Son arrested in Cape homicide
Cape Coral Police Detectives have charged a homicide victim’s son in the man’s death.
“After a long and technically complex investigation, this afternoon, Detectives from the Cape Coral Police Department Investigative Services Bureau served a warrant on Matthew Christopher Marshall, who is currently incarcerated at the Lee County Jail, for Second Degree Murder, Abuse of a Human Body, and Tampering with Physical Evidence,” a CCPD release issued Tuesday concerning the death of James Marshall states.
The body of James Marshall, 58, was dismembered.
“Our Detectives have worked tirelessly on this case, amassing as much evidence as possible in what is one of the most gruesome homicides Cape Coral has ever seen,” Captain Lisa Barnes, CCPD Investigative Services Bureau, said in the statement.
She thanked the multiple agencies that worked on the case, which began Feb. 19 after police were asked to conduct a wellness check on James Marshall at the 1787 Four Mile Cove Parkway home he shared with his son. When James Marshall, a Realtor, could not be located, it became a missing persons case, then an active homicide investigation after his body was found.
…”while we can’t undo this horrible incident, we hope that this arrest can bring the family of James Marshall some much needed closure so that healing can begin,” Barnes stated.
Matthew Marshall, 33, was charged first after he reportedly attempted to use one of his father’s credit cards.
According to a police report, the day before James Marshall’s business associate contacted police about a welfare check, Matthew attempted to use one of his dad’s cards to pay a tab at a local bar.
A manager at BackStreets Sports Bar, at 915 S.E. 47th Terrace, told police that a man left without paying his $50.53 bill on Feb. 17. The customer tried to pay the bill with a Suncoast Credit Union card, but the card was declined. The manager reported that the name on the card was “James Marshall.”
The manager told the customer that the card had been declined and asked for identification.
The report states that the man identified himself as Matt Marshall. Since his name was not the name listed on the card, the manager asked for a different form of payment. Matt Marshall became upset and tried to come up with a different way to pay. When he could not, he left BackStreets without paying.
The manager said he would press charges and provided a copy of the security footage.
While Matt Marshall was at the police department on Feb. 22 for an “unrelated incident,” it was determined that he was the man who identified himself at BackStreets and left without paying his bill. Based on the investigation, they found there was probable cause to charge him, the report states.
He was taken into custody and transported to the Lee County Jail where has been held without bond on a charge of fraud/swindle (defraud innkeeper under $300).