News: Police look into apparent murder-suicide involving Forest Service spokesman

American Canyon man allegedly kills wife, dogs, self
Police look into apparent murder-suicide involving Forest Service spokesman Matt Mathes

Editor: This seems to be a very sad case of despair and hopelessness stemming from his wifes long suffering from a chronic illness, Watch out for each other...

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen/Times-Herald staff writer
Article Launched: 11/06/2007 07:02:00 AM PST

AMERICAN CANYON - A longtime, well-known U.S. Forest Service spokesman apparently killed his wife and two dogs before killing himself on Saturday, police said Monday.

American Canyon police are investigating the apparent murder-suicide of Wallace Erskine Mathes III, 54, his wife, Karen Pang Mathes, and the couple's two dogs, a police spokesman said. All were found dead in their American Canyon home early Saturday morning, said American Canyon Police Sgt. Craig Nickles.

Mathes worked for nearly 20 years as a U.S. Forest Service spokesman, stationed on Mare Island, said co-worker Jason Kirchner.

"He was a great guy. Great to work with. He was the voice of the forest service for more than 17 years in California," Kirchner said. "You couldn't find anyone more steady than Mat."

The deaths occurred on the 600 block of Chaucer Lane near Crawford Way, Nickels said.

Police received a call from the home at 6:17 a.m., in which the male caller told the dispatcher that his wife was sick and that she wanted to die, Nickles said.

"He told the dispatcher he was going to kill her, the dogs and himself," Nickles said.

American Canyon Police and Napa County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the some moments later, he said. After failing to get a response from inside the house, officers entered and found the bodies of two people and two apparently mixed-breed dogs.

Each had a single gunshot wound, Nickles said, though Napa County Coroner's office spokesman Capt. Gene Lyerla, said that while it appeared that each was shot once, this was not confirmed by Monday afternoon. He would not disclose the nature of Karen Mathes' illness, but did say she was not in imminent danger of dying.

The Matheses were longtime American Canyon residents, Nickles said.

A note found at the scene basically repeated what the caller had told the dispatcher, he added.

"He said he was going to help his wife die and that he couldn't live on without her," he said. "It's unusual, but it's happened before. Usually, it's with more elderly people."

Kirchner, who said he didn't know Karen Mathes was sick, described the couple as "very close," but colleagues were nevertheless surprised to learn of the tragedy from a supervisor Monday.

"We were very surprised," he said. "We're going to miss Mat."

The incident marks American Canyon's third homicide this year, Nickles said.

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Forest Service spokesman found dead

Matt Mathes, his wife and their two dogs died of gunshot wounds in what police said appears to be a murder-suicide.
By Eric Bailey, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 6, 2007

SACRAMENTO -- Through raging wildfires, insect infestations and environmental battles, Matt Mathes had for the last two decades been the voice of the U.S. Forest Service in California.

But even close colleagues knew little of his home life other than his fondness for dogs and erudite appreciation of fine wine and cultured cinema.

Mathes, 54, left them grappling for answers Monday after news arrived that he and his wife, 52-year-old Karen Pang Mathes, were found dead from gunshot wounds in what police described as an apparent murder-suicide. The couple's two dogs were also shot and killed.

In a handwritten suicide note found at the couple's home in the Bay Area town of American Canyon, Mathes laid out how their property was to be dispersed after death, and included a copy of his will, investigators said.

He also spelled out the rationale for his life's final act, citing his wife's chronic illness. He was halfway through a two-week vacation after serving for months on end as wildfires charred Southern California in October and burned near Lake Tahoe early in the summer.

Neighbors on the street where Mathes lived for nearly two decades said they had had little contact with him other than the occasional nod when he walked by with his dogs.

"It sounds like he was a pretty nice guy," said American Canyon Police Chief Brian Banducci. "It seems he loved his wife and couldn't live without her."

Police said dispatchers received a call shortly after 6 a.m. Saturday from a man believed to be Mathes saying his wife was sick and wanted to die. He told the dispatcher he was going to kill his wife, his dogs and himself.

A SWAT team called to the scene found Mathes' body on the floor of the bedroom. Nearby, his wife lay dead in the bed, authorities said. The bodies of the two dogs were nearby. Police found two handguns in the house, as well as the suicide note.

Capt. Gene Lyerla of the Napa County coroner's office declined to go into specifics about the wife's illness other than to say that it was chronic but not terminal. Colleagues at the U.S. Forest Service Pacific-Southwest Region headquarters in Vallejo said they had never met Mathes' wife, nor even heard she had a debilitating illness.

"I knew he was married, but honestly until today I didn't even know her name," said Jason Kirchner, who worked in the cubicle next to Mathes'.

Kirchner said he saw nothing to indicate that Mathes was growing troubled. He worked diligently and exhaustedly, as always, his cubicle lined with tiny notes taped to the wall.

Janice Gauthier, the region's communications director and Mathes' boss, called him a consummate professional -- a bright, energetic and principled man with a penchant for backing the underdog.

He lent a hand to new workers and pushed for increased diversity in the ranks, she said.

"Matthew was an intellectual," she said. "He was a real thinking person, very well-read, very cultured."

He grew up in the South as well as New York, then spent a year in the Air Force Academy, leaving in part because his eyesight prohibited him from becoming a pilot, Gauthier said.

He received a journalism degree in Florida and worked briefly as a reporter before landing a job with the Forest Service, working up the ladder in Colorado and Washington, D.C., before arriving in California.

Gauthier said Mathes was "the voice of the Forest Service" in a state where 20% of all land is national forest.

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