EXECUTED BY LETHAL INJECTION ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2005 A.M.
DOB: 11-06-1950 DOC#: 875922 White Male
Lake County Superior Court
Judge James E.
Letsinger
Venued from St. Joseph County
Prosecutor: John D. Krisor
Defense: Scott L. King
Date of Murder: March 4, 1989
Victim(s): Lisa Bianco W/F/34 (Ex-wife of Matheny)
Method of Murder: beating with shotgun
Summary: Matheny was convicted and sent to prison in 1987 for Battery and Confinement of his ex-wife, Lisa Bianco. While in prison, Matheny had repeatedly expressed a desire to kill Bianco, and attempted to solicit others to do so. After serving almost 2 years, he was given an 8-hour furlogh from Pendleton, where he was an inmate. Although the pass authorized a trip to Indianapolis, Matheny headed straight for St. Joseph County. Once there, he changed clothes and took a shotgun from a friend's house, then drove to Mishawaka. He parked the car in a lot two doors down from his ex-wife's house, then broke in through the back door. Bianco ran from the home, pursued by Matheny through the neighborhood. When he caught her, he beat her with the shotgun that broke into pieces. He then got into his car and drove away. Bianco died as a result of this blunt force trauma. (insanity defense) (This case generated massive amounts of publicity and led to legislation requiring DOC to notify victims of release from prison)
Conviction: Murder, Burglary
Sentencing: May 11, 1990 (Death Sentence)
Aggravating Circumstances: b (1) Burglary, Lying in wait
Mitigating Circumstances: turned himself in, extreme mental and emotional disturbance, helpful, useful, generous and kind, mental disease (schizophreniform disorder)
Trial: Information/PC for Murder filed (03-07-89); Amended Information for DP filed (03-20-89); Change of Venue to Lake County (01-25-90); Sentencing (05-11-90).
Direct Appeal:
Matheny v. State, 583 N.E.2d 1202 (Ind. January 9, 1992)
Conviction Affirmed 5-0 DP Affirmed 4-1
Givan Opinion; Shepard, Dickson, Krahulik concur; Debruler dissents.
Matheny v. Indiana, 112 S. Ct. 2320
(1992) (Cert. denied)
PCR:
PCR Petition filed 11-25-92. PCR denied 04-10-95 by Judge Richard J. Conroy.
Matheney v. State, 688 N.E.2d 883 (Ind. 1997) (Appeal of PCR denial)
(Affirmed 5-0; Shepard Opinion; Dickson, Sullivan, Selby, Boehm concur)
Matheny v. Indiana, 119 S.Ct. 1046 (1999) (Cert. denied)
Habeas:
07-11-98 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana.
Judge Allen Sharp
07-30-99 Writ of Habeas Corpus denied.
Matheny v. Anderson, 60 F.Supp.2d 846 (N.D. Ind. July 30, 1999)
(Petition for Habeas Writ denied by Judge Allen Sharp)
Matheny v. Anderson, 253 F.3d 1025 (7th Cir. June 18, 2001).
(Appeal of habeas denial; Affirmed 2-1, but remanded to U.S. District Court for evidentiary hearing on issue of competency at trial; Opinion by Judge John Coffey, Judge Judy Kanne concurs. Dissent by Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner.)
Anderson v. Matheney, 122 Sct. 1635 (2002) (Cert. denied).
Matheney v. Anderson, 377 F.3d 740 (7th Cir. July 29, 2004) (03-1739).
(After remand to U.S. District Court for evidentiary hearing on issue of competency at trial, and denial of habeas)
Affirmed 3-0; . Michael S. Kanne Opinion; Wiliam J. Bauer, Ilana Diamond Rovner concur.
Matheney v. Davis, ___ S.Ct. ___ (May 16, 2005) (Cert. denied)
MATHENEY WAS EXECUTED BY LETHAL INJECTION ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2005 12:27 A.M. HE WAS THE 86TH CONVICTED MURDERER EXECUTED IN INDIANA SINCE 1900, AND 16TH SINCE THE DEATH PENALTY WAS REINSTATED IN 1977. .
As of July 1, 2006