The Orlando Police Department in Florida recently announced a major breakthrough in a murder case that had remained unsolved for nearly 40 years. With the assistance of DNA technology, investigators have finally identified a suspect and charged a man from North Carolina with the 1988 killing of a woman in Orlando.
Willie J. Carpenter has been arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service North Carolina Regional Task Force on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Diane Matthews. The CODIS system, which uses DNA technology, played a crucial role in linking Carpenter to the murder case.
On September 8, 1988, Matthews’s body was found inside the telephone answering service center where she worked in downtown Orlando. She had been severely beaten, with injuries to her face so severe that initially, she was unrecognizable until a colleague identified her by her hair.
Authorities collected fingerprints and biological evidence from the crime scene and conducted numerous interviews with witnesses. However, at that time, DNA technology was not routinely used in criminal investigations. Despite efforts to track down leads and preserve evidence, the case went cold without a suspect being identified.
More than two decades later, Carpenter’s DNA was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), sparking a major breakthrough in the investigation. Previously, Carpenter had been arrested for a sexual crime involving a minor in North Carolina. Investigators found that Carpenter’s DNA potentially matched the biological evidence collected during the investigation of Matthews’s murder.
In 2013, detectives questioned Carpenter, but he denied knowing Matthews and refused to provide a DNA sample. It wasn’t until 2024 that Carpenter voluntarily provided a DNA sample during another round of questioning by investigators.
Authorities in Florida conducted further testing on the sample in 2025, strengthening the link between Carpenter and the biological evidence recovered from the crime scene. After months of reviewing evidence, consulting with prosecutors, and ruling out other potential suspects, an arrest warrant was finally issued this year.
Carpenter is currently in custody in North Carolina awaiting extradition to Florida. The extradition process is expected to proceed without any complications.
(The article referenced reporting by FOX NEWS)