ORLANDO, Fla. — Nearly four decades after Diane Matthews was found murdered inside her downtown Orlando workplace, investigators say advances in DNA technology have led them to a suspect.
Willie J. Carpenter, 68, was booked into the Orange County Jail after being extradited from North Carolina.
He is charged with first-degree murder in connection with Matthews’ 1988 killing.
Channel 9 was there when the case first unfolded.
On Sept. 8, 1988, Matthews was found dead inside the answering service where she worked at 227 N. Magnolia Avenue in downtown Orlando.
Investigators said Matthews suffered severe injuries and was unrecognizable, but a co-worker was able to identify her by her hair.
After the killing, detectives collected evidence from the scene, including fingerprints and biological samples.
At the time, DNA testing was not commonly used in criminal investigations, and the case eventually went cold.
Nearly 38 years later, officials say new forensic testing helped revive the investigation.
According to the Orlando Police Department, Carpenter’s DNA was entered into the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, after an unrelated arrest in North Carolina involving a sexual offense against an underage female.
Investigators say the DNA profile was identified as a potential match to biological evidence collected in the Matthews homicide investigation.
Detectives first interviewed Carpenter in 2013. Police said he denied knowing Matthews and declined to provide a DNA sample.
In 2024, investigators interviewed Carpenter again, and he voluntarily provided a DNA sample.
Testing conducted with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was finalized in 2025, and police said the results strengthened the connection between Carpenter and evidence recovered from the crime scene.
Detectives spent months reviewing the evidence, consulting with prosecutors and ruling out other potential suspects before seeking an arrest warrant in 2026.
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