GEORGETOWN, Del. - 28-year-old Matthew Burton of Dagsboro, DE now sits behind bars at SCI awaiting an extradition hearing for charges he faces in Maryland. Just after 7pm, Friday evening, officers pulled over Burton driving near Rehoboth Beach. They took him into custody and charged him with first and second degree murder in the death of 35-year-old Millsboro mother, Nicole Bennett.
On June 14th, Bennett was at the Bay Shore Community Church in Gumboro, DE where she was allegedly working late that night. Her husband reported her missing that next morning, and just about one hour later, investigators located her body on Swamp Road in Worcester County.
An autopsy revealed Bennett died of asphyxiation. But evidence also indicated she was already dead when her body was left on the secluded, unpaved road, just over the state line in Maryland, about 6 miles away from the church. For this reason, where she was murdered and why is still a mystery.
The day police discovered Nicole's body, Delaware State Police went to the church for answers, and found Bennett's vehicle still parked in the lot, locked with her personal belongings inside.
According to police reports, the only person inside the church with Bennett, the night before she was found murdered, had been Burton, who at the time had been employed as the church custodian.
Burton was one of the many church staff members interviewed by investigators that day, and through the course of those interrogations Delaware State Police discovered Burton is a Tier 1 registered sex offender. Tier 1, typically describes low risk sexual offenders, who may have been originally arrested for crimes like possession of child pornography or sexual assault against an adult, which may involve sexual contact but not a completed or attempted sexual act. But usually those offenses aren't punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.
Bay Shore Community Church issued this statement on Saturday:
"We understand that Matthew Burton has been arrested and charged with the murder of Nicole Bennett. Mr. Burton worked as an independent contractor for a short time at Bay Shore cleaning the facility during evening hours. When we became aware that he had a criminal record which had not been previously disclosed, he was informed that his contract would be terminated. Mr. Burton's work for Bay Shore Community Church ended on June 14, 2012.
Bay Shore continues to cooperate fully with the authorities with respect to this investigation while also supporting and ministering to Nicole's family. We pray that justice will be done with respect to this tragic event."
A follow up investigation by the Delaware State Police Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit determined that Burton failed to reregister his employment change as required, within 3 days. Delaware State Police took him into custody on June 22nd and charged him with failure to reregister, but he was later arraigned and released on 5,000 dollars bond.
But over the next two weeks, investigators kept a close eye on Burton. And thanks to DNA evidence collected and processed by crime scene technicians, Maryland State Police were able to secure an arrest warrant for Burton, which lead to his arrest on Friday, July 6th.
In light of Burton's most recent arrest, WMDT attempted to touch base with Bay Shore Community Church for comment, but as of Saturday night our phone calls have not been returned.
Authorities admit this is huge step in the case, but the investigation is far from over.
Bob Bennett, Nicole's Father-in-law, tells WMDT the arrest is a definite relief after 3 weeks of hearing few details. He went further to say that although they know the arrest will not bring Nicole back, they view this as a chance for healing to begin.
If you would like to help this family, contributions can be made to the "Nicole Reiser Bennett Memorial Fund". The account has been set up at the Millsboro Branch of WSFS Bank. You can mail your donations to: The Nicole Reiser Bennett Memorial Fund; c/o WSFS Bank, Millsboro Branch; 26644 Center View Drive; Millsboro, DE 19966.
MURDER SUSPECT: 28-year-old Matthew Burton, Dagsboro, DE
VICTIM: 35-year-old Nicole Bennett, Millsboro, DE
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