Alleged Killer Arrested in Matko Case, Virginia

Alleged Killer Arrested in Matko Case
By Elyse Reel
Feb 25, 2009 - 10:46:15 AM

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Ryan Matko

Eighteen months after the brutal murder of 16-year-old Ryan Matko sent shockwaves through the community, an arrest has been made. Detavis J. King, 17, was arrested on February 18 in connection with the killing. He has been charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in a felony.

Matko, the son of Richmond cold-case homicide detective Max Matko and Wild Rose Café owner Rose Matko, initially was reported missing on August 22, 2007 after he failed to show up for his one o’clock shift at his mother’s café, where he worked for a chef. The night before, Rose Matko says, she and Ryan had watched a television show and then gone to bed; she saw him in bed the next morning and noted that his car was still parked out front.

Following a police search, Matko’s car was discovered on August 23 at 7 p.m., located on Garden Ridge Trace in the Shadow Creek subdivision. His body was discovered in a wooded area 100 yards away, and police discovered gunshot wounds to his head and back. The suspected weapon, reported the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Friday, is a .32-caliber Harrington & Richardson revolver.

According to sources at CBS 6, King was once a student at Thomas Dale High School, where Matko also attended, before transferring to Chesterfield Community High School. He was considered a person of interest in the case, and police questioned him shortly after the killing. It was later released that King had ties to the Bloods gang at the time of the killing, Rose Matko confirms.

For Rose, the news of King’s arrest is “bittersweet,” she says. “We still have a very long road ahead of us, but at least I can see the light as far as getting some closure. It’s going to be a long haul, but we are definitely relieved.”

In a statement, Ryan’s father, Max Matko, thanked the community for their help and support, adding, “We are confident that they (the police) have all the facts and that they’ve charged the person responsible for Ryan’s death.”

Rose Matko says, “One of the things that I’m most appreciative about is that for me, going back to work was very therapeutic because I had the love, support, and concerns of the Chester community. People would come up to me and tell me I was strong, but it was because I got so much support from the community. People have been very good to me. Even though this happened in Chesterfield County, I believe this is a wonderful place to live and I’m glad I live here.”

Since the arrest, Matko says, her restaurant has been flooded with well-wishers. “People have come here since the arrest and eat and tell me how glad they are for me,” she says. “As a community, we’re very close-knit, and that says a lot about Chester.”

King will remain in a juvenile detention center until a March 17 preliminary hearing.

ereel@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421