Families unforgiving as Matthews sentenced for double murder in New London
Survivors of murder victims Noel Starback and Sherry Roush said they could never forgive the “monster” who killed their loved ones as Joel Matthews was sentenced Wednesday in New London Superior Court to 42 years in prison. Matthews, 32, had pleaded guilty in November to two counts of murder for the bludgeoning deaths of Starback, 57, and Roush, 50, at their apartment at 36 Blinman St., New London, on April 13, 2012.
First responders to a fire at the apartment had found Starback in the kitchen, suffering from a significant head trauma and a broken arm. Further inside the apartment, they found Roush, who was deceased and like Starback, had injuries not consistent with being killed by fire.
Matthews, who, with his mother, was living at the building as a squatter, confessed to police that he killed the couple with an aluminum baseball bat after a day of drinking, then returned later with his mother and set fire to the house to cover up the crime.
“Our family cannot forgive or show any mercy in our hearts for Joel Matthews,” said Roush’s sister, Valerie Arch, in an impact statement to the court. “We are sickened that his accomplice walks free. Joel Matthews is a monster.”
Roush, who had worked hard to provide for her son, was a smart, sweet woman who loved the outdoors, sports, the ocean and animals, Arch said. She said the family is forever haunted by the three-word description that authorities used to describe Roush’s condition: “Burned beyond recognition.”
The death penalty, she said, would have been a more appropriate sentence.
Matthews’ mother and alleged accomplice, Julie Vince, sat in the front row of the courtroom and wept throughout the sentencing hearing. Vince was not charged because the only evidence the police had to prove her involvement was Matthews’ statement to police. Prosecutor Lawrence J. Tytla said the statement would not have been admissible in court had the case gone to trial because the police interrogation of Matthews had continued after he made a reference to speaking with a lawyer.
As the case was headed for trial, the parties had negotiated a plea agreement that comes with a sentence that is expected to keep Matthews in prison until he is a senior citizen.
“The victim’s family agreed that the most important thing was the certitude of a lengthy sentence,” Tytla said.
Starback’s sister, Sherry Forgue, said in her victim impact statement that a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole would have been appropriate “for this evil monster.”
“I still do not comprehend how Joel Matthews could relentlessly beat my brother with a bat over and over and then do the same to Sherry and set her on fire,” Forgue said.
Starback was a handyman, and one of his greatest pleasures had been to paint the 30 steel horses on the carousel at Ocean Beach, Forgue said. He had broken his neck and was recovering when he was killed.
Matthews’ attorney, Kevin C. Barrs, said he understands the suffering of the victims’ families but that he could say, without reservation, that Matthews, whom he has known for 10 years, is not “a monster.” Barrs said everybody at the house had been drinking all day when Matthews, who had taken six of his mother’s prescription pills, got into an argument with Starback about whether Matthews could do pushups.
“Somebody grabbed a bat and hit him first,” Barrs said. “He grabbed the bat and started swinging, and he snapped.”
Matthews apologized to the victims’ family members while acknowledging that his words sound hollow. “I feel horrible,” he said. “I never intended for this to happen. I killed these two people for damn near no reason.”
Judge Hillary B. Strackbein imposed the sentence. “There’s not much left to say,” she said. “So many lives are ruined by this senseless tragedy. The only positive is that the families didn’t have to go through a trial.”
k.florin@theday.com
Twitter: @KFLORIN
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