Thompson sentenced in wife's murder

May 23—GOSHEN — A man who murdered his wife was sentenced to a total of 65 years during Elkhart County Circuit Court on Thursday.

"I loved her more than words can describe or actions could show," Matthew Thompson said at his sentencing.

Elkhart police were called to the couple's home in the 1400 block of Cone Street in Elkhart at 7:16 p.m. Aug. 19, 2023, where Matthew Thompson, 36, had reported that his wife Ciarra was unconscious, not breathing, and bloodied. According to court documents, Matthew reported that he'd found Ciarra on the kitchen floor and she would not wake up, but police determined Thompson had killed her.

On May 7, before the second day of his jury trial began, Thompson pleaded guilty to the murder.

"There is nothing more heartbreaking than not being able to help your child," Ciarra Thompson's father Brian Hammers said. "There is no amount of time or punishing that will bring back my only daughter. ... I would give anything to hold her in my arms one last time."

Her mother Carrie Miller told the court that her daughter's marriage was abusive, and Thompson didn't hold a job for more than a week at a time, with six months being the longest. It created a financial burden for Ciarra throughout the eight-year marriage.

But Miller said he was emotionally and physically abusive, that her daughter couldn't even spend time with her without Thompson being in constant contact, and that she'd come over with bruises claiming they happened at work.

During his sentencing, Thompson said he was actually the primary breadwinner for the first five years of their marriage, and that he made Ciarra visit her family because she didn't want to; he didn't isolate her. Ciarra went to work with him because she didn't want to be away from him, and was on medication to help with the anxiety.

"Mrs. Thompson asked for a divorce, and things got out of hand," defense attorney Jeffrey Majerik said during sentencing Thursday, adding that during his time working with Thompson that Thompson only spoke about how much he loved Ciarra.

"I loved her free spirit," Thompson said. "This world destroys everybody like that but not her."

During opening arguments of the jury trial, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kathleen Claeys told the jury that Ciarra's mother had been trying to get a hold of her all day Aug. 19, and every time, Matthew would answer and give an excuse as to why Ciarra couldn't talk. Finally, her mother told him to get Ciarra on the phone or she'd get law enforcement involved.

A week before Ciarra's death, Ciarra had contacted her mother and told her she'd asked Matthew for a divorce. She was having an affair with a man at work, and Thompson claimed her mom knew and didn't try to stop it. When her mom talked to the couple, Miller said they agreed and planned to separate in November.

"She was done with the marriage, and he had lost control," Claeys said. "He made very conscious and deliberate choices when he attacked Ciarra."

It's at that point that Claeys said the violence began.

Ciarra was already deceased when officers arrived on the scene the following day, and the Elkhart County Homicide Unit was called in. In the charging affidavit, officers stated they found blood throughout the living room and kitchen of the home, with a large amount saturating the living room couch, and noted that some of it had been cleaned up. Detectives also noted that Ciarra had open wounds on her head and neck.

Matthew told detectives that he'd cleaned up some of the blood, but denied causing the harm to Ciarra. He did eventually admit, according to investigators, that Friday, Aug. 18 he'd punched Ciarra numerous times on her head and shook her. After his last punch, Ciarra struck her head on the counter before falling onto the kitchen floor. Matthew told police that Ciarra had been in the same place she'd fallen when he called the police the following evening per Miller's demand.

The autopsy, however, determined that she was stabbed five times in the head, neck cut, her head chopped several times, and lacerations on the scalp; she had a depressed skull fracture, multiple, abrasions, and contusions on the upper and lower extremities, among many other injuries.

"You brutally beat Ciarra Thompson to death," Christofeno said at sentencing. "She suffered brutal pain prior to her death, as if she were tortured, because, Mr. Thompson, she was."

Claeys touched on this point as well.

"If there is a murder that deserves the maximum sentence that I've ever seen, this case certainly is that case," Claeys said. "The amount of violence and effort that he took to murder someone that he claims to love is horrifying."

Thompson said he took 53 Adderall pills before the killing, and that he remembered hitting her twice, and nothing until his second day in jail.

Thompson agreed with Claeys, that 65 years was an acceptable sentence.

"You don't do that to a person," Thompson said. "You don't put your hands on somebody in society."

Christofeno said it's not the first time he's experienced a man or woman being violent with someone they claim to love.

He sentenced Thompson to 55 years, enhanced by aggravating circumstances to 65 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Thompson confirmed he intends to appeal and attorney Don Schuler was appointed to represent the appeal.

Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2065.