Nicholas Mathew, or “Uncle Nicky,” as his 14 nieces and nephews called him, was the life of the party. And Uncle Nicky loved to document family get-togethers.
Last Sunday evening, the family went to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate his favorite niece’s birthday. In usual fashion, Uncle Nicky was snapping photos and posting them on his Facebook wall.
“The workers at Buffalo Wild Wings had our neice, Yasmyne, stand on a chair and announced her birthday with everbody clapping," Nicholas' older sister Jill Gibson said. "That was his last post, was that picture of her at the birthday party.”
Two days later, on Christmas Eve, police found Mathew dead in his apartment, with multiple stab wounds and first degree burns.
Vanderburgh County Coroner Annie Groves said the assassin set the body on fire in the bathtub.
Mathew’s sister Jill Gibson says the family wants to focus on his life at the memorial service Monday evening.
She says the family, which includes eight siblings, will wear purple, his favorite color, and send purple balloons to the heavens.
“He wouldn't want us to be around here crying, but he's going to have to forgive us,” Gibson said.
Evansville Police Assistant Chief Chris Pugh said police have identified 24-year-old John Vernon Jackson as a suspect. Jackson has not been charged in this case, but is being held on charges of attempted homicide and robbery, both from separate incidents.
Pugh said the prosecutor and detectives will meet early next week to discuss what occurred in Nicholas Mathew’s apartment.