Adam Matos

 

You have heard me often say that I am neither a huge advocate for or against the death penalty. I think there should be clear and absolute proof that the defendant is guilty before they are sentenced to death. But, I also think when that is proven and it is an exceptionally gruesome crime then the death penalty is warranted. This case falls into the latter category to the point that I am almost appalled that the jury did not recommend death. This case took place in Florida and most states, as does Florida, require that the jury be unanimous in their recommendation for death. Adam Matos was charged with four murders. For three of them the jury were 10-2 for death and for the forth they were 11-1. If a jury recommends death a judge can instead give life with or without parole, but if they do not recommend death a judge cannot override that and sentence the defendant to death. When he was sentenced to four counts of life without the possibility of parole the judge made sure that Matos knew just how close he came to being sentenced to death.

It was said that Adam Matos met Megan Brown when he was when they both lived in Pennsylvania. They were introduced by a mutual friend and apparently they hit it off. Megan was the youngest of four children and the only girl. Her father, Greg was an engineer and the family lived on a farm that was mainly cared for by her mother, Margaret “Maggie.” The couple only knew each other a few months before Megan found out she was pregnant. Adam eventually moved into the Brown home, although it is not clear exactly when that occurred. Megan eventually gave birth to their son, Tristan. Most reports stated that Megan and Adam were eighteen and nineteen when they met but I have been left questioning that. In 2014 Megan was twenty-six or twenty-seven and it was said that her son, Tristan was four. It is not extremely important in the realm of things as to how old Adam and Megan were when their relationship began but in my opinion it does matter at least a bit. The fact that in 2014 they were twenty-seven and twenty-nine is different than twenty-two and twenty-four. It is my opinion that people do a lot of “growing,” or at least should, in their mid-to-late twenties as opposed to their late teens or early twenties.

Reports state that the relationship was soon on rocky ground due to a lot of things. There were several reports that Maggie and Adam did not get along well. Tristan would also be diagnosed with autism at some point so I am sure that also strained the relationship. There were reports that Adam had difficulty maintaining employment which also seemed to be an issue for Megan and her parents.

It appears that it was unexpected but at some point Greg decided to retire and he and his wife decided to sell their home in Pennsylvania and move to Florida. According to Matos, Greg and Maggie “convinced” Megan to go also with her son, Tristan. My research indicated that it was possible that one of the reasons her parents encouraged Megan to go to Florida with them was to put some distance between her and Adam. But, Matos “decided” to move too and it seems that the Brown's were the type that, while likely not happy about the decision, allowed it to happen.

The family moved down to Hudson Florida it seems sometime in early 2014. They rented a house while they were in the process of building a new one of their own. I have to be honest in saying I am uncertain if when the crime occurred if they were still in the rental home or in their new home. All I can say is that they were in Hudson in August of 2014.

Adam continued to live in the Brown home but the relationship with Megan deteriorated even more. It was said that Megan and Adam had separate bedrooms and the relationship between Adam and Maggie grew worse also. In the end only however only Adam was left to tell the story and prosecutors were pretty sure they were able to prove him out to be a liar. Adam claims that he and Megan had not “split” before he committed his crimes on August 28^th. However, Megan's behavior, her words from a 911 call she made the day before the murders as well as the fact that she was apparently seeing someone new tells another story.

Once in Florida it was said that Megan had met knew people and one of them was a man named Nick Leonard, some ten years older than she. It seems obvious that Megan's parents, Greg and Maggie, knew about Nick but it was said that Megan was attempting to keep the relationship a secret until Adam moved out of the home. I found nothing that stated for certain that this was “in the works” as of yet. But, according to Nick's friends and family he was head over heals for Megan and they knew all about her. This is why most information will refer to Adam as Megan's “ex-boyfriend” and Nick as her “new boyfriend.” Despite apparently keeping things under wraps with their budding relationship prosecutors say that Adam learned about it.

It is not clear whether Megan's 911 call came in the early morning of August 27^th or 28^th. The timing of things because of “early morning” hours is a bit confusing. However, Megan had come home near dawn and there was apparently a fight with Adam. She called 911 saying “I just came home and my son's dad put a knife to my throat and he cut my hand and I'm bleeding everywhere, and my son is freaking out.” The dispatcher could hear Tristan in the background and Megan was attempting to comfort him. She had apparently grabbed the knife when Adam had it on her and that is how her hand was cut. It was not clear whether it required a hospital visit. When police arrived Adam was gone as he had fled the house when Megan had called 911.

For the next six days no one heard from Greg, Maggie or Megan Brown or from Nick Leonard apparently. It is unclear whether any were officially reported missing. But, a relative did call the police and asked that the home be checked because no one had been able to reach them by text or by phone. Officers who went to the home would later say that they smelled “death” when they arrived and that a door leading into the garage was left open. Officers went into the garage and found the Browns van inside with a blanket on the ground at the back of the van. They lifted the blanket and it, and the floor of the garage, were covered in blood. They knew something bad had happened here.

Around the same time another officer was driving down a road less than a mile from the Brown home. It is unclear if this officer was headed to the house or if he was out on routine patrol. He would also say that as he drove down the road he also “smelled death” and got out to look around. He searched around a little and came across an area that dipped down a little and there he saw four bodies stacked on top of each other. Considering they had been in the sweltering heat for days the bodies were severely decomposed.

Meanwhile back at the Brown home, officers found blood, and maggots to go along with the smell inside the van in the garage. A shovel was also found nearby. Inside the home it was evident that a crime had occurred but it was also stated that it was evident that a clean up had been attempted.

Law enforcement did not know immediately who the four bodies were that had been found but fairly quickly they believed at least three of them to be Greg, Maggie and Megan Brown. Initially they thought it possible that the fourth body belonged to Adam Matos but they quickly learned about Nick Leonard and his relationship with Megan and about the 911 call Megan had made.

What law enforcement did not know was that while they were approaching the Brown home that day to do the welfare check Adam Matos saw them and he went out the back way with his four year old son. He cut through neighbors back yards, and made his way to nearby Tampa. There he checked into a motel using his own name. It was not very clear how long it was before investigators found Matos at this hotel, but they did find him. They arrested him on charges of domestic violence stemming from the 911 call made by Megan and but did not tell him about finding the bodies. They wanted to see what he would have to say first.

When he was interviewed Adam was asked about his relationship with Megan and he told investigators that they had broken up about a week prior. He was finally told that the bodies had been found and he pointed the fingers at one of Nick Leonard's ex-girlfriends who had allegedly caused some problems. Investigators were able to rule her out by her alibi. Initially his son, Tristan, likely due not just to his autism but also the trauma he had suffered was not talking to anyone at all. Slowly he began to open up and he informed investigators that he had witnessed his father killing his mother, grandparents and Nick Leonard. It was then that Adam Matos was charged with four counts of first degree murder.

It is not clear exactly what Matos may have, or have not said, to investigators about the murders prior to his trial in November of 2017 but at his trial he would take the stand and tell a story. He claimed that it was a “combination of self-defense and paranoia” that caused him to commit the murders. He gave a version of what he said happened but prosecutors would say that witnesses who heard gunshots and other evidence would prove his story to be a lie. I will first tell you what the prosecutors say happened and then I will address Matos' story.

Prosecutors say that in the twelve hours after Megan made the 911 call Matos “bombarded Megan with more than a hundred threatening calls and text messages.” It was said that Megan was scared and she called Nick Leonard who came over with a gun. It is not as if the gun was needed by Leonard considering Greg Brown was a hunter and had guns of his own, but yes, he brought a gun. Prosecutors believe Matos staked out the house although I found nothing that stated how long they believe Matos was outside the home. They believe he purposely waited until just after midnight when Maggie Brown would return home from work. Prosecutors say he attacked Maggie Brown with a hammer and then headed into the home. He found Megan in her room with Nick Leonard and he then attacked Nick with the same hammer he had used on Maggie. Megan apparently ran from the room as this was going on and Matos got Nick Leonard's gun and went looking for her. Megan had run into her father's bedroom. It is believed that Greg was standing in his closet where he had grabbed a weapon but he did not have time to get it fully loaded, let alone take a shot, before Matos shot him twice. He then shot Megan in the face and into her left eye.

Matos would claim that he had gone to the home and that Nick Leonard attacked him. He claimed that Nick had attempted to strangle him and that he had stabbed him with a knife in self defense. He then claimed that he shot Greg Brown because he thought he was going kill him also. He went on to claim that he then fired a gun near where Megan was hiding and that it ricocheted off something, hitting her in the face. He claimed that when he “realized” what he had done he “lost it.” He then “finished” off Nick with the hammer. By his account all of these things happened before Maggie Brown returned from work. He then said he attacked Maggie when she got home.

Prosecutors would say that his version of things did not add up for a lot of reasons. For one, Nick Leonard's family testified that there is no way that Nick had attempted to strangle Matos with his hands because just a few days prior to the murders Nick had broken his hand while he was working as a carpenter. They claimed he would have not had the ability or grip to strangle Matos in any way, nor did they believe he had tried. Prosecutors also claimed that their version of events was more likely based on the fact that there were witnesses who allegedly heard the gunshots. While I cannot be certain I am going to guess that the witness(es) was able to tell the timing of the gunshots and place those quite a bit after the time in which Maggie Brown would have returned home.

After committing the murders Adam Matos remained living in the Brown home with his son, Tristan. He admitted on the witness stand that at some point he left Tristan alone, in the house with the bodies and went to a store to buy a shovel. It was said that he initially intended to bury the bodies in the yard but soon discovered that in that area digging a hole was nearly impossible. He spent much of that time in the home cleaning up the crime scene, telling neighbors that the family had gone on a hunting trip and even selling the Browns' possessions, including their animals on Craigslist. He even had pizza delivered to the home.

After realizing that he could not bury the bodies in the yard, Matos put the bodies in the Browns' vehicle and drove them to the area in which they were found. He simply stacked the bodies on top of each other and left.

On November 17, 2017, after deliberating for less than three hours Adam Matos was found guilty on four counts of first degree murder. The jury really had little choice since Matos himself had taken the stand and “described in grisly detail how he had killed four people” even if it was not all the complete truth.

In Florida, as in a lot of states, during the penalty phase a jury must be unanimous in their decision if they are going to recommend someone receive the death penalty. When it came to Greg Brown, Megan Brown and Nick Leonard the jury came to a 10-2 decision. Ten people wanted him to receive the death penalty but because two could not be persuaded they had to recommend life. When it came to Maggie Brown that decision was 11-1 so again they had to recommend a life sentence. When the judge sentenced Matos to life without parole he let Matos know that he personally believed he deserved the death penalty and told him he was was very lucky because he was only one vote away from receiving just that.

Matos was entered into the Florida Department of Corrections on November 30, 2017 and that is where he is expected to remain until he dies. His son Tristan was sent out of state to live with relatives.