Over the years, Shannon Matthews Stewart has collected every single article ever written about her mother. The research hasn’t been for the best circumstances and the stories have been difficult to read, but Stewart is on a mission.
This summer marks 31 years since Stewart’s mom, Marcia K. Matthews, was murdered, and her case remains unsolved. Over the last three decades, long after investigators moved on to other cases, Shannon has tirelessly pursued answers about who killed her mother.
In 1985, when Shannon was just eight-years-old, Matthews was found dumped on the side of Interstate 71 in Ohio, barely alive. WKYC said the 25-year-old had suffered serious brain damage as a result of a fractured skull and head trauma, succumbing to her injuries a little more than 48 hours later. Authorities believed the young mother had been beaten and then dropped from a stopped vehicle.
During the initial investigation, police interviewed a truck driver who said he was with Matthews at a truck stop less than three hours before she was found on the side of the road. The truck driver and Matthews spent time together and may have been sexually involved. According to WKYC, the man told authorities that Matthews woke him up at around 2:30 a.m. so he could head back out on the road. That was the last time he saw her alive. A few hours later, retired Mansfield Trooper Kevin Titler discovered Matthew’s body — she was still alive, but unresponsive.
“That was probably one of the most prominent things that ever happened in my career,” Titler told news station WKYC. Matthews was identified because she had been arrested before for prostitution and her mugshots and fingerprints were on file, the report said.
In 2002, according to WKYC, Richland County Sheriff’s Captain Larry Faith spoke to the News Journal and said he tracked down a lead from a woman who said she saw Matthews during those final hours.
“One lady confirmed Marcia Matthews had been down at the plaza that night and they had been working together,” Faith recalls. The woman also told the investigator she remembered Matthews hopping into a semi tractor-trailer with a man, but she wasn’t able to give a helpful description. She did, however, remember that the truck had an Arkansas logo on the door, but so far, that information hasn’t helped investigators get any closer to finding Matthews killer. One of the biggest lingering questions today is whether Matthews’ case be linked to the deaths of nine other prostitutes between 1985-1986, though authorities said they have yet to find evidence of a connection.
Since then, the case has gone cold.
“I really feel like that was ripped from my life,” Stewart said of growing up without her mom. “I was robbed of everything maternal from me. I was closer to my grandmother as a young child. My dad’s mother raised me to be a woman, and she loved my mom.”
Although she had a tough childhood, Stewart graduated from high school in 1995 and joined the Navy. According to WKYC, for many years, Matthews did not have a headstone, but during her first year in the military, Stewart was finally able to buy one and honor her mom. Having served her country, Stewart has made it her sole purpose to find out who took her mother away all those years ago. She realizes she can’t buy tips to find her mother’s killer, but she can plead for anyone who might have answers to come forward. This summer, Stewart plans to meet investigators in person to talk about the case.
If you have any information about the Marcia Matthews’ case that could help bring justice, please contact the Sheriff’s Office directly at 419-774-5610.
Read more: WKYC
Photo: WKYC