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Cape man found guilty of killing his father

By Staff | Oct 19, 2016

A Cape Coral man has been found guilty of murdering his father and dismembering the body.

Matthew Christopher Marshall, 34, of 1787 Four Mile Cove Parkway, Apt. 435, was found guilty on Thursday of second-degree murder dangerous depraved without premeditation, crimes against a person abuse dead human body and evidence destroying tamper with or fabricate physical, officials reported.

Samantha Syoen, spokeswoman for the State Attorney’s Office, said the trial started on Oct. 10.

“The jury deliberated for about 2 1/2 hours,” she said.

Marshall’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 21.

“He faces up to life in prison,” Syoen said.

Assistant State Attorneys Stephanie Russell and Andreas Gardiner handled the case.

Marshall was arrested and charged by authorities earlier this year in connection to the disappearance and death of his father, James Richard Marshall, 58, of 1787 Four Mile Cove Parkway, Apt. 435.

On Feb. 18, Cape police were contacted to conduct a welfare check on Marshall’s father. The caller, a business associate who lived in Miami, stated that he had not been able to reach James Marshall.

Cape police later upgraded the case from a missing persons to an active homicide investigation. Officials reported that he had died of foul play; his dismembered body had been recovered.

According to a police report, the day before his father’s business associate contacted police about a welfare check, Marshall attempted to use one of his father’s credit/debit cards to pay a tab at a 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. Marshall became upset and tried to come up with a different way to pay. When he could not, Marshall left BackStreets without paying.

While Marshall was at the Cape 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. He was taken into custody and transported to the Lee County Jail for booking on a fraud charge.

Marshall was later charged in the death and dismemberment of his father.