THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 8, 1996 TAG: 9602080368
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHINCOTEAGUE LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Three years ago, Stanley Mathews lay on his kitchen floor, burning in a blaze that left a man-shaped hole in the linoleum.
He died two days later in a Baltimore hospital. Officials ruled Mathews' death an accident.
But his widow believed he was murdered.
Now, Maryland's chief medical examiner agrees. He has changed his ruling and classified Mathews' death as a homicide.
``His death certificate has been changed to homicide, too,'' said Pauline Mathews. She hopes that a state police investigation will lead to an indictment of the man she suspects is the killer.
Accomack Commonwealth's Attorney Gary Agar and Chincoteague Police Chief Willis Dize say the case has been referred to state police. But it was unclear Wednesday whether the state police will look into Mathews' death.
``As far as I know, we don't have the case,'' said state police spokeswoman Tammy Van Dame. ``I don't think it's made it down here yet. And at this point in time we don't expect it.''
For Pauline Mathews, the word homicide in the medical examiner's report has a ring of vindication. She's been hounding local officials for three years, demanding a closer look at the fire that claimed her husband's life. She's hired private investigators and a psychic - anybody who might help in her search for answers.
In 1994, Pauline Mathews convinced the Maryland chief medical examiner to exhume her husband's body. But no evidence of assault was found, and the fire was called an accident once again.
Last year she hired Rene Armbruster, a private investigator in Virginia Beach.
Armbruster said she was skeptical, at first, when Mathews insisted that her husband had been killed. ``When you've got an official law enforcement type saying it's an accident, I tend to believe it,'' Armbruster said. But a good look at the case changed her mind.
``I was appalled by the way the investigation was handled,'' said Armbruster. She said the crime scene was not secured and no evidence was gathered until several days later. When the Chincoteague police did collect evidence, said Armbruster, it was all jumbled together in a single plastic bag and left unsecured for three weeks.
Some evidence disappeared, said Armbruster, including a cigarette lighter that witnesses said they saw in the sink near Mathews' burned body.
``No one to this day can tell me where the Bic lighter is,'' Armbruster said.
In six months, Armbruster interviewed 15 experts and witnesses, compiling a 5-inch-thick report on Mathews' fiery death. Pauline Mathews sent the report to Maryland's chief medical examiner in late November and a month later Pauline Mathews got the news: Her husband's death was ruled a homicide.
The revised post mortem examination report lists 14 reasons for the change. It says that there is a pattern of puddling and pooling of gasoline - the liquid identified in the remains of Mathews' clothing - on the floor where he burned.
At least a quart of gasoline would be needed to produce this pattern, according to arson experts. No gasoline container was found at the scene by any witness or investigator, the report said.
The pattern of burning on the floor is consistent with the body lying still for a considerable period, the report continued. And the fact that Mathews' face and hair were not burned indicated that he was lying face down and not moving while he was on fire.
Money, firearms, a flashlight and wallet belonging to Mathews were missing from his home, said the report. Some of the items were found in the possession of a neighbor.
``Stan deserves the truth to come out,'' said Pauline Mathews. ``And he deserves for the authorities to investigate it, because he was a human being.''
But getting an investigation - not to mention an indictment - could be difficult. A medical examiner's opinion cannot be considered as evidence in court. And local officials said they have investigated the case thoroughly without finding any evidence of a crime.
``We can't go to court with suspicion,'' said Chincoteague Police Chief Dize. ``When you go into court, you're talking about proof beyond a reasonable doubt. As far as I know, this isn't the case here.''
Dize said he was surprised that the medical examiner reversed his opinion based on Armbruster's report.
Agar, the commonwealth's attorney in Accomack County, said Mathews' death has been investigated by many groups without producing an indictment.
``Reclassification (by the medical examiner) in and of itself does not constitute new evidence,'' Agar said.
KEYWORDS: MURDER ARSON by CNB