OPELOUSAS, La. (AP) — The white man charged in the burnings of three Louisiana black churches faces a mountain of evidence tying him to the crimes, documenting the fires on his cellphone and an interest in arson on Facebook, the state fire marshal said Monday at a hearing that offered new insight into how officials tracked their suspect.
Holden Matthews bought a gas can and oil rags similar to those found at the site of the fires, he recorded a conversation with a friend in which he talked about using gasoline to burn churches.
His cellphone held images of the fires before law enforcement even arrived to the blazes, Louisiana Fire Marshal Butch Browning testified at Matthews’ bond hearing.
The 21-year-old Matthews - the son of a sheriff’s deputy - entered a not guilty plea Monday via video conference from the St. Landry Parish jail, as prosecutors added new charges declaring the arsons a hate crime.
“There is a substantial amount of evidence, it appears,” state District Judge James Doherty said before denying Matthews’ bond request, keeping him in jail.
In his testimony for prosecutors, Browning outlined a litany of evidence that he said tied Matthews to the torching of the three black churches over 10 days.
The fire marshal described cellphone records placing Matthews at the fire locations. On his phone, Browning said, Matthews had images of the church fires in the early stages and the destruction days after the churches were set ablaze, in addition to copies of news reports about the fires.
“He actually superimposed himself on those news reports, claiming responsibility for these fires,” Browning said.
Video surveillance near the churches showed a truck similar to the one Matthews drives, Browning said. Matthews also exchanged text messages with a friend who asked about the fires: “Was that your work?” the fire marshal said.
In addition, Browning said Matthews posted on Facebook about and showed interest in a movie called “Lords of Chaos,” which Browning said is a recent Norwegian film that involved church burnings.
“The evidence we have was unequivocal,” Browning said. Later he added: “He has clearly demonstrated the characteristics of a pathological fire setter.”
The fires, all started with gasoline, occurred in and around Opelousas, about 60 miles west of Louisiana’s capital city of Baton Rouge.
The first blaze happened at the St. Mary Baptist Church on March 26 in Port Barre, a town just outside of Opelousas. Days later, the Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas were burned. Each was more than 100 years old...
