Fugitive Wanted In Deaths Of Parents Caught In Florida
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MANCHESTER, N.H. (CBSMiami/AP) — A man on the U.S. Marshals Service's most-wanted list was arrested in Florida on Wednesday, authorities said.
The New Hampshire man was wanted for killing his parents and setting their house on fire last year.
"He was hiding in plain sight," Manchester Assistant Police Chief Nick Willard said of 39-year-old Matthew Dion.
Investigators had been looking for Dion since March 2014, when the bodies of his parents — Robert, 71, and Constance, 67 — were found at their Manchester home. Authorities ruled that the fire was arson and the deaths were homicides.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Jeffrey White said Dion was captured at a hotel in Orange Park, Florida, which is about 15 miles south of Jacksonville. White said Dion, who was doing construction work and painting at the hotel, initially gave police a different name when he was apprehended, then later told officers, "You got me."
The arrest came after a recent media campaign in Georgia and Florida that generated tips, including a significant one Tuesday night that led authorities to the hotel, where they say he was painting before they took him into custody.
Investigators said at a news conference that Dion was chatty and would befriend people, including a woman with whom he recently attended a party. At that party, the two met a man who later supplied the vital tip that led to Dion's apprehension, investigators said. They declined to identify the source of the tip — one of several they say helped them hone in on Dion, who was using the alias Cameron Bouchard.
Dion's name was added to the U.S. Marshals Service's 15 Most Wanted List in April. He was considered armed and dangerous, though White said he was unarmed at the time of his arrest. New Hampshire's top U.S. marshal, David Cargill, said investigators will apply for a warrant to search Dion's hotel room for evidence.
Death certificates filed in Hillsborough County Probate Court show that the Dions were strangled with a wire on March 19, 2014. The medical examiner's report said they died within minutes and listed their deaths as homicides. Investigators concluded the March 24 fire at their home was arson.
Dion was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and arson in September. He also is charged with three counts of possession of child pornography. Investigators sifting through the charred home found evidence linking Dion to the material, authorities said.
The search for Dion had focused in and around Florida. Investigators said he has extensive background and familiarity with the southeastern region of the country. Manchester detective Sgt. Joe Mucci, a lead investigator in the deaths of the Dions, said in the past that Matthew Dion was capable of living under the radar.
"He's a very tech savvy, computer person," Mucci said. "He's very intelligent. He could do whatever he sets his mind to."
Mucci said Wednesday that he is heading to Florida to question and bring back Dion, who is being held at Florida'sClay County Jail on a fugitive from justice warrant. He said he did not know whether Dion had waived extradition.
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