U.S. Marshals service tracks Burton, makes arrest
The July 6 arrest of Matthew N. Burton, charged with the murder of Nicole Bennett, went as well as it could have, according to one U.S. Marshal.
Lewes resident Barry Boright, a member of the regional U.S. Marshal fugitive task force, said his team makes these types of arrests all the time.
Boright supervises the task force, which is based in Salisbury. They frequently work hand-in-hand with both Maryland State Police and Delaware State Police.
“We are Congressionally funded, and we recruit state and local agencies to work with us,” Boright said. “It really benefits some of the smaller agencies that don’t have the manpower.”
The task force regularly enforces arrest warrants, so July 6 was just another day, he said.
For the family of Nicole Bennett, however, the arrest was key to having the world make sense again. Bob Bennett, Nicole’s father-in-law, said after the arrest he was thrilled. The family now awaits Burton’s trial for first- and second-degree murder.
Anatomy of a nab
Early morning of July 6: U.S. Marshal Barry Boright is alerted by Maryland State Police that a warrant could possibly be served that day for the arrest of Matthew Burton, a suspect in the June 14 murder of Nicole Bennett, 35 of Millsboro.
2 p.m.: U.S. Marshals arrive in Georgetown where they locate Burton at his mother’s home on Zoar Road. In unmarked cars, two marshals watch the house. When Burton leaves, the marshals follow him to his home on Power Plant Road in Dagsboro.
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Difference in degrees Matthew Burton is charged with first- and second-degree murder for the June 14 slaying of Nicole Bennett, a 35-year-old mother of three, who rented a home in Peninsula at Long Neck with her husband, Kevin Bennett. On June 14, Nicole stayed home to take care of her 15-month-old, who was sick. During the early evening, Bennett decided to go into work at Bay Shore Community Church outside Gumboro to catch up on work she missed during the day. Also working at the church that night was Matthew N. Burton, 28 of Dagsboro, a part-time custodian. Burton is now charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death of Bennett, whose body was discovered June 15 on Swamp Road, a rural road outside Whaleyville, Md. Kevin Bennett called police to report Nicole missing about 8 a.m. June 15. A person walking on Swamp Road discovered her body at 9 a.m. Maryland State Police Detective Sgt. Steve Hall said the three-week police investigation into Bennett's murder turned up no connections between Burton and Bennett, who worked in the church’s nursery. Burton, a Tier-1 registered sex offender, was arrested July 6 at 7:15 p.m. outside Rehoboth Beach. First-degree murder is any murder that is willful and premeditated. It could also be murder committed during a felony. First degree is considered reckless. Second-degree murder is a murder that is not premeditated or planned in advance. Second degree is considered criminally negligent. In 2009, Maryland restricted the use of the death penalty to those first-degree murder cases with biological or DNA evidence. The death penalty has to be agreed upon by the jury serving in the case. Second-degree murder carries a five- to 40-year sentence in Maryland.
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4:30 p.m.: Maryland State Police Sgt. Steve Hall works to get an arrest warrant through Maryland district courts.
About 6 p.m.: U.S. Marshals watch Burton leave his Dagsboro home with his wife and two children. His wife drives the family car toward Rehoboth Beach.
About 6:30 p.m.: The Burtons eat at McDonald’s outside Rehoboth while marshals watch outside.
6:45 p.m.: U.S. Marshal Boright receives word the arrest warrant for Matthew Burton has been signed by a judge in Maryland.
About 7 p.m.: The Burtons leave McDonald’s. U.S. Marshal Boright has several marshals in the area now. He hopes the Burtons head home, but instead they turn south on Route 1. Boright fears they will head into downtown Rehoboth, where the crowds would make a discreet arrest impossible.
7:15 p.m.: Boright and his team of marshals in several cars pull Burton over at a traffic light near Timothy’s on southbound Route 1. They arrest Burton, telling him there is a warrant out for his arrest in Maryland.
About 7:45 p.m.: Burton is turned over to Maryland State Police Sgt. Hall at Delaware State Police Troop 4 in Georgetown.
Making the arrest
“When we were told the warrant was in hand, our hope was Burton would either go home to Dagsboro or drive into Maryland and we could get him then,” Boright said. “But when the Burtons headed for Rehoboth, we knew we didn’t want him to go downtown, so that’s why we stopped him where we did.”
Boright said they didn’t think Burton would flee, especially since Burton’s wife was driving the car and their two children were in the back seat.
“We arrest people every day, so we had it covered,” Boright said. “We had cars in front and in back of Burton’s car. He probably didn’t know we were following him.”
Boright said, “We really didn’t want to grab him on Route 1, but we decided it was going to be our best option.”
When the marshals approached the car, the Burtons seemed calm, Boright said.
“Burton was very calm. It was unusual because typically they are more agitated,” Boright said. “He obviously knew what was going on. We told him we were taking him to Georgetown and he would have the opportunity to talk to the detective there.”
Burton’s wife followed the marshals to Georgetown. She called a family friend to pick up the children. A short time later, she was released after answering some questions, said Hall.
“It wasn’t our preference to have the kids in the car,” Boright said. “But, [Burton] was wanted for homicide, so we had to do what we had to do.”
Once the marshals dropped Burton off with Sgt. Hall at Troop 4, their job was over, Boright said.
“It went as smoothly as it could go,” Boright said. “In this case, I don’t think he knew he was being watched. Maybe he thought if he ran, then it would make him look guilty.”
Burton remains at Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown awaiting an extradition hearing, which has been set for Monday, Aug. 6.
Burton’s attorney, John Garey, did not return calls for comment.
