Woman Held in Slaying of Her 3 Children, Husband in Long Beach

A 23-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of killing her three young children and husband in their west Long Beach condominium before she stabbed herself several times in the stomach.

Tracy Loper Matthews was arrested Monday afternoon at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, where she was in fair condition after undergoing surgery for multiple self-inflicted knife wounds.

Police say Matthews apparently shot her husband, Kevin Strong Matthews Sr., 26, with a handgun and stabbed her three children, Khareema, 4, Nyomi, 3, and Kevin Jr., 2. She then stabbed herself and drove to her mother’s house about a mile away in Long Beach, where her mother called police at 5:15 a.m. Monday, authorities said.

When officers arrived at the family’s Sante Fe Avenue condominium, they found the bodies of the three children on the living room floor. Kevin Matthews Sr. was found in the bathroom of the two-bedroom home, which the family rented. Nearby was a small-caliber handgun, several spent casings and a bloody, eight-inch kitchen knife.

All four were pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene. Police, who suspect that the killings may have occurred Sunday, said Kevin Matthews Sr. was shot several times in the upper body. Each child was stabbed several times in the heart.

Investigators could offer no motive Monday. “We don’t know what pushed her over the edge,” said Long Beach Detective William Collette. “She’s not talking,” another detective said. Police said neighbors reported hearing nothing out of the ordinary Sunday night.

Neighbors described the Matthewses, who had moved into the complex a few months ago, as a quiet family who never caused trouble and kept to themselves.

Relatives were also at a loss to explain the killings. “I have no idea,” said Ernest Strong, Kevin Matthews Sr.’s uncle, one of several family members who went to the complex after hearing of the deaths.

He described Tracy Matthews as “a very loving person” and said his nephew was “always happy. He was always laughing and talking. . . . He was really close to his kids. He was close to kids in general.”

However, Carl Oliver, a friend of Kevin Matthew Sr.’s, said the couple had been having marital problems. Kevin Matthews was busy with his job, his artwork and his friends and often was not home, Oliver said. “He would walk in (for dinner), say ‘I’m not hungry,’ and go out to find the guys and drink beer,” said Oliver, who played sports with him. “He was always with the fellows.”

Oliver and other acquaintances also said Kevin Matthews Sr. had been seeing another woman. “She found out he was fooling around with another girl,” Oliver said, adding that he believed Tracy had known about the affair for awhile.

On Mother’s Day, Oliver helped with a barbecue for mothers in the neighborhood. He said he talked briefly to Tracy Matthews, who seemed somber and did not want to eat. Oliver added that her husband was not home and apparently stayed out late, helping set up some electronic equipment at a club run by friends.

“He wasn’t here yesterday for Mother’s Day and I guess that more or less took the cake,” Oliver said Monday.

Oliver added that Kevin Matthews Sr. kept a gun at home for protection because the neighborhood has had problems with gangs and crime.

Friends said Kevin Matthews Sr. played football at Millikan High School and Long Beach City College and loved to watch sports on television. He was also a serious artist who taught youngsters art through a community group he belonged to with several friends.

He worked as a pipe fitter, but had held other jobs, including selling jewelry.

Tracy Matthews worked at a local recreation center, friends said.

“She believes in cooking dinner every night and keeping the place up,” said Eric Bass, who attended school with Kevin Matthews Sr. and worked with him in the community group.

“This is crazy,” Bass muttered, shaking his head as he gazed at a knot of police officers gathered in front of the Matthewses’ ground-floor unit.