Quadruple Homicide Suspect Faces New Charge

Adam Matos has called the inside of the Land O’ Lakes Jail home ever since his Sept. 5 arrest on aggravated battery charges.

Considered the prime suspect in a quadruple homicide in Hudson for which he hasn’t been charged yet, the 28-year-old man has been held on $200,000 bond since police found him hiding out at a downtown Tampa hotel with his 4-year-old son. That bond amount troubled Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger who told the Tampa Bay Times it was an “abuse of the system” to hold him on that charge alone with a bail so high.

Dillinger scheduled a bond hearing for later this week to review the amount. That could have forced prosecutors to tip their hat on what, if any, evidence they have that links Matos to the grisly murder case in Hudson in order to keep him behind bars.

Now, it appears prosecutors won’t have to play their cards so soon.

Matos has officially been charged with another crime. Not the homicides, but a warrant out of Allentown, Pa., for violation of probation in reference to a retail theft case back in 2008, according to an arrest affidavit from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. The charge he’s facing courtesy of Allentown was levied against him Sept. 12. That charge comes without bond.

The homicide investigation that has put Matos in the spotlight began Sept. 4 when Pasco County deputies conducted a welfare check at a home on Hatteras Drive in Hudson. When deputies arrived at the home, they were drawn to a foul odor coming from a nearby hill. They followed it to discover the bodies of Megan Brown, 27, Nicholas Leonard, 37, Margaret Brown, 52, and Gregory Brown, 52.

Four-year-old Ismael “Tristan” Santisteban was nowhere to be found. A hunt for Tristan and Matos, the boy’s father, was launched.

A domestic disturbance call had been placed from the home a few days prior to the murders. There was an active warrant out for Matos’ arrest in regard to that call. He was accused of threatening to kill Megan Brown and holding a knife to her neck.

With some help from the Tampa Police Department, deputies were able to track Matos and the boy to a hotel in downtown. Matos was charged in the aggravated assault, and the boy was turned over to family.

Charges in the quadruple homicide remain pending. In the meantime, Matos remains at the Land O’ Lakes Jail, without bond, jail records indicate.

Photo Credit: Adam Matos/Pasco County Sheriff’s Office

See Also:

• Boy Snatched from Quadruple Homicide Scene Returned to Family
• Hudson Homicide Victims Names Released
• Update: Missing Boy Found