The jury acquitted Mathews of the most serious charge of aggravated murder and another murder count, according to court records filed Monday.
Credit: Tri-County Jail
Credit: Tri-County Jail
Mathews’ trial started Oct. 11, almost exactly 11 years after the gruesome Oct. 24, 2011, attack of Louis Taylor inside his home in the 500 block of Dorothy Moore Avenue. Taylor was found the following morning and flown to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. His family later transferred him to Hospice of Dayton, where he died Nov. 17, 2011, as a result of his injuries, according to a prior statement from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in conjunction with the Urbana Police Division.
Taylor’s 2006 Jeep Liberty was found shortly after his attack at the Long John Silver’s lot on South Limestone Street in Springfield. Investigators collected evidence from Taylor’s home and Jeep, but the homicide investigation soon ran cold.
At the time of Taylor’s death, Urbana Police Chief Matt Lingrell told the Springfield News-Sun he “never had a case like this.”
“The scene – very pristine residence, very well-kept residence, very bloody residence,” Lingrell said in 2011. “Yes, there’s violence in Urbana. Do we have home invasion assaults in Urbana? No.”
At the time of Mathews’ arrest and indictment in January 2021, the chief said, “We have never lost sight of our duty to Mr. Taylor and his family to find justice for his killing.”
Mathews remains held in the Tri-County Jail in Mechanicsburg.
About the Author
