ORANGE CITY, Fla. – A man arrested in Virginia driving the stolen car of a woman police said he killed in Florida told a jail nurse and police he murdered someone and she didn't deserve it, according to Orange City police officials.
Matthew Barber, 49, was arrested in Hillsville, Virginia, Tuesday after police there said he was speeding and driving at night without his lights on. Barber led officers on a brief pursuit and eventually stopped the vehicle and got out with a knife in his hand. Officers arrested him after deploying their stun guns, the arrest report shows.
The officer said that while taking Barber to jail, the suspect told him he was running because he was suspected of murder in Florida, according to the arrest report.
During Barber's intake screening at the jail in Virginia, he told the nurse that he murdered someone and they didn't deserve it, police said. A corrections officer from the New River Valley Regional Jail then notified Volusia County authorities that Barber had given them an Orange City address where someone could be seriously injured, according to the report.
Orange City police performed a well-being check at the 2555 Enterprise Drive address in the Orange City Flats Sub division and discovered 58-year-old Hilda G. Bailey dead inside her apartment.
Subdivision residents at the complex Wednesday were saddened to hear of Bailey's death.
Arturo Luna said she saw Bailey last Saturday morning.
"I was coming from Publix and she waved at me and she was leaving the complex," Luna said.
Neighbor Fran Alioto said every Thursday Bailey would bring her the newspaper and Alioto would make her lunch.
"I didn't think we had a murderer in this community," Alioto said.
When Barber was arrested in Virginia he was driving Bailey's blue Hyundai car, police said.
Police said the victim had multiple stab and slash wounds, and her purse was turned upside down on the sofa.
Barber's brother said his brother is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and doesn't think he has been taking his medication.
"I'm just blown away," Clifford Barber said. "It doesn't give him the right to play God to take anybody's life from them whatsoever."
The suspect's brother also said he believes if the evidence points to murder he wouldn't doubt it.
"I believe he's capable of doing it 100 percent, and if he had her car and he admitted to doing it, there's no doubt in my mind that he did it," Clifford Barber said.
Barber remains in custody in Dublin, Virginia, held without bail.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Detective Kenneth Jones at 386-775-5478.