend by sitting on him. Yes, you heard me. What started as an argument ended with a 911 call, a dead boyfriend, and a courtroom battle over whether it was a deliberate act of violence or bizarre accident caused by drugs, alcohol, and bad decisions. So for the after show, you join the Patreon, starting at only $3 a month to hear the full story. Enjoy ad free listening. Enjoy intro free listening. And you support the podcast like that. Patreon.com loveandmurder to join and listen. Now, in addition to this after show and, uh, the previous bonus I told you about, there is a new bonus coming out this weekend. So head on over to the Patreon, join over there, and I look forward to seeing you as part of the LaM Patreon fam. But in the meantime, uh, let’s go ahead and end this episode by saying you know what we’re gonna say already. Say it with me now. All love and no murder, y’. All. Thank you for joining me. Thank you so much for your support. Thank you so much for being LaMs in I will see you in the next episode unless you join the Patreon and then I’ll see you in a couple seconds in the after show. Bye.

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Sources: (what the sources say)

https://www.justice.gov/usao-de/pr/three-members-matusiewicz-family-convicted-federal-stalking-crimes-resulting-murder

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/landmark-cyberstalking-case-results-in-life-sentences-for-three-family-members

https://www.ded.uscourts.gov/sites/ded/files/opinions/13-83_0.pdf

https://whyy.org/articles/trial-begins-for-matusiewicz-relatives-tied-to-2013-new-castle-county-courthouse-shooting/

https://www.civicresearchinstitute.com/online/PDF/FIPV-1002-a3-Cyberstalking.pdf

https://www.oxygen.com/fatal-family-feuds/crime-news/what-happened-to-christine-belfords-killer-thomas-matusiewicz

https://www.dailycrime.com/murder-of-christine-belford-by-father-and-son-david-and-thomas-matusiewicz-examined-on-web-of-lies/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/delaware-court-gunmans-son-daughter-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/