Murder of Christine Belford by father and son, David and Thomas Matusiewicz examined on Web of Lies

Web of Lies is investigating the murder of Christine Belford, who was the subject of an online campaign of hate prior to her death by her ex-husband, David Matusiewicz, and his mother, Lenore Matusiewicz, his sister Amy Gonzalez, and his father, triggerman, Thomas Matusiewicz.

On February 11, 2013, Christine attended a child support hearing at the New Castle County courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, when she was gunned down in the lobby by her former father-in-law, Thomas Matusiewicz.

The heavily armed Thomas M. also shot dead Christine’s friend, Laura “Beth” Mulford, as she tried to flee the scene. A brief shoutout led to injuries to two police officers, but ultimately, Thomas M. took his own life on the sidewalk outside the courthouse.

It was the culmination of years of abuse, harassment, and cyberstalking aimed at Christine by her ex-husband David along with other members of his family.

Christine had been subjected to continuous email communications, letters, and Internet postings, which accused her of abusing, neglecting, and even sexually assaulting her daughters. This twisted and vicious campaign of hate was intended to win David M. custody of the children.

David and Lenore Matusiewicz had kidnapped Christine Belford’s children

The Matusiewicz family had already run afoul of the law in this case after David M. and Lenore M. kidnapped the three children and brought them to Central America in 2007. They both pleaded guilty in 2009 on federal charges of kidnapping and spent time in a Delaware prison over the incident.

The police believe that it was during his time in prison that David M. enlisted his mother, father, sister, and others to conduct his campaign of harassment and defamation against his former wife. However, at some point, the family seems to have begun potting Belford’s murder.

The Matusiewicz family first insisted that they had no idea that Thomas M. was planning his act of violence. However, the police concluded that the group had traveled to the Wilmington courthouse in full knowledge of what would happen. David M. had driven to Delaware with the trunk of his car packed with firearms and ammunition.

In February 2016, David M., Lenore M., and Amy Gonzalez were convicted of conspiracy, interstate stalking resulting in death, and cyberstalking resulting in death. This was the first case in America where defendants were convicted of such a crime. They were sentenced to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

Christine’s oldest daughter testified against her mother’s killers in the trial and insisted that she had never been abused in any way by her mother.

More from Web of Lies

Follow the links to read about more crimes perpetrated through the internet and profiled on Web of Lies.

Camila Zeidan created a fake Facebook persona designed to torment her former friend, Renae Marsden. In a particularly cruel case of catfishing, Marsden took her own life when she thought her online boyfriend had ended their relationship.

High school teacher Douglas Le abused his position by pretending to be an online porn star while sending messages to young boys from his school. He encouraged them to send him naked photographs of themselves.

Web of Lies airs at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.