Matusiewicz siblings sentenced to life in prison

• Amy Gonzalez and David Matusiewicz are facing a maximum of life in prison.
• They were found guilty by a jury in July of waging a campaign to harass, stalk and spy on David's ex-wife, Christine Belford.

Nearly four dozen family members and friends of the two women murdered in the New Castle County Courthouse in 2013 let out a sigh of relief Thursday after the shooter’s adult children were sentenced to life in prison on federal cyberstalking charges.

The group packed a federal courtroom in Wilmington for the sentencing of David Matusiewicz, 48, and Amy Gonzalez, 43. Their intention was to impress upon the judge the serious danger faced by the public and the three daughters of Matusiewicz and his deceased ex-wife if life sentences were not handed down.

“The Matusiewiczes will never stop until they have my sisters,” Katherine Moffa, the older half-sister of the three girls, said in an emotional plea to the judge. “Please make them go away so we can get the justice we deserve.”

U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Austin McHugh heard those pleas – and, while giving both defendants the maximum sentence, said childhood should be a time of innocence and security.

"Punishment of these defendants, severe punishment, was absolutely warranted," Acting U.S. Attorney David Weiss said. "This was the only way that the court was able to protect the Matusiewicz children and anyone else who happened to draw the ire of the Matusiewiczes."

This case marked the first time in the United States that a defendant was convicted and sentenced under the federal cyberstalking resulting in death statute.

Thursday’s sentencing stemmed from a heinous double murder that rocked the legal community and the state.

On Feb. 11, 2013, Thomas Matusiewicz shot and killed his ex-daughter-in-law, Christine Belford, and her friend, Laura "Beth" Mulford, as they walked into New Castle County Courthouse for a child support hearing. Thomas Matusiewicz exchanged gunfire with police before killing himself.

After the shooting, prosecutors accused Thomas Matusiewicz’s widow, Lenore Matusiewicz, and two children of waging a vicious campaign to harass and stalk Belford and their daughters in the three years leading up to her death. Federal prosecutors have pointed to a web of emails, letters and other correspondence that attacked Belford’s character and accused her of sexually abusing their oldest daughter, a fact the government, judge and eldest daughter said was not true.

“In the process, they shattered lives,” Weiss said. “They left permanent scars in this community.”

A Delaware jury found the three guilty in July of various charges, including cyberstalking, conspiracy and interstate stalking. The legal standard for doing so was somewhat untested.

To find the defendants’ guilty of cyberstalking resulting in death, the jury didn’t have to find that the family knew of Thomas Matusiewicz’s killing plan, only that they could have reasonably foreseen, based on their own conduct, that Thomas Matusiewicz, considered a co-conspirator, would shoot Belford.

Attorneys for all three defendants have maintained that none knew of his plan.

McHugh, in handing down the sentence on Thursday, said that while David Matusiewicz likely foresaw the courthouse murder, Amy Gonzalez had no deliberate intent of murder but should have been aware of looming violence that was going to occur.

Gonzalez, who the prosecution has characterized as the “propaganda director” for the harassment and stalking conspiracy, was sentenced to life in prison despite that difference.

Before hearing her fate, Gonzalez stood before the judge and offered a tearful apology to the victims. The former nurse from Texas asked for mercy for her, her husband and their 10-year-old daughter.

“My heart goes out to all of [the victims],” she said. “I cry for them every day and pray for them every day.”

She said she only wanted the best for her nieces, but should have let law enforcement investigate her “suspicions” of child abuse, rather than harassing Belford via the Internet.

McHugh said he “anguished” over the sentencing of Gonzalez, but ultimately found that she was “inextricably interwoven” in the offenses and lacks the moral compass to ever be let out of prison.

“I hope you will continue to pray for these children and their futures,” he said.

David Matusiewicz, wearing a green prison jumpsuit, decided not to speak at his sentencing but provided the judge with a written statement.

His attorneys, Edson Bostic and Dina Chavar, told The News Journal after the sentencing that they will file an appeal on his behalf soon.

Lenore Matusiewicz, who is terminally ill, was sentenced to life in prison last Friday at an emergency, bedside hearing at a hospital in Philadelphia. Her attorney has already filed notice of appeal.

Because this is the first conviction for cyberstalking resulting in death, the case could be heavily litigated on appeal in the coming years.

The Matusiewicz family's saga began in 2006 when David Matusiewicz, a Newark optometrist, and Belford divorced. The ensuing bitter custody battle over their three children took an unusual turn when David and Lenore Matusiewicz took the girls on what was supposed to be a two-week trip to Disney World in 2007.

They instead headed to Central America, leading to a year-and-a-half-long international manhunt that finally ended when they were found living in a mobile home in the tiny Nicaraguan village of Catalina.

The girls were returned to the United States and reunited with Belford. David and Lenore Matusiewicz pleaded guilty to their roles in the kidnapping and were sentenced to prison.

Federal prosecutors have accused David Matusiewicz of launching the family's campaign against Belford from his prison cell in 2009.

“Christine Belford had no chance, zero chance,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie McCall. “They literally suffocated her.”

A national first: Cyberstalking resulting in death

Lenore Matusiewicz sentenced to life in prison

Six months after David Matusiewicz was released from prison, he and his parents traveled from Texas to Delaware for a child support hearing with Belford at the New Castle County Courthouse, where the shooting occurred.

“This was the place … that people come to peacefully resolve their disputes,” Weiss said. “The Matusiewiczes used this place, as Judge McHugh noted, as a bait, as a lure. They chose this as the place they would carry out the execution.”

Weiss said he hopes the life sentences will provide some comfort to Belford’s daughters. Many noted during the sentencing that for their protection they have been isolated from all of their friends and family, including their half-sister Moffa.

"This is not a victimless crime by any means," McHugh said.

Contact Jessica Masulli Reyes at (302) 324-2777, jmreyes@delawareonline.com or Twitter @JessicaMasulli.