Accompanying this photo of Nicole Mathewson is a description that reads: “Full of life, full of love. She will be missed by so, so many.” On Monday, 32-year old Nicole Mathewson’s life was cut short after she was murdered in her home in Lancaster, Pa. during the process of a robbery. Police in Lancaster have arrested 16-year old Marcus Rutter in connection with her murder. (Photo provided by Reflections of Life Photography out of Manheim, Pa. – www.reflections-of-life.com)
On Tuesday, police in Lancaster, Pa. reported the arrest of a 16-year old in connection with the murder of a Lancaster County elementary school teacher on Monday, 32-year old Nicole Mathewson, an Owego, N.Y. native, and Owego Free Academy graduate.
According to police, Nicole Mathewson’s body was discovered at approximately 9:10 a.m. Monday at her residence in the 700 block of North Franklin Street after she didn’t show up for work at Brownstown Elementary School – a job that family members in Owego, N.Y. stated she was in love with.
“Upon arrival officers located a female who was unresponsive, and appeared to be deceased due to multiple traumatic injuries,” the affidavit of probable cause stated.
Mathewson’s car, a 2005 Mazda 3, was missing from the scene. Police said they have since recovered the vehicle.
Thomas Moore, 25, and Marcus Rutter, 16, have been arrested in connection to the homicide of Nicole Mathewson, 32, a Lancaster County teacher.
The police were able to arrest 16-year old Marcus Rutter, of the 700 block of East Marion Street in Lancaster in connection with the crime. The act, police stated in a report to media, was random, and that Marcus Rutter did not have any connection to Nicole Mathewson.
According to police, Marcus Rutter was taken into custody shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, about one block away from his home, and after a crime stopper tip was provided to the police.
As for motive, the police in Lancaster say they believe the motive was burglary, after finding evidence from Nicole Mathewson’s home in Marcus Rutter’s possession.
Police are not releasing any more details regarding Nicole Mathewson’s murder, but described the act in a release as “devastating and grizzly.”
An autopsy, according to police reports, is to be performed on Thursday to determine the exact cause of Nichole Mathewson’s death.
Marcus Rutter, according to Lancaster police, will be charged as an adult, and faces charges of criminal homicide, burglary, criminal conspiracy to commit burglary, and robbery.
Marcus Rutter, according to police documents, also told police that he and an unnamed co-conspirator went to Mathewson’s home, and that while they were stealing from her, they “applied force” that resulted in her death.
Rutter is being held without bail at the Lancaster County Prison.
On Wednesday, police in Lancaster reported that they have charged a second suspect in the murder of school teacher Nicole Mathewson.
Thomas Moore, age 25, was arrested Tuesday night in an apartment in the 700 block of Sterling Place.
Police said the 16-year-old murder suspect Marcus Rutter led them to his alleged accomplice.
According to continued reports out of Lancaster, Pa., Marcus Rutter and Thomas Moore went into Mathewson’s apartment on North Franklin Street looking to steal from her.
Rutter said Moore was the one who assaulted Mathewson to the point of her death.
The documents show that Marcus Rutter told police Thomas Moore then took Nicole Mathewson’s debit card to the Turkey Hill Minit Market on New Holland Avenue and withdrew $5.
Thomas Moore turned 25 recently and is now in jail.
Back in Owego, N.Y., the community is already grieving, as they try to comprehend this senseless crime – one that took the life of a woman who dedicated her life to helping youth.
“She went to Lancaster because she wanted to make a difference,” said a tearful Maureen Mathewson, of Owego, N.Y. and a relative to Nicole Mathewson through marriage. Mathewson also stated that the family is in shock, and that they are just beginning to deal with this tragedy – especially Nicole Mathewson’s mother and father.
“She was such a beautiful person,” stated Maureen Mathewson, “she was very kind and loved everyone.”
Nicole Mathewson purchased the North Franklin Street home in 2012 and earned a master’s degree in education from Eastern Mennonite University in 2013.
On the schools’s website, Conestoga Valley Superintendent Dr. Gerald Huesken posted the following remarks: “Miss Mathewson was a sixth-grade teacher at Brownstown Elementary. During her seven years with us, she was an excellent teacher, an exemplary employee and a respected colleague, especially in the area of mathematics. Her loss is a terrible tragedy for our school district and our community. She will be greatly missed.”
The school is providing support to students and staff as they grapple with this tragedy.
On Facebook, those who knew Nicole Mathewson and grew up with her in Tioga County are beginning to grieve, and are struggling to understand this incredible loss due to a reckless and heinous crime.
One comment on Facebook, by Jodi Nallon Austin, Owego Free Academy Class of 1972, she wrote, “Please keep our classmate Mark Mathewson (Nicole Mathewson’s father) and his family in your prayers – his daughter Nicole was found dead this morning in her home (Lancaster, PA) of an apparent homicide. She was a school teacher in a 6th grade class – please keep her students in your prayers too.”
Dozens of others offered their condolences to the family, and are including them in their prayers.
