A 65-year-old alleged serial killer managed to evade prosecution twice after being suspected in a 2000 sexual assault and a 2003 strangling in Detroit.
James Matthews left the state but is now under arrest and has been extradited back to Michigan where he'll be arraigned Tuesday, Aug. 14 on murder and criminal sexual conduct charges.
Matthews was named a suspect but never charged in the 2000 case because "the victim was unable to appear for the required interview," nor in the 2003 case because prosecutors said Detroit police failed to present the full investigation and evidence requested by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office
Both cases lingered in limbo and were eventually forgotten.
Matthews has since been identified as a suspect in at least one other Michigan killing, as well as three homicides in Texas and another in New York, George Hunter of the Detroit News reported, based on statements made by Detroit police.
"I'm not going to say it's the prosecutor when our investigators know you've got to follow up," Detroit Police Chief James Craig told WDIV-TV, Chanel 4 News. "We've got a murder suspect, or at least who we believe is a murder suspect, and we don't follow up on the case status.
"It's good that we have a (suspected) serial killer off the streets, but should we have done more in 2003 ... I believe there are additional cases here, and God knows what additional states."
Matthews was arrested in New York in April when he became the prime suspect in a 2007 killing there. The case was dismissed when a grand jury declined to file criminal charges; however, DNA collected during the investigation linked Matthews to the 2000 sexual assault of a 50-year-old woman in Detroit.
According to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Matthews, who lived in Detroit at the time, invited the woman to his home to "talk" on the morning of July 12, 2000.
"Once inside, it is alleged that Matthews became violent and sexually assaulted the woman while armed with a knife," the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said. "After the assault he restrained the victim and left the room. While he was in another part of the house the victim was able to escape and call 911."
The woman has since been interviewed and two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct were issued on April 19.
Prosecutors say forensic evidence collected at the sexual assault crime scene was reexamined and it linked Matthews to the 2003 strangling of 40-year-old Marchella Robinson, who was found dead on the lawn of a home next door to where Matthews was living on St. Mary's in Detroit at the time.
Matthews was charged with first-degree murder on July 31.
The nature of the forensic evidence that linked the two crimes hasn't been revealed.
After charges against Matthews were dismissed in New York, he was held for extradition to Michigan. He arrived in Michigan on Sunday, Aug. 12 and is scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday, Aug. 14.
No information has been released regarding possible charges in the other killings.