Florida man arrested for 1988 murder after nearly four decades

Willie J. Carpenter was linked to the cold case through DNA evidence after a breakthrough in 2013.

Florida man arrested for 1988 murder after nearly four decades

Florida authorities have arrested and charged Willie J. Carpenter with first-degree murder, connecting him to a killing that took place nearly forty years ago, Fox News reports.

On September 8, 1988, the body of Diane Matthews was discovered at her workplace, a customer service call center in Orlando. The young woman's face had been beaten beyond recognition; a coworker identified her by her hair. Investigators collected fingerprints and DNA samples from the victim's body and interviewed numerous witnesses, but the case stalled due to the limitations of DNA technology at the time and a lack of other leads.

The breakthrough came in 2013, when Carpenter was arrested in North Carolina for the sexual assault of a minor. His DNA was entered into the federal database, where it showed a possible match to samples collected more than two decades earlier in the Matthews case.

Carpenter was questioned about the murder in 2013 but denied ever meeting the victim and refused to provide a new DNA sample. Another ten years passed before investigators reopened the case. This time, the suspect agreed to give a sample. By 2025, the new testing had revealed what police described as a "conclusive link" between Carpenter and evidence gathered at the crime scene.

After reviewing all evidence collected over the decades and ruling out other possible suspects, authorities obtained an arrest warrant in 2026. Carpenter was taken into custody in North Carolina, and extradition proceedings to Florida are now underway.

Source: Telex.hu / Fox News

Source: Telex