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Cold Case Cracked: DNA Links NC Man to 1988 Florida Killing
13 Jul
Summary
- A North Carolina man arrested for a 1988 murder after DNA advances.
- Victim Diane Matthews was found in her Orlando workplace in September 1988.
- Carpenter denied knowing the victim when first interviewed in 2013.
A 1988 cold case murder in Orlando, Florida, has been solved nearly four decades later due to advancements in DNA technology. Willie J. Carpenter, a North Carolina resident, was arrested on July 10, 2026, by the U.S. Marshals Service North Carolina Regional Task Force, charged with the first-degree murder of Diane Matthews.
Matthews' remains were discovered on September 8, 1988, inside the downtown Orlando answering service where she worked. Initial investigations, hampered by the limited forensic capabilities of the era, collected evidence but could not identify a suspect. The case remained cold for years.
The investigation gained new life when Carpenter's DNA was entered into CODIS following an unrelated arrest in North Carolina. This potential match to evidence from the Matthews homicide prompted detectives to re-interview Carpenter. He initially denied knowing Matthews in 2013 but voluntarily provided a DNA sample during a 2024 interview.
Subsequent testing in 2025 by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement significantly strengthened the link between Carpenter and the crime scene evidence. Following extensive review and consultation with prosecutors, an arrest warrant was issued this year. Carpenter is currently in North Carolina awaiting extradition to Florida.
