Who killed David Charles Matte and why?

Lori Matte wrote me recently to say her family—including her brother, who is a Louisiana State Trooper—has no clues regarding who killed her 45-year-old brother or why.

“Monday, July 19, 2004, was a regular day for David,” Lori wrote. “Everything went fine at work, and he went about his usual business afterward. His neighbors reported that everything appeared normal that evening.”

“Around 8-9 p.m.,” she said, “Neighbors saw a dark-colored car parked at my brother’s home. The neighbors said it resembled two small, dark cars driven by David’s stepson and friend, so they didn’t give it much consideration. Neither of those two admitted to visiting David that night.”

David Charles Matte’s Arcadia Parish neighbors told Lori the dark car left the house shortly before 10:PM, and—uncharacteristically for that time of night—David left the house soon after, leaving a newly-made batch of beef jerky cooling on the kitchen counter.

According to a Sheriff’s Office news release, State Police Troop I got a call nearly one on the morning of July 20, reporting a vehicle stalled on the shoulder of 1-10 eastbound at mile marker 94. According to the release, the responding troopers found David’s body on the shoulder of the road near Duson, less than two miles from David’s home.

Troopers found two tires on David’s 2002 Dodge Dakota pickup truck were flat, possibly punctured by someone intentionally.

About an hour before his body was found July 20 on the side of Interstate 10, a motorist reported seeing David Matte with two “dirty” men on the shoulder of the road, a Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman told reporters Monday, July 26, 2004. This suspicious activity occurred near the Louisiana 343 overpass at Riceland Road.

Lt. Craig Stansbury told reporters that though it was a dark night, the witness told detectives that Matte—who police later found beaten to death—appeared to “not be standing on his own,” either sitting or slumping or laying down.

The motorist, he said, remembered the incident because it was apparent “something was wrong.”

Stansbury said Detectives were working to make sense of the evidence. “There are so many unanswered questions right now,” Stansbury said.

Stansbury said the witness saw two men in a white pickup parked in front of Matte’s truck. The suspect pickup was a 1996 or 1997 Chevrolet extended cab with tinted rear windows.

Two men were standing near the vehicles. Stansbury said the first had a dark complexion. He stood about 6 feet 1 inch tall with a slim build and short black hair.

The second man seemed to be in his 30s. He was shorter and stocky—about 5 feet 6 inches and 240 pounds. He had long black hair, Stansbury said.

Stansbury said both men wore soiled white t-shirts and blue jeans. He said the passing witness told detectives the men had an “overall dirty appearance” as though they’d been working outside.

Stansbury said that detectives hoped someone else may have seen something on the interstate that night.

On August 10, 2006, the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office released a description of a possible suspect in David’s murder. The description of the suspect released by the Sheriff’s Office described a dark-complected man, possibly in his thirties, of unknown nationality, about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and 240 pounds.

Investigators say evidence at the crime scene indicated foul play, and an autopsy showed the cause of death was a blow to the head. They asked for the public’s help in determining Matte’s whereabouts that Monday night from ten that night until troopers found the body the following morning.

Lori wrote, “I Love my brother dearly, and I need to know what happened to him. Since that dreadful day, our lives have changed dramatically, and this unsettling incident never disappears. We wonder how, why, who, what, and where daily. We deeply miss David and are left with only memories of a wonderful life interrupted in such a brutal way.”

She wrote, “State Police found David sitting up against the concrete under the overpass. Blood streamed from the overpass and trailed down the side. His truck was running, nearly out of fuel, with those two flat tires on the driver’s side. My brother’s wallet and phone were in the console, and his shoes were off his feet.”

In time, investigators told Lori they had located the dark car at David’s home, along with the white pickup truck. They reported the occupants of both vehicles were unrelated to David’s murder.

Twenty years later, police have no suspects in the case and have made no arrests.