Son of Wilmington courthouse shooter to remain in jail

David Matusiewicz, son of the man who killed two women in a Delaware courthouse this week, will remain in jail after waiving his right to a preliminary hearing in a parole-violation case on Friday.

Matusiewicz, who kidnapped his three daughters in 2007 and took them to Central America for 19 months, had been scheduled for a child-support hearing Monday at the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington. Before that hearing began, however, his ex-wife, Christine Belford, and her friend, Laura Mulford, were shot and killed in the courthouse lobby by Matusiewicz's father, Thomas Matusiewicz. The elder Matusiewicz then took his own life.

David Matusiewicz had driven from his home in Hidalgo County, Texas, with his father and his mother, Lenore, for Monday's hearing. But he stayed in Elkton, Md., before the hearing instead of with an uncle in Bayville, N.J., as had been approved by parole officers. That discrepancy landed him in court Friday.

Matusiewicz said very little during Friday's brief proceedings, only acknowledging his decision to waive his preliminary and detention hearings. His next court appearance has not been determined.

Earlier on Friday, 6ABC reported that police had found guns and ammunition in the trunk of Matusiewicz's Honda Civic in Maryland.

Also on Friday, Matusiewicz's sister, Amy Gonzalez, released a statement saying that the "Matusiewicz and Gonzalez families are stunned and bewildered" by the killings.

"We want to express our deepest sympathy for all of the victims and their families," the statement said. "We apologize to the people of Delaware for the violent actions of Thomas Matusiewicz. We understand that the police had to do what was necessary to prevent further injuries."

Police searched the Matusiewicz family's house and a storage locker in Texas this week and found 13 guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and books titled Kill All the Lawyers and New I.D. in America, the Associated Press reported.

Attorneys for David and Lenore Matusiewicz declined to comment outside the courthouse Friday.