A 37-year-old man in South Carolina will spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering his wife and dog and then staging the scene to appear to be a home invasion so he could flee with his girlfriend.
Authorities announced that Berkeley County Circuit Court Judge Deadra Jefferson sentenced Matthew G. Speck to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the 2020 slaying of Caitlin C. Speck.
According to a news release from the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Matthew Speck was found guilty of murdering his wife after a five-day trial. Matthew Speck was also found guilty of one count of animal cruelty and possessing a weapon while committing a violent crime in connection with the killing.
Authorities said Matthew Speck shot and killed his wife on June 5, 2020, while she was sleeping in their bed. After murdering his wife, Speck shot and killed his Labrador retriever, Bailey Mae.
“Speck then shot himself in the arm and torso to create superficial wounds to trick police into believing his claim that home invaders had attacked all of them,” according to the press release. ”
After a diligent investigation involving forensic evidence, witness statements, and Speck’s five-hour interview by detectives from the Hanahan Police Department, Matthew Speck was arrested for killing both his wife Caitlin and their dog Bailey Mae.”
During his trial, jurors saw physical evidence of the crime and heard testimony from doctors, crime scene technicians, one of Matthew Speck’s coworkers, and, most importantly, Matthew Speck’s girlfriend. Matthew Speck’s coworker testified that the defendant complained to them about his marriage.
During her testimony, the girlfriend stated that Matthew Speck had told her before the murder that he was going to divorce his wife and that he and her would then be “moving away together to start a new life.”
Prosecutors also presented evidence that Matthew Speck “researched homicidal strangulation, choking death, and cyanide poisoning” before the shooting, according to the release.
In addition to the life sentence without parole, Jefferson sentenced Matthew Speck to five years in prison for killing his dog and possessing a weapon during a violent offense. Those sentences are to run concurrently, which means at the same time.
“Speck earned his sentence after his brazen betrayal and premeditation,” said Assistant Solicitor F. Alexander Myers, who co-prosecuted the case with Nicholas Young.
On Wednesday, the solicitor’s office posted a photo of Caitlin Speck and her dog on Facebook, captioned “Rest in peace, Caitlin and your fur baby, Bailey Mae.”