As far as the scariest UM segments, I have seen a lot of the creepier ones and am one of those people who pretty much hate the miracles and about 3/4ths of the lost loves variety. One of the ones that's supposed to be super creepy is the California ATM murder. I have heard that a camera catches a man at an ATM late at night with a supposedly scary person next to him. Then, I guess he either is grabbed by the guy or he walks off and the guy follows him.

Any help in more details of the case, or possibly a clip of it? (And if you have a clip just PM it to me so we don't violate the site advertising). Thanks.

I can't say for certain, but this sounds like the Matthew Chase disappearance and murder to me. I know it was included on CD's DVD collection. To my recollection, they did eventually find Matthew's body, but they are still looking for his killer, unfortunately. :(

The details are pretty interesting. Search the boards and you'll find more, but the bare bones of it all is that Matthew went to deposit his paycheck and never returned home. His roommates reported his ATM card stolen in an attempt to locate Matthew. It was later determined that Matthew had tried to use his ATM card at numerous locations for amounts which he knew was over the amount he had in his account. It's been hypothesized that he was signaling for help by doing this. Eventually, the card was seized and no trace of Matthew was ever seen again until his body was found.

I think that Dynoguy may also have this on that site which shall not be named... plug Matthew Chase into Google and see what you find. :)

Yes, this case is included on CD´s volume 1, after Mike Reimer´s case.

Sweet thanks. I just watched it on a certain video site. The freezeframe of the victim and killer was quite interesting. I still think that the scariest photo/drawing I've seen so far on UM was the weird old man that appeared in one of the haunted episodes.

Well in this case of Chase, the guy that murdered him I am sure has done this kind of crap before. Sad to say he will probably never be caught although he has probably either been in prison or is currently in prison for another crime. Too bad there is more evidence to tie the scumbag to this. Also if you are reading this Matthew Chase killer, why dont you be a man and come forward?

Old thread but I was thinking about this case the other day. I've got a feeling the guy who did this was probably a gang member. Los Angeles is gang infested and the clues just seem to fit. The bandana found in the car, gang member attire. The man is shorter and seems to be darker in complexion. Probably hispanic. Being hispanic and having a bandana doesn't mean you're a gang member. Kidnapping a guy, killing him, stealing his money, leaving a bandana with initials on it in a stolen vehicle, I say the chances are high.

Also, I don't think the killer found the victim at the ATM. I think that somehow he met up with Matthew AFTER he made his initial ATM deposit. Maybe at a store. Maybe on the way to somewhere. Maybe in a parking lot. I think he held Matthew up and made him go from one ATM to another trying to withdraw money out. He probably got frustrated, got Matthew to give him his PIN, decided to dispose of Matthew and withdraw cash at another time. Probably if Matthew had four or five hundred dollars in his account the first time around, he may have just taken the money and left leaving Matthew alive. We may never know though.

The murderer himself could possibly be dead. Gang violence you know. Or he could be in jail.

Sad.

Yes, I remember this case as well. I know for a fact that when someone is using an ATM that their not going to let a person stand that close to them while depositing or withdrawing money, it would be too easy for someone to see their pin number. I think he was waylaid some how and like someone said in a previous thread and someone killed him and stole his car. Too bad that they couldn't get a better photograph of the man standing beside Mathew at the ATM, it was awful hard to make out his facial features. That's why these days we must be so careful and not flash money around cuz you never know who will see and try to rob you. I never carry cash on me anymore, all my $$ is in my bank account and I just use a debit card if I need to make purchases.

Sad case. I hope one day it is solved.

This segment convinced me never to visit an ATM at night.

I wonder if this is Teresa Dahl, it looks like her

http://www.facebook.com/people/Teresa-Dahl/1154713005#/profile.php?id=1154713005

I wonder if this is Teresa Dahl, it looks like her

http://www.facebook.com/people/Teresa-Dahl/1154713005#/profile.php?id=1154713005

Definitely the same person.

I don't know why the detectives didn't coordinate with the gang task force to try to identify what gang the rag came from and what members were from the local area of where Matthew was kidnapped from initially. I mean then they could have just taken DNA from the rag and identified the perp that way from the list of gang members that they found to have been from that area.

In fact, I thought the first of the two coloured composites in that segment matched a profile shot of the face of George W. Bush. :lol:

I don't know why the detectives didn't coordinate with the gang task force to try to identify what gang the rag came from and what members were from the local area of where Matthew was kidnapped from initially. I mean then they could have just taken DNA from the rag and identified the perp that way from the list of gang members that they found to have been from that area.

There wasn't DNA in that period. Hell, not even all ATMs had a camera in vicinity in that period, and even those which had one produced shoddy-looking images like in the segment.

Also, the bandana is only circumstancial evidence that the perp was in a gang. We know that those who cleaned up the car, or at least one of them, was most probably part of that gang. But it doesn't mean the killer was. For what we know, the gangbangers themselves could have been hired to take that car, clean it up, and return it squeaky clean without knowing who the owner was.

In fact, it is quite possible that Matthew got whacked many days after the crime, either by someone else in an unrelated incident, with some or all of them part of the gang identified by the bandana, rr he was left alive at first but the perp got afraid he might talk and asked/hired gang allies to get rid of him.

First, a Caucasian male in his late twenties to forties who was full patch members of a street gang in Los Angeles in the early 80s? Am I the only one to find it unbelievable? While my knowledge is limited, I'd venture to say that at the time they would tend to be very, very, very few of these in LA street gangs at that time, compared to outlaw biker gangs

Second, Teresa Dahl talked to witnesses in shelters who recognized him AND told her information that put him as alive after the crime, since they said that he was a very tall and lenky guy. That gives credence to the theory that the perp only mugged me and and left him there, because why would shelter people remember him and tell Teresa something that only someone who has seen Matthew Chase would know? While mistaken witnesses can and do happen, it is hard to be mistaken when the person you are asked about is very tall.

Going by what you said, if the perp wasn't in a gang, then why would he get a gang member or gang members to clean up a car for him and have living witnesses to the crime by him being in possession of the vehicle? I can see if the perp left the car somewhere and a gang could have stolen it for some reason and dumped it (leaving the rag behind), although that would be a crazy coincidence.

Also, you can't really tell the man's age or whether or not he was a full caucasian or part caucasian, part latino from that ATM video. I just don't understand why the gang angle wasn't looked into. Or maybe it was and it didn't produce any further avenues to investigate. I mean there had to have been some sort of gang unit that specialized in knowing about the various gangs in the area and could have identified the certain set where that rag came from, then put the pressure on people from it, compared faces from that set to the profile of the face in the ATM video.

Going by what you said, if the perp wasn't in a gang, then why would he get a gang member or gang members to clean up a car for him and have living witnesses to the crime by him being in possession of the vehicle? I can see if the perp left the car somewhere and a gang could have stolen it for some reason and dumped it (leaving the rag behind), although that would be a crazy coincidence.

We do not know the suspect's acquaintances; could be as simple as him having a friend or a partner-in-crime who was part of a gang or a wannabee gang member, and whom he asked to help him and inadvertably left his bandana on the scene. It wouldn't have been the first time a third person becomes an accessory to a crime to help out a pal in trouble. Also, due to the bad quality of the camera we cannot link the bandana directly to the suspect, but only to someone who either cleaned up the car, drove it back to the crime scene, or was in the car during any of these. They could be the same individual, but it remains to be conclusively proven.

One possibility is that the guy who hijacked him could have mugged Matthew and stolen his keys and wallet. Matthew wakes up with either amnesia, confusion or shock due to trauma from the attack. Left without his keys and cards (which would account on what he wouldn't use the car), he wanders away from the crime scene. Understandably he doesn't call the police as the perp certainly threatened him not to do so, yet he does not immediately return home either, either due to amnesia or the fear that the perp might come to his home to hurt him or Teresa. So, undecided, without his papers, money, and keys, most probably shocked, and afraid the perp might be after him, he decides to remain hidden until things cool down a little bit and he moves from shelter to shelter.

In the same time, later that night, the suspect lightens up and becomes afraid he might have left fingerprints or physical evidence in the car. Having the keys, he returns to the crime scene with a gang-member pal, takes the car, cleans it, and asks his pal to drive it back to the crime scene (to prevent witnessses from linking him to the victim's car). However, when he leaves the guy forgets his bandana on the seat, hence why it was found in a car void of any fingerprint.

This would also account why Matthew was seen by witnesses in shelters throughout Los Angeles. Unless Matthew has a twin or an unlikely coincidence that a tall guy ressembles him, I'm about 90% sure that Matthew was still alive after the crime and remained so for a while until he was gunned down and left in that field outside Los Angeles.


Also, you can't really tell the man's age or whether or not he was a full caucasian or part caucasian, part latino from that ATM video. I just don't understand why the gang angle wasn't looked into. Or maybe it was and it didn't produce any further avenues to investigate. I mean there had to have been some sort of gang unit that specialized in knowing about the various gangs in the area and could have identified the certain set where that rag came from, then put the pressure on people from it, compared faces from that set to the profile of the face in the ATM video.

Like I said, the bandana is only circumstancial evidence linked to the crime, and you can be certain the gang who owns this bandana won't talk to the police for some WASP mugged near an ATM machine. Plus the guy might be a wannabee, an orbiter, or a plain stranger who owned this bandana for whatever reason. Hell, it might even be a decoy to fool the police or to put the crime on the back of a rival gang. Without linking to an individual this evidence becomes nigh-on useless.

Also, remember that, as of now, we cannot demonstrate conclusively that the suspect is the same person who murdered Matthew Chase. The only thing we can prove is robbery (and not even armed because we see no weapon). We presume that he is the killer because Matthew ends up dead, but the evidence the police has to link the murder to the robber is very scarce.

We do not know the suspect's acquaintances; could be as simple as him having a friend or a partner-in-crime who was part of a gang or a wannabee gang member, and whom he asked to help him and inadvertably left his bandana on the scene. It wouldn't have been the first time a third person becomes an accessory to a crime to help out a pal in trouble. Also, due to the bad quality of the camera we cannot link the bandana directly to the suspect, but only to someone who either cleaned up the car, drove it back to the crime scene, or was in the car during any of these. They could be the same individual, but it remains to be conclusively proven.



One possibility is that the guy who hijacked him could have mugged Matthew and stolen his keys and wallet. Matthew wakes up with either amnesia, confusion or shock due to trauma from the attack. Left without his keys and cards (which would account on what he wouldn't use the car), he wanders away from the crime scene. Understandably he doesn't call the police as the perp certainly threatened him not to do so, yet he does not immediately return home either, either due to amnesia or the fear that the perp might come to his home to hurt him or Teresa. So, undecided, without his papers, money, and keys, most probably shocked, and afraid the perp might be after him, he decides to remain hidden until things cool down a little bit and he moves from shelter to shelter.

In the same time, later that night, the suspect lightens up and becomes afraid he might have left fingerprints or physical evidence in the car. Having the keys, he returns to the crime scene with a gang-member pal, takes the car, cleans it, and asks his pal to drive it back to the crime scene (to prevent witnessses from linking him to the victim's car). However, when he leaves the guy forgets his bandana on the seat, hence why it was found in a car void of any fingerprint.

This would also account why Matthew was seen by witnesses in shelters throughout Los Angeles. Unless Matthew has a twin or an unlikely coincidence that a tall guy ressembles him, I'm about 90% sure that Matthew was still alive after the crime and remained so for a while until he was gunned down and left in that field outside Los Angeles.



Like I said, the bandana is only circumstancial evidence linked to the crime, and you can be certain the gang who owns this bandana won't talk to the police for some WASP mugged near an ATM machine. Plus the guy might be a wannabee, an orbiter, or a plain stranger who owned this bandana for whatever reason. Hell, it might even be a decoy to fool the police or to put the crime on the back of a rival gang. Without linking to an individual this evidence becomes nigh-on useless.

Also, remember that, as of now, we cannot demonstrate conclusively that the suspect is the same person who murdered Matthew Chase. The only thing we can prove is robbery (and not even armed because we see no weapon). We presume that he is the killer because Matthew ends up dead, but the evidence the police has to link the murder to the robber is very scarce.
But why would the robber want to involve someone else in it that wasn't in it already? I mean the take was only a few hundred bucks. It seems like you are adding too much to it when the case seems pretty simple, cut and dry to me. Matthew gets confonted at the first ATM by the robber or robbers, who force him to give him money from the ATM and drive him from ATM to ATM until he gives them as much money as he can. Then the robber or robbers take him to the place where his body is found in that ravine in Pasadena, and kill him there, since there is no blood evidence in the vehicle. Then he or they drive back and ditch the car and get back to their neighborhood.

The whole business of Matt wandering around alive is pretty silly. Do you know how many homeless people there are in the LA area? Thousands. So to have someone that matched the description of Matt being spotted by people at a homeless shelter (especially after seeing his driver's license complete with the height and weight stats on it), isn't really that eye-opening. I mean think about the cases on UM where a victim has been supposedly seen by people after they were known to be dead.

Also, you have to take into account how far away and isolated that area is in Pasadena where his body was found. I know because I have been up in that area before. It's quite a distance from LA, especially on foot. I don't even think the buses go out there to the town in Pasadena, unless you take like 3 or 4 transfers. And didn't his skull have a bullet or bullets in it when it was found? It seems to me the evidence points to gang members kidnapping, robbing, and killing Matt. Then dumping his car once they killed and dumped his body. I mean what wannabe gang member would have that rag, unless he made his bones by pulling this crime? That rag looked like a distinctive gang set (which are usually custom made like that one was), so I highly doubt it was someone with no affiliation to a gang in any capacity, unless they were a highly cunning killer of some sort and it seems like the motive for this case was robbery. But then again, if they were some sort of highly cunning killer, then they could have stolen the rag from a gang or made it themselves, and made the killing look like a robbery/homicide from a gang, then cleaned the car meticulously as to not leave any evidence except for that rag that was the only evidence left behind other than the ATM video. I mean why go through all of that trouble to clean the car, if you are going to leave behind a major piece of evidence like the rag?

The initials ES PBS on the bandana represent the East Side Playboys Gang of East Los Angeles. I've done some research and that gang's territory is but a few miles drive from the 110 freeway. It is the 110 freeway that stretches from San Pedro to Pasadena. But this gangs location is in the city of LA. From the area of the gangs "territory", to the end of the 110 freeway in Pasadena, it is roughly 10-15 miles. Or about a 15-20 minute drive. Depending on how fast one drives. Also, this gangs territory isn't very far from Downtown, China Town, and Elysian Park. All of which are relatively close to access to the 110 freeway. I'm getting the feeling that Matt and his room mates lived somewhere in this section of LA.

Most younger gang members who do not have a car tend to stay in their neighborhood. It's possible this gang member saw Matt and took the opportunity at some point.

I can't even begin to come up with a reason to account for the 11 minute gap in between the initial deposit, and the next withdrawal attempt of $280.00. In my opinion, the guy or guys that kidnapped Matt and did him in, were either members of this gang, or members of a rival gang. It's possible they were members of another street gang (18th street etc...) who obtained the bandana as a trophy. And they used it to throw the police off.

A lot of time has passed now. And with gang lifestyles the way they are, it's very possible this killer is already in jail, or maybe even got killed himself. I don't think we'll ever know, but if the latter is the case, it's a very fitting end.


And I agree with sythesislab about the distance factor. Eight or 10 miles does not seem like a lot. But trust me, in LA, it's A LOT. Especially without a car. How do I know this? I was born in raised in LA. Lived there for 24 years. And yes, I do miss it.

I first saw this as a teenager. It really was really creepy to me. I now work at a bank and think about this everytime I use an ATM. Using an ATM at night can be very dangerous. I never use it at night unless I absolutely need money or someone is with me. Most here are drive up ATMs. I am still always very aware of my surroundings.

Using an ATM at night can be very dangerous. I never use it at night unless I absolutely need money or someone is with me. Most here are drive up ATMs. I am still always very aware of my surroundings.

Doing ANYTHING at night is dangerous. Working at night. Walking the streets at night. Driving at night. Going to the convenience store at night. Walking your dog at night....etc...etc...

You want to live a longer life..make sure your in your home by 10pm.

Doing ANYTHING at night is dangerous. Working at night. Walking the streets at night. Driving at night. Going to the convenience store at night. Walking your dog at night....etc...etc...

You want to live a longer life..make sure your in your home by 10pm.

AMEN brother! I tell my wife and sister all the time to get stuff done by daybreak. Gas, groceries, etc... This world is too dangerous, but I digress.

Doing ANYTHING at night is dangerous. Working at night. Walking the streets at night. Driving at night. Going to the convenience store at night. Walking your dog at night....etc...etc...

You want to live a longer life..make sure your in your home by 10pm.

I live in a big city and am afraid sometimes to go outside, thankfully my Father bought me mace.

Unsolved Mysteries has told me that the USA is a scary place filled with murderers, rapists and thieves in every neighbourhood. What is the safest place to live in the U.S if someone had the choice?

This was a really creepy case then and still is now. Unfortunately, even with an enhancement of the photo taken at the ATM the sketch isn't of much help as a profile view. The sketch could be anyone, sadly.

It's really too bad that this happened to him all alone at an ATM at night. I use to deposit my pay check after work at 3AM (because my sleep patterns sucked and I could never get to the bank during the day), but the ATM was inside a building you needed to access with your card and a code number. Still scared the crap out of me every time I did it, and I would always hesitate for several minutes before going to my car which was parked 5 feet from the door. Something about being inside made me feel safer.

I'm thankful that job is gone and now I never venture out past a certain hour unless I absolutely have to, but never to an ATM. Our local Walmart has night security walking around the parking lot, so you feel a little safe with that.

I thought of something after I saw the segment, what if the bandana was put in the car to throw authorities off and make it look like a crime related to gang violence? It could have been a regular criminal who took it too far.

If it was gang related it could have been an initiation thing or random gang-banger's looking for a quick buck. But why go to the extreme of killing him? Why not just demand his card and pin number and be done with it?

This was a really creepy case then and still is now. Unfortunately, even with an enhancement of the photo taken at the ATM the sketch isn't of much help as a profile view. The sketch could be anyone, sadly.


If you look at the first drawing of the composite sketch, it looks eerily like a profile shot of a younger George W. Bush. :lol:

http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/mur_matthew_chase.htm

If you look at the first drawing of the composite sketch, it looks eerily like a profile shot of a younger George W. Bush. :lol:

http://www.unsolved.com/ajaxfiles/mur_matthew_chase.htm

HA! It does look a little like Bush.

I wonder if this is Teresa Dahl, it looks like her

http://www.facebook.com/people/Teresa-Dahl/1154713005#/profile.php?id=1154713005

I just saw her and the Matthew Chase case on UM a few days ago. They STILL haven't found the killer yet??

That must've been 15 or so years ago so the chances of getting them now are a lot lower.

I didn't catch the entire segment so what exactly happened?? Chase walked from the house to the ATM and was abducted?? Or did he drive?

This was a really creepy case then and still is now. Unfortunately, even with an enhancement of the photo taken at the ATM the sketch isn't of much help as a profile view. The sketch could be anyone, sadly.

It's really too bad that this happened to him all alone at an ATM at night. I use to deposit my pay check after work at 3AM (because my sleep patterns sucked and I could never get to the bank during the day), but the ATM was inside a building you needed to access with your card and a code number. Still scared the crap out of me every time I did it, and I would always hesitate for several minutes before going to my car which was parked 5 feet from the door. Something about being inside made me feel safer.

I'm thankful that job is gone and now I never venture out past a certain hour unless I absolutely have to, but never to an ATM. Our local Walmart has night security walking around the parking lot, so you feel a little safe with that.

I just went to an ATM tonight before 1:00 am to withdraw some money and I must admit that this case came to mind as I was about to do that. I was definitely on the lookout for any suspicious activity.

The composite looked like Bush? Frankly I do not see the comparison but that is just an opinion. The younger Bush was neither stocky, nor short and was not losing his hair. In fact Bush to this day has a full head of hair.

I thought of something after I saw the segment, what if the bandana was put in the car to throw authorities off and make it look like a crime related to gang violence? It could have been a regular criminal who took it too far.

If it was gang related it could have been an initiation thing or random gang-banger's looking for a quick buck. But why go to the extreme of killing him? Why not just demand his card and pin number and be done with it?

I've always thought the bandana was a red herring. Matthew was in Los Angeles in the late 1980s and gang violence was utterly rampant (not that it isn't today, of course, but the drug trade was nearly uncontrollable back then, resulting in escalated violence). It's a commonly known fact that certain gangs associate themselves with certain colors--Matthew's killer probably just threw in a blue bandana and thought the police would automatically shift all of their focus onto the Crips (which they almost certainly didn't, as I'm sure LA had at the time a separate gang task force of some sort that kept pretty good "eyes on" gang MOs and activity, and found the scene at Matthew's car to be an outlier of the usual).

I don't think it's gang-related in the least. I think the man in the ATM photo almost certainly abducted him alone or with the help of at least one other person. I think it's likely the man in the photo was even holding Matthew at gunpoint at the time.

Unsolved Mysteries has told me that the USA is a scary place filled with murderers, rapists and thieves in every neighbourhood. What is the safest place to live in the U.S if someone had the choice?

Stay in Australia. It's safer.

:wave:

I don't think it's gang-related in the least. I think the man in the ATM photo almost certainly abducted him alone or with the help of at least one other person. I think it's likely the man in the photo was even holding Matthew at gunpoint at the time.

I just don't think it was related to Gang violence for some reason. When I saw the sketch it looks like an older male and I'm just not convinced he was in a gang. I could be wrong, but that's been my opinion for a while.

Well, I think the bandana and here is what I think, I think at times the guy wore the bandana around his lower face so you could only see him from the nose up. Now clearly he did not wear it outside the car because it would look suspicious to passers by. However the man in the footage, let's see, Matthew Chase was 22 at the time and this guy that was in the footage, looked like he was at least 15 years older than Matt if not older. So I would say this guy was at least in his late 30's, more like early to possibly mid 40's.

This whole concept does not really fit the gang M.O. I mean I think if a gang was involved in this, it would just look different and they would have killed Matt different. It does not appear Matt was tortured physically, he was killed by a single gunshot wound, I am assuming to the head but that was not mentioned in the segment where he was shot, only that he was shot. He disappeared in June from Los Angeles yet was not discovered until September in a ravine in Pasadena. I am not sure what part of Los Angeles that Matt disappeared from but I would say Pasadena is not that far from downtown Los Angeles, maybe 10 miles, east, northeast of there. Pasadena is just a stone's throw from the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles which is the part of Los Angeles that is closest to Pasadena. Eagle Rock is only 3 or 4 miles away from Pasadena.

Now, not to make assumptions, but Matt was a young man, he roomed with his friends from Oregon. So three young people in their early 20's living comfortably by standards of people of that age group but certainly not rolling in the dough by any means. Basically they made enough money to pay their rent, pay their bills and provide for some entertainment but that was about all. They were probably living paycheck to paycheck. Looking at where Matt's parents were walking, I got the impression they were walking around in Hollywood.

Well, I think the bandana and here is what I think, I think at times the guy wore the bandana around his lower face so you could only see him from the nose up. Now clearly he did not wear it outside the car because it would look suspicious to passers by. However the man in the footage, let's see, Matthew Chase was 22 at the time and this guy that was in the footage, looked like he was at least 15 years older than Matt if not older. So I would say this guy was at least in his late 30's, more like early to possibly mid 40's.

This whole concept does not really fit the gang M.O. I mean I think if a gang was involved in this, it would just look different and they would have killed Matt different. It does not appear Matt was tortured physically, he was killed by a single gunshot wound, I am assuming to the head but that was not mentioned in the segment where he was shot, only that he was shot. He disappeared in June from Los Angeles yet was not discovered until September in a ravine in Pasadena. I am not sure what part of Los Angeles that Matt disappeared from but I would say Pasadena is not that far from downtown Los Angeles, maybe 10 miles, east, northeast of there. Pasadena is just a stone's throw from the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles which is the part of Los Angeles that is closest to Pasadena. Eagle Rock is only 3 or 4 miles away from Pasadena.

Now, not to make assumptions, but Matt was a young man, he roomed with his friends from Oregon. So three young people in their early 20's living comfortably by standards of people of that age group but certainly not rolling in the dough by any means. Basically they made enough money to pay their rent, pay their bills and provide for some entertainment but that was about all. They were probably living paycheck to paycheck. Looking at where Matt's parents were walking, I got the impression they were walking around in Hollywood.

I agree to an extent. I do agree with your assessment that the perpetrator most likely used the bandana to cover his face when he was robbing Matthew. But, I do think he was in a gang. The bandana had the initials for the East Side Playboys gang. I doubt it was a gang land hit though. I think this particular individual just happened to be in the same area Matthew was in and decided to rob him and eventually kill him.

Just watched this segment again myself. I also think that his killer was in a gang. Remember, this was a "simple" (at least in terms of a criminal) act, where the suspect probably mugged Matt after his initial deposit, and forced him to make ATM withdrawals at gun point. I think the gap in time was them driving from ATM to ATM trying to get money out. The idea that the bandana was planted as a way to throw off the police seems too elaborate to me.

Then, I think the a-hole, fearing that Matt had seen him, probably shot him and dumped him in the woods. The shelter sightings don't seem credible to me, as we know from so many UM eye witness accounts, they are not always accurate. Plus, IIRC, the shelter worker said that the guy she had seen was "tall" and 'lanky" and they used that to determined that it was Matt. That's pretty generic, but I can certainly see why they were hoping.

Im like everyone else though... after watching this, I always think about this case when Im at an ATM machine, day or night!!! creepy!

I don't know, for some reason I disagree on the gang theory. I mean, this guy that robbed Matt and this will sound bad and just before anyone makes the allegations, no I am not saying white people cannot be or are not in gangs, many are. However this guy, that robbed Matt looked a bit old to be in the gang life.

I would guess that Matt was first approached at one of the previous ATM's. The killer kept driving around trying to get money, it was almost frenzied. It is obvious that the killer did not have a car, at least not at the scene, hence why he basically kidnapped Matt and was holding him hostage. Matt continued to try to get large amounts of money out, knowing that it was larger than the amount he was authorized to withdraw at any one time and that since his check had not posted he did not even have that much money in his account. So it remains unclear whether he was trying to discourage his abductor or whether the abductor was just being fanatical and demanding money that Matt did not have.

Now remember, over the next couple of days, the card was used various times. The question is, was Matt even using the card anymore or had he given up the PIN number to his abductor? The card was wiped clean of fingerprints, neither Matt's nor anyone else's fingerprints were on the card. I believe the card was confiscated by the ATM machine a couple of days after Matt's abduction. I get why his roommates did what they did but in hindsight I think it was a bad move. Had the guy continued to use it, you might have had a better chance of tracking him down.

Clearly if Matt was still alive a couple of days after he was last seen, then the killer was holding him somewhere. But the question is, was he alive? Matt was alive a few hours after he disappeared but no one knows if it was him that continued to use the card or whether his abductor forced him to give up the PIN number. Clearly once the card was confiscated the killer would have no use for Matt anymore and that is when Matt was killed.

Now, from what his roommate said, the bank where Matt deposited his paycheck at was only two blocks from their house. He was supposed to pick up some cat food so at most that would have been a 15 minute errand. He disappeared the evening of June 8th, 1988.

Now the time of that night: Matt did go to the local branch, he did deposit his check and got cash back. That was around 11:50 PM, so he got to the bank roughly the time he should have got there. However after leaving the bank, I think it is after he got the cash back, no doubt he got the cash back it was probably only 10 dollars, probably to go and get the cat food. I do believe he was abducted at the local branch bank. What remains unclear is did Matt make it to the store to get the cat food? I am assuming he did not but I cannot be sure 100 percent as it was not mentioned one way or the other in the segment.

Then at 12:20 AM on June 9th, half an hour after he had first been there, he returned the same branch trying to withdraw a large amount of money. I believe two or three attempts were made, then the abductor must have demanded that Matt drive to a different bank. It must have been that far away, it was just 11 minutes later that the card was used again in a different branch in a different neighborhood, that is the one where the hidden camera took the pictures.

Now the time on the security camera states it was 12:33 AM on June 9th, 1988. That year, I believe June 9th would have fallen on a Thursday. But anyway, in the first security camera shot, the abductor was not in the shot, in the 2nd one is when he appears there. I think he was there the whole time of course but I think he was aware the camera was there and I think tried to stay out of the camera's point of view but for whatever reason leaned it just far enough the camera caught him. To me the abductor looked like he was I would say at least 10 years older than Matt if not more. I would say 15 to 20 years older is more like it.

The car was found abandoned on Monday June 27th, 1988 not far from the bank where Matt had vanished from. The car completely wiped clean of fingerprints both inside and outside the car. That tells me whoever this that abducted and killed Matt had a criminal record, that his finger prints were on file because both with the car and with the card he had wiped everything down and he was going to great pains to avoid being caught. I would venture to guess that this was not the first time he had robbed somebody. I do not even think it was the first time he kidnapped somebody. It might not have even been the first time he killed somebody, but I would say for sure this guy had been convicted of robbery or other violent crimes before.

I am still not convinced the guy was in a gang just because of the blue bandana. I mean I know gangs have their own things that they use and wear to try to make themselves unique but a blue bandana? I honestly think it was just an attempt to cover the guy's face. I still find it interesting that he would leave it in the car. It could be that he simply forgot it in the car and if he was a member of a gang, I think they would have at least tracked down which gang it was by now. Southern California has a lot of very distinct gangs. It could be he forgot it which would be a huge blunder on his part if he did, especially if he belonged to a gang. Or it could be he purposely left it in the car, as a calling card. He wiped down his fingerprints off of everything but wanted to leave a sign to the police that it was him that did this.

Now interestingly, more than once in this segment, I had missed it the first few times I watched it, but I noticed that both Matt's roommates and the police would say abductors or would say the people that did this. So I got the impression that they all think probably that more than one person was involved in this. The bandana was found in the back seat of the car so that would seem to me the killer was sitting in the backseat, my guess probably holding a gun on Matt. But I will say, to abduct a grown man on your own and then to hold him hostage for over 24 hours on your own is a pretty bold task. So I am not saying the gang possibilities do not need to be looked at, they do, never good to rule anything out until you can prove it was not an element.

The Midnight Mission, where Matt's roommates were looking for him is still there although it has been remodeled and expanded. http://www.midnightmission.org/ according to the website, the Midnight Mission is located at 601 South San Pedro Street in Los Angeles. Now, the Midnight Mission is basically almost at the intersection of San Pedro Street and 6th Street, that is basically in downtown Los Angeles. It is inside the 101 and 110 freeways, on the northern edge of the cities wholesale district and a little ways south of the cities toy district. Basically it is right in downtown Los Angeles. So where ever Matt and his roommates lived was not far from there and in my opinion where ever they lived was an area that you probably would not want to be walking around or even driving around in at night if you could avoid it.

In trying to track down the players in this case I hit a brick wall. I have no idea where Steve and Theresa Dahl are these days? The only one I was able to find info on was Detective Lionel Salgado of the Pasadena Police. Salgado came under fire in 1988 for arresting a deaf man and refusing to provide him with a sign language interpreter during questioning. The deaf man had been wrongly picked by an eyewitness as a man who had robbed a Wells Fargo bank. The deaf man went in to cash his paycheck, the teller thought he was the guy that had robbed the bank a week earlier and called police. The right man was eventually arrested for the robbery and later pled guilty. The deaf man, Jeno Koth a hungarian immigrant had to communicate with the police through writing and he had trouble interpreting at times what they meant by certain things, filed a lawsuit against the Pasadena Police Department for false imprisonment, humiliation, discrimination in not getting him a sign language interpreter and emotional distress. In 1992 the case went before a civil jury and they agreed with Koth, ruling in his favor, and awarded him 100,000 dollars. Anyway, Lionel Saldago retired from the Pasadena Police Department in the 1990's and now lives in Salem, Oregon, he is an investigator for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

Kadrmas: Really great analysis... I've gotta think about this one now! I think you raise some valid points, such as the guy looking too old to be a gang member, and you make we wonder more about whether Matt was held until the check cleared, or if his pin was obtained and the ******* simply disposed of Matt that night. I tend to think the latter; remember, at this point, the killer wouldn't have to verbally get the pin number from Matt, he had been seen hovering over Matt's shoulders, so he obviously saw Matt type in the pin himself.

Lemme think more about this.

Did you see the picture of the blue bandana on the Unsolved.com website? It has initials on it. It's not some run-of-the-mill blue bandada. I think it clearly belonged to someone in a gang. If you read Zero's comments on page 2 of this topic, he/she did some good research (in my opinion) and tracked the initials on the bandana to the East Side Playboys gang of East L.A.

Yet, the guy in the ATM photo seemed pretty old for a 'banger. Maybe he was in the Van Bueren Boys.

I don't know, for some reason I disagree on the gang theory. I mean, this guy that robbed Matt and this will sound bad and just before anyone makes the allegations, no I am not saying white people cannot be or are not in gangs, many are. However this guy, that robbed Matt looked a bit old to be in the gang life.

I would guess that Matt was first approached at one of the previous ATM's. The killer kept driving around trying to get money, it was almost frenzied. It is obvious that the killer did not have a car, at least not at the scene, hence why he basically kidnapped Matt and was holding him hostage. Matt continued to try to get large amounts of money out, knowing that it was larger than the amount he was authorized to withdraw at any one time and that since his check had not posted he did not even have that much money in his account. So it remains unclear whether he was trying to discourage his abductor or whether the abductor was just being fanatical and demanding money that Matt did not have.

Now remember, over the next couple of days, the card was used various times. The question is, was Matt even using the card anymore or had he given up the PIN number to his abductor? The card was wiped clean of fingerprints, neither Matt's nor anyone else's fingerprints were on the card. I believe the card was confiscated by the ATM machine a couple of days after Matt's abduction. I get why his roommates did what they did but in hindsight I think it was a bad move. Had the guy continued to use it, you might have had a better chance of tracking him down.

Clearly if Matt was still alive a couple of days after he was last seen, then the killer was holding him somewhere. But the question is, was he alive? Matt was alive a few hours after he disappeared but no one knows if it was him that continued to use the card or whether his abductor forced him to give up the PIN number. Clearly once the card was confiscated the killer would have no use for Matt anymore and that is when Matt was killed.

Now, from what his roommate said, the bank where Matt deposited his paycheck at was only two blocks from their house. He was supposed to pick up some cat food so at most that would have been a 15 minute errand. He disappeared the evening of June 8th, 1988.

Now the time of that night: Matt did go to the local branch, he did deposit his check and got cash back. That was around 11:50 PM, so he got to the bank roughly the time he should have got there. However after leaving the bank, I think it is after he got the cash back, no doubt he got the cash back it was probably only 10 dollars, probably to go and get the cat food. I do believe he was abducted at the local branch bank. What remains unclear is did Matt make it to the store to get the cat food? I am assuming he did not but I cannot be sure 100 percent as it was not mentioned one way or the other in the segment.

Then at 12:20 AM on June 9th, half an hour after he had first been there, he returned the same branch trying to withdraw a large amount of money. I believe two or three attempts were made, then the abductor must have demanded that Matt drive to a different bank. It must have been that far away, it was just 11 minutes later that the card was used again in a different branch in a different neighborhood, that is the one where the hidden camera took the pictures.

Now the time on the security camera states it was 12:33 AM on June 9th, 1988. That year, I believe June 9th would have fallen on a Thursday. But anyway, in the first security camera shot, the abductor was not in the shot, in the 2nd one is when he appears there. I think he was there the whole time of course but I think he was aware the camera was there and I think tried to stay out of the camera's point of view but for whatever reason leaned it just far enough the camera caught him. To me the abductor looked like he was I would say at least 10 years older than Matt if not more. I would say 15 to 20 years older is more like it.

The car was found abandoned on Monday June 27th, 1988 not far from the bank where Matt had vanished from. The car completely wiped clean of fingerprints both inside and outside the car. That tells me whoever this that abducted and killed Matt had a criminal record, that his finger prints were on file because both with the car and with the card he had wiped everything down and he was going to great pains to avoid being caught. I would venture to guess that this was not the first time he had robbed somebody. I do not even think it was the first time he kidnapped somebody. It might not have even been the first time he killed somebody, but I would say for sure this guy had been convicted of robbery or other violent crimes before.

I am still not convinced the guy was in a gang just because of the blue bandana. I mean I know gangs have their own things that they use and wear to try to make themselves unique but a blue bandana? I honestly think it was just an attempt to cover the guy's face. I still find it interesting that he would leave it in the car. It could be that he simply forgot it in the car and if he was a member of a gang, I think they would have at least tracked down which gang it was by now. Southern California has a lot of very distinct gangs. It could be he forgot it which would be a huge blunder on his part if he did, especially if he belonged to a gang. Or it could be he purposely left it in the car, as a calling card. He wiped down his fingerprints off of everything but wanted to leave a sign to the police that it was him that did this.

Now interestingly, more than once in this segment, I had missed it the first few times I watched it, but I noticed that both Matt's roommates and the police would say abductors or would say the people that did this. So I got the impression that they all think probably that more than one person was involved in this. The bandana was found in the back seat of the car so that would seem to me the killer was sitting in the backseat, my guess probably holding a gun on Matt. But I will say, to abduct a grown man on your own and then to hold him hostage for over 24 hours on your own is a pretty bold task. So I am not saying the gang possibilities do not need to be looked at, they do, never good to rule anything out until you can prove it was not an element.

The Midnight Mission, where Matt's roommates were looking for him is still there although it has been remodeled and expanded. http://www.midnightmission.org/ according to the website, the Midnight Mission is located at 601 South San Pedro Street in Los Angeles. Now, the Midnight Mission is basically almost at the intersection of San Pedro Street and 6th Street, that is basically in downtown Los Angeles. It is inside the 101 and 110 freeways, on the northern edge of the cities wholesale district and a little ways south of the cities toy district. Basically it is right in downtown Los Angeles. So where ever Matt and his roommates lived was not far from there and in my opinion where ever they lived was an area that you probably would not want to be walking around or even driving around in at night if you could avoid it.

In trying to track down the players in this case I hit a brick wall. I have no idea where Steve and Theresa Dahl are these days? The only one I was able to find info on was Detective Lionel Salgado of the Pasadena Police. Salgado came under fire in 1988 for arresting a deaf man and refusing to provide him with a sign language interpreter during questioning. The deaf man had been wrongly picked by an eyewitness as a man who had robbed a Wells Fargo bank. The deaf man went in to cash his paycheck, the teller thought he was the guy that had robbed the bank a week earlier and called police. The right man was eventually arrested for the robbery and later pled guilty. The deaf man, Jeno Koth a hungarian immigrant had to communicate with the police through writing and he had trouble interpreting at times what they meant by certain things, filed a lawsuit against the Pasadena Police Department for false imprisonment, humiliation, discrimination in not getting him a sign language interpreter and emotional distress. In 1992 the case went before a civil jury and they agreed with Koth, ruling in his favor, and awarded him 100,000 dollars. Anyway, Lionel Saldago retired from the Pasadena Police Department in the 1990's and now lives in Salem, Oregon, he is an investigator for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

Great analysis kadrmas. Also, if you are looking for Theresa Dahl, she is on facebook. Someone on this board posted a link to her account but I cannot remember which thread it was under.

I think you make a good point about whether they kept Matt until his check cleared and then killed him.

Did you see the picture of the blue bandana on the Unsolved.com website? It has initials on it. It's not some run-of-the-mill blue bandada. I think it clearly belonged to someone in a gang. If you read Zero's comments on page 2 of this topic, he/she did some good research (in my opinion) and tracked the initials on the bandana to the East Side Playboys gang of East L.A.

Yet, the guy in the ATM photo seemed pretty old for a 'banger. Maybe he was in the Van Bueren Boys.


She. :wink2:

Yeah, it seems like no one is paying attention to what I wrote which is fine. I know we all come to our own conclusions so it's cool. But really, you are right when you says it's not a regular old bandanna. Frankly, we can't ignore what's written on it.

Almost every gang has colors that represent them. Crips are blue and bloods are red. Bandannas are often used as "indicators" of which gang you belong to. Though a gang member doesn't always have a bandanna on them, when they do, it's for a reason. More telling are the initials. The initials E.S. PBS do indeed stand for East Side Playboys. A dark blue bandana is just a dark blue bandana to me and you. But to a gang member, it is a symbol of where they're from. What they represent. A bandana of any color altered with the initials of a gang means one thing.... it belongs to a gang member from that gang.

I grew up in Greater Los Angeles and I know most of the area very well. The CITY OF L.A. is large, even when compared to sprawling Greater Los Angeles. "Nearby Pasadena" is closer to certain portions of Los Angeles. But it is not nearby as in a 2 - 3 minute drive. More like 10 to 20. ESPECIALLY where Matt was found. The many ravines that are within the Pasadena city limits are close to L.A., considering the vast amount of land that Los Angeles and Greater Los Angeles (Pasadena included) take up.

I'm not sure where this happened in L.A., but it had to happen not too far away from the 110 freeway. That freeway will take you straight from L.A. to pasadena in about 20 minutes. I also looked up gang territory for ES PBS and it looked like their "hood" is in the eastern portions of L.A., not too far away from the 110 freeway.

Whoever left that bandana in the car was most certainly either a member of E.S. PBS, stole it from a gang member, or hung out with gang members. There's nothing that says a member of the East Side Playboys killed Matt. But maybe he picked up a friend later on who was a member? Maybe a friend who helped him dispose of Matt's body??? Regardless, whoever dropped that bandana WAS into the gang lifestyle. And everything I've seen in the segment tells me at least one thing about this crime; gang related.

Really, how can you tell the suspects age by the video? The video was so grainy and unclear. Also, a lot of you need to remember that when you're in a gang, you're in it for LIFE. Especially with a gang as prominent as the ES PBS were back then. A gang isn't a thing to join when you're wild and crazy at 12, and then get out of when you wise up. You're in until DEATH. And it doesn't matter how many times you go to prison or get shot. Sure, most people do get smart about life and leave the gang behind, but to the gang, you're still in. You're also a traitor.

So the notion of the killer being 25 or 30 or 35 and thus "too old" to have been in a gang doesn't fly. At least with me. I was never in a gang, nor did I ever hang out with gang members. But I grew up in LA in the 80's. I lived there for 24 years of my life. I also worked with kids who's gang life messed them up. Trust me when I say that bandanna belonged to a a gang member.

It would be nice to know what part of Los Angeles Matt lived in. It would also be nice to know whatever became of his friends after all this took place. :(

It's responsible for police to investigate every possibility, but the whole gang thing is borderline ridiculous.

The most important thing, the man in the picture doesn't even resemble what a gang member would look like, and put into perspective that a gang member probably wouldn't rob someone alone, there probably would be several people.

Gang members don't always travel with an entourage. They have homes and cars or bikes and they travel alone at times. A gang member will rob, hurt, and kill even if alone.

You say the abductor in the video doesn't look like a gang member. Why is that? Not all gang members have a face full of tattoos. Not all gang members are completely bald. Many have hair. Not all gang members have dark skin or are black. In fact, a good number of hispanic gang members are light skin, and some even have blue or green eyes and light brown hair. Not every gang member has facial hair. Finally, the "gang member look" we know so well today really didn't become a popular look until the 90's.

I looked at the bandanna again on UM's website. The initials are ES PBS CLS. These initials do stand for East Side Playboys Sureneos. CLS are the initials for an individual "click" that makes up the entire Playboys gang. The CLS could stand for chicos locos, but don't quote me on that. And yes, their color is blue.... When I was in school in the 90's, we called things like this gang attire.

The way the bandanna was found is another significant clue. Was it folded or tied so as to conceal ones face or go wrapped around the forehead? Gang members do fold and tie their bandannas in certain ways you know.

If three people abduct someone and take them to an ATM, common sense would dictate that you don't need all three of them to escort the abducted. That would just attract more attention. Only one individual is needed -- the most cold blooded and brazen of the bunch.

I wonder where Matt was in the 30 minutes between making the deposit and returning to the ATM again. I think it was during those 30 minutes that Matt ran into trouble. :(

Gang members don't always travel with an entourage. They have homes and cars or bikes and they travel alone at times. A gang member will rob, hurt, and kill even if alone.

You say the abductor in the video doesn't look like a gang member. Why is that? Not all gang members have a face full of tattoos. Not all gang members are completely bald. Many have hair. Not all gang members have dark skin or are black. In fact, a good number of hispanic gang members are light skin, and some even have blue or green eyes and light brown hair. Not every gang member has facial hair. Finally, the "gang member look" we know so well today really didn't become a popular look until the 90's.

I looked at the bandanna again on UM's website. The initials are ES PBS CLS. These initials do stand for East Side Playboys Sureneos. CLS are the initials for an individual "click" that makes up the entire Playboys gang. The CLS could stand for chicos locos, but don't quote me on that. And yes, their color is blue.... When I was in school in the 90's, we called things like this gang attire.

The way the bandanna was found is another significant clue. Was it folded or tied so as to conceal ones face or go wrapped around the forehead? Gang members do fold and tie their bandannas in certain ways you know.

If three people abduct someone and take them to an ATM, common sense would dictate that you don't need all three of them to escort the abducted. That would just attract more attention. Only one individual is needed -- the most cold blooded and brazen of the bunch.

I wonder where Matt was in the 30 minutes between making the deposit and returning to the ATM again. I think it was during those 30 minutes that Matt ran into trouble. :(

After reading your thoughts and analysis on the case, Zero, I've had to completely amend my own conclusions about it. The letters on the banadana always really bothered me, and in the very back of my mind I did consider that it might've come from a gang member. Upon seeing the man in the ATM photograph, however, I automatically fell victim to stereotypic deductions: the man didn't immediately "look like a gang member", or at least not what I thought a gang member *should* look like. :rolleyes: For some reason it didn't occur to me that an individual doesn't have to be dressed flamboyantly to be a gang member. That was my own misinformed judgement.

After doing my own bit of outside research on the East Side Playboys, my standing now is that the crimes were definitely gang-related. That bandana makes absolutely no sense at all in any other context.

I posted the general area where the bank was and the streets and stuff. It was downtown LA, it was inside the freeways. Where his exact house was that he lived, I do not know but he lived only two blocks from the bank where he made the deposit.

Correction, I posted where the shelter was that they looked for him. It sounded like the shelter was not far from the ban but I do not know. I still would venture to guess that they lived somewhere close to downtown Los Angeles. I have thought of putting in for a freedom of information act request to the LAPD and/or Pasadena PD to see if an address would be in the files where Matt lived or at least the address of the bank he disappeared from.

If you get it from the Pasadena PD, it may have more info on where his remains were found rather than were he lived. But you never know!

The killer(s) took Matt from L.A. to Pasadena using the 110 freeway. The 110 north is the first freeway in the U.S. and looks every bit as much so. It's also different from the other freeways in and around L.A. because it takes you through considerably older, residential areas of Los Angeles. The freeway is very curvy, narrow, and just unsafe because people merge from stop signs on the left and right! Most people only use this freeway to get to areas in and around Pasadena from downtown. Pasadena itself has many "hilly" areas that were unincorporated for the longest time. I think there are more than a couple of ravines in Pasadena.

You can't get from downtown to Pasadena using the 101 without taking a HUGE detour. Regardless, a drive from that part of downtown to Pasadena would have taken 20 minutes tops late at night. Whoever abducted Matt knew where they were taking him and what they were doing.

I always felt safe in most parts of LA. Including downtown. Even during the night. Matt was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some monster just saw a guy by himself and took advantage of that. :(

I've always felt the killer put the bandanna there to throw off police, after all, it was gang infested, he could easily have seen this as an opportunity.

As far as Pasadena goes, perhaps the killer lives there, and knew that area.

I just can't fathom that a gang member (especially since, call me stereotypical, the man in the picture does not look like a gang member) did this.

Not to deviate any but,

I just had a look at the composite drawings again on UM's site. Is it wrong that the second one reminds me of Robert Mitchum for whatever odd reason? :confused:

One thing I found strange about this case is Matt's body was found only three months after he was missing. When they interviewed Teresa they still hadn't found Matt, meaning UM jumped all over it, like RIGHT after it happened. Am I missing something?

One thing I found strange about this case is Matt's body was found only three months after he was missing. When they interviewed Teresa they still hadn't found Matt, meaning UM jumped all over it, like RIGHT after it happened. Am I missing something?
I just re-watched it. They found the body in September 3 months after he disappeared, but he wasn't identified until the following March. At the beginning of the segment, RS said that Matthew had been missing for 5 months. So they must have run the story after the body had been found but before he had been identified. Then they updated the story after the body was identified.

I've always felt the killer put the bandanna there to throw off police, after all, it was gang infested, he could easily have seen this as an opportunity.

As far as Pasadena goes, perhaps the killer lives there, and knew that area.

I just can't fathom that a gang member (especially since, call me stereotypical, the man in the picture does not look like a gang member) did this.

I agree that the bandana was probably put there to throw police off, because if that guy (and whoever else could/might have been involved) was smart and detailed enough to wipe everything clean of fingerprints in Matthew Chase's car, then he was probably smart enough to know if he had left anything in the car or not.

I agree that the bandana was probably put there to throw police off, because if that guy (and whoever else could/might have been involved) was smart and detailed enough to wipe everything clean of fingerprints in Matthew Chase's car, then he was probably smart enough to know if he had left anything in the car or not.

Agreed. I think this is an example of a guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was a victim of random violence.

The Bandana is a red herring, whether it be deliberate or not. That could have belonged to a friend of Matt's for all we know.

I think one thing's for sure: the guy next to him in the ATM photo was responsible for Matthew's death in one way or another (either he was his killer or he was an associate of whomever killed him).

The guy seen in the camera with Matt definitely killed him. Have they taken DNA from Matt's car and that bandana? I don't remember. I feel bad for Matt's friend in the interview, she really cared about him and I think liked him more than a friend but that's just me. Either way, it's sad that 24 years have flown by and no one has been arrested for killing him.

I think one thing's for sure: the guy next to him in the ATM photo was responsible for Matthew's death in one way or another (either he was his killer or he was an associate of whomever killed him).

No doubt he was involved. Unfortunately we probably will never know the reasoning behind what that guy wanted and what Matthew had to do with it. He seemed like a normal guy but as we know that isn't always the case underneath since people can have secrets

This has to be one of the most chilling UM cases ever. After watching it on a certain site for the first time a few years ago, I have never used an ATM after dusk.

Yeah this case just baffles me why Mathew was so eager to get to the ATM at such a late or dark time. I mean he couldn't have waited the next day? Another half a day couldn't have made a difference.

Yeah this case just baffles me why Mathew was so eager to get to the ATM at such a late or dark time. I mean he couldn't have waited the next day? Another half a day couldn't have made a difference.

Matt originally went out to deposit his paycheck, so I always thought it might have been one of those living paycheck-to-paycheck situations. I've had to do that before and even though that's not the case now, when I receive any kind of paper check I still deposit it immediately.

Ok, I know it's been a really long time since anyone has posted and I just started to follow this case.

It seems to me that some people here are coming up with wild theories to try to rule out that this may have been a gang related crime.

Fact is that LA is a place that is laden with gang activity. Also, the bandana is a dead give a way, especially considering the initials on the bandana. To say that someone planted it there to throw off the police is just an ad hoc theory with absolutely no basis. The only explanation is that the pic of the suspect looks older than Matt who was 22... and how can anyone really figure that? The photo is so grainy that it is hard to really make out any distinct features.

It's unfortunate that this case will most likely never be solved. But I think there is more than enough evidence to suggest that Matt was the victim of gang related foul play. All explanations against that theory thus far have been pretty silly.

Call me crazy, but could it ever be positively concluded that the perp initially met up with Matt at the ATM and not somewhere else? Because it said that Matt made a succesful deposit of a paycheck, there was a lapse of time, and then Matt returned to the ATM in an attempt to make withdrawals and we know the perp had caught up with him by this time. However, what happened in between that? There's a good chunk of time, I think at least 15 minutes. I do remember Theresa asking him to get cat food, so perhaps he ran into foul play around a convenience store or something. Perhaps somebody tried to mug him elsewhere and when he didn't have any or much cash on his person, decided to force him to the ATM where he could have gotten cash. Didn't something similar happen to Gretchen Buford? I say all this because I think some people have leapt to the conclusion that Matt made a horrible mistake that led to his death, but I don't know. This is a really sad case, it pains me to look at that photo and wonder what was going through Matt's head at the time.

I've been baffled by that too. According to the segment on Unsolved Mysteries, Matt made a successful deposit at the ATM and withdrew some money, possibly to pay for the cat food.

Then 30 minutes later at the same ATM, Matt attempted to withdraw $280.00 unsuccessfully. Then two more attempts were made, first for $200.00 which was rejected. Then one minute later, for $100.00.

The real mystery is between his first transaction and the 30 minute lapse of time to when he tried to get $280.00.

Based on some things I have read, Tersa said that this should have been a quick errand of Matt's. Basically that he should have only been gone for 15 minutes at the most. So the ATM was fairly close and the pace to get cat food must have been fairly close also. So what happened that held him up for 30 minutes? If it was that he went to get the cat food, then it shouldn't have taken that long, unless he was doing stuff like taking him time.

I've wondered if perhaps after he made his deposit and withdrawal at the ATM, if the suspect confronted him then, took the money he had, and possibly roughed him up. But that wouldn't take 30 minutes, I wouldn't think.

I really don't have a clue what could have taken 30 minutes between the times there, which was twice the amount of time he would have needed to just do his business at the ATM, get the cat food, and then be back home (assuming he wasn't doing anything else or just taking him time, such as looking at magazines or anything).

Well Matt did make a huge mistake for sure. If it was 11:45 pm, then just what was the rush to deposit his pay check that it couldn't wait until morning during normal business hours, and most importantly, in the day light and where more people are around? Depositing through an ATM is slower than doing it through a teller, and even if he had to work in the morning, he could have just deposited it during his lunch break or even after work, when it is still day light out. I would never go to an ATM at night. That is just asking for trouble... and unfortunately he got it.

I'm surprised there isn't more discussion about Matt, especially since his murder is still unsolved, and it was also one of the classic eerie, very early segments.

For some reason, since I was a kid, I had always assumed the armed robber (who was almost certainly his killer) had just abducted Matt at the ATM when he'd made his first deposit. I never thought of the time lapse, but that's a good point. Was there a specific supermarket or a convenience store in the area that Matt went to alot? Yeah, close to downtown LA, there'd be tons and he'd be able to blend in and be pretty anonymous, but I just wonder if he ever got to buy the cat food (or any other groceries he might've picked up as well) and if there were any witnesses who saw him that night? Heck, when his car was searched, did they ever find any receipts or the can of cat food?

Regarding the homeless shelter, I tend to believe the guy that people saw wasn't Matt, especially since L.A. is so populated, and hundreds and thousands of people would pass in and out of there all the time.

It's an interesting theory to think Matt could've been kidnapped and kept alive (possibly wandering around confused) for some time after the robbery, but I doubt it. Chances are, the gunman got mad when he couldn't withdraw money (since his check hadn't yet cleared). Once they had his pin# and he got out as much money as he could, they shot and killed him and probably hid his body in Pasadena where it was found in September. :(

I haven't been able to find jack about this case online. LAPD is undoubtedly very busy, so I fear that's how this case drifted into the cold files. If there hasn't been much discussion, that may be a reason why. There's been positively no new info other than the segment/update.

This case does anger me and I feel it has some similarities to Gretchen Buford. Unfortunately, I believe they may have both been killed due to their killers being completely ignorant about how ATM's work. For example, there are limits to what a person can withdraw, $200.00/day seems to be the standard.

I haven't been able to find jack about this case online. LAPD is undoubtedly very busy, so I fear that's how this case drifted into the cold files. If there hasn't been much discussion, that may be a reason why. There's been positively no new info other than the segment/update.

This case does anger me and I feel it has some similarities to Gretchen Buford. Unfortunately, I believe they may have both been killed due to their killers being completely ignorant about how ATM's work. For example, there are limits to what a person can withdraw, $200.00/day seems to be the standard.

Either have I, aside from the UM segment itself. Despite how many murders and crimes that happen in LA, you'd think that being on a national TV show that was aired many times over the years, it would've had more notice.

I've even tried Googling Scott Burkhart, the main LAPD homicide officer being interviewed in the segment, and couldn't find anything. He might be retired now, but that's still bizarre.

Yeah, even now the limit is $300, so when you think about it, $200 was much more in 1988 money than that is now. You'd think it'd be common knowledge, but some criminals who don't have them, might not even realize that. I wouldn't be surprised if Matt's killer probably just lost his temper when he couldn't get the money right away.

My main question is, where was Matt for the time inbetween being kidnapped and when he was able to withdraw (after his check cleared)? I imagine he was killed right after the killer got money, but all that time inbetween is unaccounted for.

I tried googling Scott Burkhart as well a while back. I got zilch.

Can I just add this ...

I think the killer was wearing gloves rather than cleaning the ATM card and the car. Simply because there was no prints found of the card yet it was used numerous times. So how would he put in into the machine without using his fingers??? He must of wore gloves!

And if I had just robbed and killed a person I would hardly take my time to stand and clean their car in case I was spotted doing so and tied to the crime! Also if he took the time to clean the car thoroughly enough not to leave any finger prints he would of noticed he dropped his bandanna.

I think he was in more of a rush to get away, dumping the car and bailing out of there was quick as possible.

However I have no opinion I can give on if he was gang related or not. I do not believe that Matt was alive and seen in the shelter.

I do believe that this robber had committed similar crimes to this before. Gloves and a gun also states he had a plan before he left his home.

you would think that bank's atm and drive up windows would have better and clear picture quality cameras. so stupid that its all fuzzy and shadowy. Can the rich banks afford better technology? Sure this was in the late 80s or early 90s. But I saw AMW case on Al Kite (super scary sketchy sketch) in Aurora, Colorado in 2004 where a renter rented a room out of his basement to a new guy - a traveler. The guy killed him just for the thrill of it. (google it - there is a facebook page that has al kite amw case for 12 min). They never found him. He too walked with a fake limp and cane. Just like Mike Emert case, although different killers.

Anyways, the drive up atm video showed a better picture of the killer, but it still is not perfectly clear like a regular video camera. Yet, it has gotten better than those early 90's ones.


As far as the scariest UM segments, I have seen a lot of the creepier ones and am one of those people who pretty much hate the miracles and about 3/4ths of the lost loves variety. One of the ones that's supposed to be super creepy is the California ATM murder. I have heard that a camera catches a man at an ATM late at night with a supposedly scary person next to him. Then, I guess he either is grabbed by the guy or he walks off and the guy follows him.

Any help in more details of the case, or possibly a clip of it? (And if you have a clip just PM it to me so we don't violate the site advertising). Thanks.

Unsolved Mysteries has told me that the USA is a scary place filled with murderers, rapists and thieves in every neighbourhood. What is the safest place to live in the U.S if someone had the choice?

The WhiteHouse :lol:

I am amazed these cases scare you , I have read some pretty scary stuff coming of Australia especially in the Outback ..... these cases are extermely unusual and highly rare which is why UM featured them , scary stuff happens everywere its just that no one reports it unlike over here :) ....

I just don't think it was related to Gang violence for some reason. When I saw the sketch it looks like an older male and I'm just not convinced he was in a gang. I could be wrong, but that's been my opinion for a while.

The whole bandana thing is puzzling , the culprit was carefull enough not to leave prints in the card and the car yet leaves a bandana hmmm ....

I agree to an extent. I do agree with your assessment that the perpetrator most likely used the bandana to cover his face when he was robbing Matthew. But, I do think he was in a gang. The bandana had the initials for the East Side Playboys gang. I doubt it was a gang land hit though. I think this particular individual just happened to be in the same area Matthew was in and decided to rob him and eventually kill him.

I think its significant that the culprit in this case either chose to kill Matt at a secluded location or he shot him then transported the body to the location, this indicates an experienced methodical offender ........ with young gangbangers I would most likely have expected them to quickly rob and shoot him then get away as fast as they could .

Yeah this case just baffles me why Mathew was so eager to get to the ATM at such a late or dark time. I mean he couldn't have waited the next day? Another half a day couldn't have made a difference.

According to the segmented they returned from dinner and he "realized he needed to deposit his paycheck" ...

I think its significant that the culprit in this case either chose to kill Matt at a secluded location or he shot him then transported the body to the location, this indicates an experienced methodical offender ........ with young gangbangers I would most likely have expected them to quickly rob and shoot him then get away as fast as they could .

Forgive me if I'm wrong but there would have been blood in the car if he transported the body after shooting it and I though there was no blood in the car. Most likely he drove him to a secluded location and shot him where the body was found.

I do agree that the killer tried to get away as fast as he could thus leaving the bandanna in the haste.

Does anyone know if the bandanna was found in the front? driver side? back seat?

Forgive me if I'm wrong but there would have been blood in the car if he transported the body after shooting it and I though there was no blood in the car. Most likely he drove him to a secluded location and shot him where the body was found.

I do agree that the killer tried to get away as fast as he could thus leaving the bandanna in the haste.

Does anyone know if the bandanna was found in the front? driver side? back seat?

Based on the video in that segment it looks like the bandana was in the front of the car , the whole issue of the killer driving him to secluded location and shooting Matthew makes me think its someone who had an extensive criminal record and has been to jail for a significant period at some point prior to that crime ....

To Me, this is a clear cut case, the only mystery here is who?

Its pretty easy to fill in the blanks, walking at night, atm, disaster combo. Motive robbery, murder was only a convenient way to keep Matt (RIP) from talking and identifying the perp. The robbery is the killer, who gets robbed and killed in the same night? Not unless the it happens in series by the same perp. He was confronted probably almost immediately after his initial deposit of his pay check. It is pretty clear that ATM and/or area was being cased. Victim of extremely unfortunate circumstances. Although he dud not use his better judgement by making his way to an ATM at midnight. May he rest in peace and may justice be provided to his family.

Just an eerie event. Very alarming.

Can I just add this ...

I think the killer was wearing gloves rather than cleaning the ATM card and the car. Simply because there was no prints found of the card yet it was used numerous times. So how would he put in into the machine without using his fingers??? He must of wore gloves!

And if I had just robbed and killed a person I would hardly take my time to stand and clean their car in case I was spotted doing so and tied to the crime! Also if he took the time to clean the car thoroughly enough not to leave any finger prints he would of noticed he dropped his bandanna.

I think he was in more of a rush to get away, dumping the car and bailing out of there was quick as possible.

However I have no opinion I can give on if he was gang related or not. I do not believe that Matt was alive and seen in the shelter.

I do believe that this robber had committed similar crimes to this before. Gloves and a gun also states he had a plan before he left his home.

Good points Nikki. I kinda overlooked the fact that Matt's car was cleaned thoroughly when the cops later found it abandoned (yet the bandana was inside). I wonder if the killer might've had an accomplice (and it could've been his bandana) who later cleaned out the car to get rid of any blood?

the killer driving him to secluded location and shooting Matthew makes me think its someone who had an extensive criminal record and has been to jail for a significant period at some point prior to that crime ....

I strongly agree with that statement..

If the killer wore gloves it's possible his finger prints were all ready on record for a previous crime and he knew he needed to take precautions to ensure he wouldn't be caught.

I think he must have committed a lot more robberies but not murders eventually he would have messed up and been caught.

Unfortunately I dont think that this case will ever be solved.

I'm uncomfortable with blaming Matt for visiting the ATM at night. As I stated earlier, we don't know if that's where he ran into trouble. He could have been targeted when he went to pick up the cat food. Maybe there was some road rage involved, or any number of other scenarios. I do think this was the work of a gang member and I shudder to think about what was going through Matt's head the last moments of his life. I just hope it was quick.

And I feel it's a solvable case. We have a bandanna with initials on it, perhaps there could be a DNA link some day. We have a picture of the killer.

I'm uncomfortable with blaming Matt for visiting the ATM at night. As I stated earlier, we don't know if that's where he ran into trouble. He could have been targeted when he went to pick up the cat food. Maybe there was some road rage involved, or any number of other scenarios. I do think this was the work of a gang member and I shudder to think about what was going through Matt's head the last moments of his life. I just hope it was quick.

And I feel it's a solvable case. We have a bandanna with initials on it, perhaps there could be a DNA link some day. We have a picture of the killer.

Yeah, he'd probably done that tons of times before, and just was sadly in the wrong place at the wrong time. UM made it seem like the ATM itself is where the crime happened, but this guy could've accosted Matt anywhere.

Do you know if there's any trace that he ever made it to the store? Were any receipts or the cat food found?

Its possible the case could be solved, but who knows about the killer? He might be in jail for another crime or could've died. He's 25 years older now too.

P.S. Isn't it creepy/weird that there's no trace of Matt's case online at all, besides the segment itself? Looking up Scott Burkhart doesn't come up with anything either. (Even if he's retired or in a different department/police force by now, his name should still show up in old articles or something.) It really makes these cases seem even more mysterious, legendary, and darker in a way.

P.S. Isn't it creepy/weird that there's no trace of Matt's case online at all, besides the segment itself? .

Unfortunately its probably cause this happened in LA & Pas , imagine how many other violent crimes of similar nature have occured in the intervening years ..... if this crime had occured in smalltown Iowa it probably still would be newsworthy enough to find traces of the case online , :talk: sad to say but people forget these things real quick in big cities

Sometimes its easy to forget that some of these case in UM from the mid and late 80`s occured during the crack epidermic and big cities were awash with so many murders its shocking when you look at the stats compared to today . With not many viable leads I guess the detectives put the case aside and had to respond to more homicides popping up regularly.....:talk:

Yeah, he'd probably done that tons of times before, and just was sadly in the wrong place at the wrong time. UM made it seem like the ATM itself is where the crime happened, but this guy could've accosted Matt anywhere.

Yeah. In the case of Gretchen Buford, it is believed the killer got in her car and forced her to drive to an ATM. So it really wouldn't be unheard of for a killer to meet up with his victim elsewhere, then force them to an ATM. Perhaps that Matt had just visited an ATM was a coincidence.

I was watching this segment recently and I noticed something interesting. Stack said that over the next day and a half since Matthew first deposited his paycheck, 5 more withdrawal attempts were made. Stack also went on to say that by that time Matthew's paycheck had cleared and $400 had been paid out from his account. That raises the question, who was able to sucessfully withdraw that $400? Was it Matthew or his killer? If only the ATM(s) that paid that money out had a camera! The segment seemed to imply that only one of the ATMs had a camera. How common were ATM cameras back in 1988? If this had happened in 2013, the killer would most likely have been caught or at least better identified as nearly all ATMs have cameras now.

Good point about the cameras. I don't know if the killer made Matthew get it himself or forced him to give up his PIN number.

Another unfortunate circumstance was that Matt apparently went to a bank ATM. There likely weren't witnesses around. A safer choice would have been using one at a convenience store where there are more people around, although I don't know if that was common back in the day.

I was watching this segment recently and I noticed something interesting. Stack said that over the next day and a half since Matthew first deposited his paycheck, 5 more withdrawal attempts were made. Stack also went on to say that by that time Matthew's paycheck had cleared and $400 had been paid out from his account. That raises the question, who was able to sucessfully withdraw that $400? Was it Matthew or his killer? If only the ATM(s) that paid that money out had a camera! The segment seemed to imply that only one of the ATMs had a camera. How common were ATM cameras back in 1988? If this had happened in 2013, the killer would most likely have been caught or at least better identified as nearly all ATMs have cameras now.

I don't know how common the cameras on ATMs were but from personal experience.....

I got my first ATM card in 1985 when I was 17 or 18. I lived in a Detroit suburb. The ATM I used had at least one camera. The machine was inside a trailer in a parking lot across the street from the mall, on kind of a side street. Now that I think about it, it was off by itself and not very safe.

It sounded like the majority of the trailer was full of air conditioning equipment in the back room to the keep the ATM machine cool.

While I remember ATMs in lots of places as a kid, they were kind of a luxury in the 80s. Most were standalones outside of the actual banks. They weren't totally widespread and ubiquitous like now until the late 2000s even, like how there's one inside every convenience store, thrift store, supermarket, Target, etc. So it's not unfathomable to think that even in LA in 1988, Matt would've had no choice but to go to the actual bank.

I honestly believe Matt was killed that night, most likely after the gunman forced him to give up his PIN. After he had that and the car, he probably figured he didn't need Matt anymore, and killed him (either out of fear of being identified, frustration that he wasn't able to get more money out of him, or just because he was cold blooded). :(

I honestly believe Matt was killed that night, most likely after the gunman forced him to give up his PIN. After he had that and the car, he probably figured he didn't need Matt anymore, and killed him (either out of fear of being identified, frustration that he wasn't able to get more money out of him, or just because he was cold blooded). :(


I agree 100%

In my view, there is no mystery whatsoever as to what happened to poor Matt, only who the culprits are.

There is one thing that keeps being forgotten: the head detective said the car had been void of all finger prints. So the killer wipes every single thing clean but leaves a valuable clue like the bandana behind? It is obvious that it was left behind to throw investigators off.

There is one thing that keeps being forgotten: the head detective said the car had been void of all finger prints. So the killer wipes every single thing clean but leaves a valuable clue like the bandana behind? It is obvious that it was left behind to throw investigators off.

That's been mentioned on the forum before, numerous times in fact. I get the impression it was left behind as a mistake. Perhaps it fell off, or something.

Second, Teresa Dahl talked to witnesses in shelters who recognized him AND told her information that put him as alive after the crime, since they said that he was a very tall and lenky guy. That gives credence to the theory that the perp only mugged me and and left him there, because why would shelter people remember him and tell Teresa something that only someone who has seen Matthew Chase would know? While mistaken witnesses can and do happen, it is hard to be mistaken when the person you are asked about is very tall.

I don't mean this as rude to shelter people but I'm not sure shelter people are the best people to take everything they say with 100% certainty. I doubt Matthew lived much longer after that photo of him at the ATM, sadly.

I also think Matthew died right after the atms he went to with that mysterious killer. I agree with the homeless shelter people - some will just lie to the parents because they feel sorry for them and want them to think their son is still alive. Also, some people are shady and will just be mean too. I think most at shelter are good citizens but perhaps 10% or 20% (depending on the day or month) are different.

Once again it probably was a kid that looked like Chase at the homeless shelter as lots of people have someone that looks like 'em. One person said that maybe the atm guy kidnapped him, stole some money, beat him to death and chase survived and forgot who he was and ended up at the shelter. However this does not make sense because he went to atm right after leaving his place and was later killed by atm guy.

he didn't go to atm, get kidnapped and beaten up, then gone to homeless shelter for a few nights and then get killed by another guy!

I wonder if this is Teresa Dahl, it looks like her

http://www.facebook.com/people/Teresa-Dahl/1154713005#/profile.php?id=1154713005


Curious if anyone ever reached out to Theresa through her Facebook?

I still think the gang theory is very possible. The pictures of the perp sort of looks like a homeless person. This might also explain the failed withdrawal attempts. A homeless person is probably naïve of such limits, and probably doesn't know much more about ATM's, other than that they are machines that give out cash.

Interestingly, the initials on the bandana didn't appear until the update, and even then, they weren't actually mentioned, just displayed on the screen. I always wonder why more wasn't done with them.

The car thing is weird though. Why did the perp leave it abandoned? Since robbery was obviously the motive, why didn't he just have it broken down for parts or something? That would net more cash. I always thought the car was part of the motive (unfortunate since Matt usually walked - Teresa convinced him to take her car that time), but who knows?

I sort of got the impression this was a bad neighborhood. Matt's parents make mention of seeing a lot of unsettling things.

I always thought it was weird Steven Dahl called the bank, pretending to be Matt and asked about the transactions. If he was Matt, he would have known whether or not there had been transactions. It was a lie and just a very weird one at that. I understand he was trying to do good and have the card cancelled to prevent further robbery, but perhaps the robber got pissed about the freeze on the card and did Matt in because of it?

You could just tell this wasn't going to be a "good case."

So the suggestion that the suspect or suspects held Chase for a couple of days before murdering him?

I still think the gang theory is very possible. The pictures of the perp sort of looks like a homeless person. This might also explain the failed withdrawal attempts. A homeless person is probably naïve of such limits, and probably doesn't know much more about ATM's, other than that they are machines that give out cash.

Interestingly, the initials on the bandana didn't appear until the update, and even then, they weren't actually mentioned, just displayed on the screen. I always wonder why more wasn't done with them.

The car thing is weird though. Why did the perp leave it abandoned? Since robbery was obviously the motive, why didn't he just have it broken down for parts or something? That would net more cash. I always thought the car was part of the motive (unfortunate since Matt usually walked - Teresa convinced him to take her car that time), but who knows?

I sort of got the impression this was a bad neighborhood. Matt's parents make mention of seeing a lot of unsettling things.

I always thought it was weird Steven Dahl called the bank, pretending to be Matt and asked about the transactions. If he was Matt, he would have known whether or not there had been transactions. It was a lie and just a very weird one at that. I understand he was trying to do good and have the card cancelled to prevent further robbery, but perhaps the robber got pissed about the freeze on the card and did Matt in because of it?

You could just tell this wasn't going to be a "good case."

Yea if we get pissed off when our ATM card does not work or gets taken away just think how a bad person is going to feel! I never knew ATMs can confiscate a card by sucking it into their machine lol. Would that block future cards that night from going in and being used? In the 80s at our small shopping mall there was an ATM machine. Funny how back then ATM cards were the thing, today the term 'debit card' is in.

Maybe if it was not a gang person that explains the car not being stolen for parts. If it is just a homeless person from the area they may be afraid of being seen in it or later picked up by a cop. I don't think it was a homeless or gangster, probably just a young man from the bad part of town who lives with his friends or his parent(s) in a crappy home. Just some street guy from the hood who lives in a house, but steals cash or things for drug money.

And the sketch of the mysterious man at ATM was creepy due to him being completely unrecognizable and the old UM scary music. In fact I caught this segment days ago on Farina and it sucked w/o the music. It is hard to catch someone from a fake cartoon drawing lol. The only thing they seemed to pick up was the thief/killer's big nose. So police are going off of a gangster or homeless man with a big nose? It is a good selling point, but otherwise no one knows the color of his eyes, hair, etc.

I went back and watched this segment today. For many years, people here have pointed out the man standing at Matt's side is one of the creepiest images ever shown on UM. And while I don't disagree, the more haunting image to me is the expression on Matt's face. In the first shot, he's staring at the ATM screen looking very serious. In the next shot with the man at his shoulder, it's the same serious look but his head and eyes are now lowered. The picture is grainy and not perfect quality but it's just enough to look unsettling, as if Matt is trying to keep cool under pressure.

There's a 30 minute time frame between Matt's successful deposit and withdrawal and the next attempt to withdraw $280.00. He was abducted some time during those 30 minutes. Stack said the police suspected Matt was abducted right after that first deposit/withdrawal (ala-Gretchen Burford) but I have a hard time believing that. I don't think a sicko is going to abduct a guy from an ATM and then wait 30 full minutes to force him to withdraw money from that same ATM.

It was never mentioned if Matt made it to the convenience store to buy the cat food. I'm assuming he never made it because had he been there, it would have been a crucial piece of the timeline that UM would not have left out. But I think he could very well have been abducted in the parking lot of the store (ala-Kathy Hobbs) and then have been forced to drive back to the ATM, which would explain the time lapse between the transactions.

Sadly, I agree with those who say Matt probably didn't survive much longer afterward. Since the car was wiped clean of any fingerprints, no blood and then driven back to within blocks of where the entire ordeal went down (ala-Oliver Munson.). He was most likely driven to the ravine where his body was found and killed there since there were no signs of a struggle or blood found in the car. I think the bandana being left behind could be nothing more than the killer leaving it as a message, almost to tell the police, "catch me if you can.".

Curious if anyone ever reached out to Theresa through her Facebook?

There is no way that is her.

Most robbers it seems just ask for a wallet or purse. Matt didn't actually have his wallet on him, just his bank card. I have to wonder if the wallet would have been enough to get the robber to go away. That might have worked a lot better for Matt - he would have had a limited amount of cash on him, and all but $50 from his bank card would have been recovered – more importantly, he might still be alive.

a lot of "what if's" in this case.

There is no way that is her.

Really? I think it looks exactly like her.

Really? I think it looks exactly like her.

Says she graduated college in Tennessee.

Her page doesn't mention Medford, OR anywhere, so I'm with you, it's probably not her. BUT, it does say she works in San Andreas, CA (which is nowhere near LA, but is in CA). Also the younger lady in the center of the profile photo doesn't appear to be Teresa (based on photo comments); I believe she is the lady to the left, who if you mentally age progress....maybe. Although, Teresa isn't "friends" with Steve Dahl...although, although, UM's Steve Dahl doesn't appear to be on facebook.

in other words, could be, but probably not. I'd say 25% chance that is the Teresa Dahl from UM.

I wonder if there's any info on Steve Dahl. I got the impression he and Matt were lovers.

I still think the gang theory is very possible. The pictures of the perp sort of looks like a homeless person. This might also explain the failed withdrawal attempts. A homeless person is probably naïve of such limits, and probably doesn't know much more about ATM's, other than that they are machines that give out cash.

Interestingly, the initials on the bandana didn't appear until the update, and even then, they weren't actually mentioned, just displayed on the screen. I always wonder why more wasn't done with them.

The car thing is weird though. Why did the perp leave it abandoned? Since robbery was obviously the motive, why didn't he just have it broken down for parts or something? That would net more cash. I always thought the car was part of the motive (unfortunate since Matt usually walked - Teresa convinced him to take her car that time), but who knows?

I sort of got the impression this was a bad neighborhood. Matt's parents make mention of seeing a lot of unsettling things.

I always thought it was weird Steven Dahl called the bank, pretending to be Matt and asked about the transactions. If he was Matt, he would have known whether or not there had been transactions. It was a lie and just a very weird one at that. I understand he was trying to do good and have the card cancelled to prevent further robbery, but perhaps the robber got pissed about the freeze on the card and did Matt in because of it?

You could just tell this wasn't going to be a "good case."
Yeah i always thought that was strange that the was he called pretending to be Matt and asking about transactions... he would not get away with that these days. You need name, dob, password and so on....

Her page doesn't mention Medford, OR anywhere, so I'm with you, it's probably not her. BUT, it does say she works in San Andreas, CA (which is nowhere near LA, but is in CA). Also the younger lady in the center of the profile photo doesn't appear to be Teresa (based on photo comments); I believe she is the lady to the left, who if you mentally age progress....maybe. Although, Teresa isn't "friends" with Steve Dahl...although, although, UM's Steve Dahl doesn't appear to be on facebook.

in other words, could be, but probably not. I'd say 25% chance that is the Teresa Dahl from UM.
Has anyone messaged to her and asked?

I am still haunted by this case. I am never visiting an ATM again. I also think that the bandana was used to put off the LE. I am sure the LAPD investigated that angle and used their sources and snitches in the gang environment to find out if anyone knew anything.

This segment was just on my mind the other day, I remember it being one of those eerie and sad original UM cases that stuck with me and made me afraid, and so I looked it up, saw this and feel compelled to give 2 cents on this whole case.

I hope that despite it still being unsolved after 28 years (my current age) I that Matt's friends and family have been able to find some closure and peace. May Matt's memory be a blessing and may his soul be elevated. I also feel that even though a lot of time has passed, this is a very solvable case. We have a picture of the scumbag who either directly killed, or was involved in Matt's abduction and murder. We also have a blue bandana bearing the insignia of the East Side Playboys mexican gang (ES PBS CLS). While the passage of time makes it seem less likely, with the advancement of technology, I disagree. Computer enhancement and dna testing (which was not nearly as effective as it is now) give this case a boost. Remember Gretchen Buford's murder also happened in 1988 (that whole case is similar to this one) went unsolved for many years, dubbed a cold case, until DNA technology matched sweat from a hat left in the car to her killer.
I think it was a misjudgment on Matt's part to go deposit and take out money at midnight in gang/ crime infested LA, but I also cannot blame the victim. We've all done things like that. In an ideal world, we should be able to do that, but we live in an often dangerous world filled with those who do evil.

This was almost definitely gang related, and there were almost definitely more than one person involved here. It seems highly unlikely that Matt could be kidnapped by one person alone. The other thing I suspect is that, considering the late 80's in LA and the crack epidemic, I highly suspected drugs were a motive in the robbery. There are many stories of people being robbed and killed either to use the stolen money either directly for drugs or to pay off debt to some serious drug dealers. I know that's all conjecture, but when I look at this case and see all the pieces of the puzzle, its more than likely that was the case.

I still think that the scariest photo/drawing I've seen so far on UM was the weird old man that appeared in one of the haunted episodes.

If we're thinking of the same thing, that drawing has haunted me for years! I was a child at the time and found it deeply disturbing. Does anyone remember what the segment was?

I think it was a misjudgment on Matt's part to go deposit and take out money at midnight in gang/ crime infested LA, but I also cannot blame the victim. We've all done things like that. In an ideal world, we should be able to do that, but we live in an often dangerous world filled with those who do evil.

First off, welcome! :wave:

Secondly, I totally understand and agree with several of your points. I was actually at a drive-up ATM at around 11pm the other day and remembered this segment. Let's just say I was looking around during my entire transaction and sped away quickly. :eek: :eek:

I cannot remember if UM even went into the possible gang relation on this case. Was it just mentioned off hand or was there an in-depth discussion? I think you are correct in that it was either gang-related, or someone wanted it to appear gang-related.

And yes, I have not lost hope on this one, either. It is very similar to Gretchen Burford and her case was ultimately solved....

This segment was just on my mind the other day, I remember it being one of those eerie and sad original UM cases that stuck with me and made me afraid, and so I looked it up, saw this and feel compelled to give 2 cents on this whole case.

I hope that despite it still being unsolved after 28 years (my current age) I that Matt's friends and family have been able to find some closure and peace. May Matt's memory be a blessing and may his soul be elevated. I also feel that even though a lot of time has passed, this is a very solvable case. We have a picture of the scumbag who either directly killed, or was involved in Matt's abduction and murder. We also have a blue bandana bearing the insignia of the East Side Playboys mexican gang (ES PBS CLS). While the passage of time makes it seem less likely, with the advancement of technology, I disagree. Computer enhancement and dna testing (which was not nearly as effective as it is now) give this case a boost. Remember Gretchen Buford's murder also happened in 1988 (that whole case is similar to this one) went unsolved for many years, dubbed a cold case, until DNA technology matched sweat from a hat left in the car to her killer.
I think it was a misjudgment on Matt's part to go deposit and take out money at midnight in gang/ crime infested LA, but I also cannot blame the victim. We've all done things like that. In an ideal world, we should be able to do that, but we live in an often dangerous world filled with those who do evil.

This was almost definitely gang related, and there were almost definitely more than one person involved here. It seems highly unlikely that Matt could be kidnapped by one person alone. The other thing I suspect is that, considering the late 80's in LA and the crack epidemic, I highly suspected drugs were a motive in the robbery. There are many stories of people being robbed and killed either to use the stolen money either directly for drugs or to pay off debt to some serious drug dealers. I know that's all conjecture, but when I look at this case and see all the pieces of the puzzle, its more than likely that was the case.


Most things are easy to decipher in hindsight, but maybe Matthew Chase came from a town or city where he felt safe going to an ATM at night.

Most things are easy to decipher in hindsight, but maybe Matthew Chase came from a town or city where he felt safe going to an ATM at night.

Matthew wasn't originally from Los Angeles was he?

Matt was from Medford, OR. I don't think it was stated where in L.A. Matt and his friends lived.

Most things are easy to decipher in hindsight, but maybe Matthew Chase came from a town or city where he felt safe going to an ATM at night.

Agreed. Matt might have been kidnapped after leaving the ATM, possibly at the store or elsewhere, since there was a 30 minute lapse between his initial deposit/cash withdrawal and the subsequent unsuccessful attempts. Zero gave a good analysis on this thread; the killer(s) were probably gang members who were looking to rob and murder someone.

Hi! Nice to meet you!
Yes for a while, when I would come back home late at night and get out of my car, the creep in the sketch would come to mind and make me fearful. Now, when I look at it, it fills me with anger that creep had a hand in taking Matt. Also, The image and sketch is really only scary when coupled with the creepy unsolved mysteries music and Robert Stack's voice. Just by itself, not so much , Matt's abductor looks like Curly from the three stooges.
I do not think the Gang thing was really looked into. Matt joins a sad statistic of 754 homicides in LA in 1988. Much of that, according to the source I read, was gang and drug related.

Matt was from Medford, OR. I don't think it was stated where in L.A. Matt and his friends lived.

I thought they lived in Pasadena.

To be able to figure details of a crime out, one must first learn to take his or her own biases out and think of every possible scenario. Many of you are assuming that the bandanna belongs to the killer. He could have stolen it from someone else he killed, so the letters could mean absolutely nothing for this case. He could have found it and thought that it would be great for robberies, or to cover his face if he needs to stay away from others coming after him. It could have been dropped by someone Teresa knew that went unnoticed. Someone could have stolen the car after it was abandoned. It was found three weeks later. Anything could have happened in 3 weeks. It could have even been stolen more than once. It's also possible that the killer was never in the car and used his own car to move Matthew around. They never mentioned if the car keys were in there. Also why would he go out driving without his license? I guess it wasn't that big of a deal in 1988 Los Angeles. I think the guy at the mission saw the information on the license and was messing with them, or was that messed up thinking that he is helping them by lying.

This crime happened shortly before I was 13. I remember watching the episode and thinking that from the picture that the killer was a white guy, honestly. Some of you want to be right, so you ignore other facts that don't fit your theory and try to make everything work with it. That is not good police work. You have to have an open mind to every possible scenario and see where the evidence takes you. The bandanna could identify the killer and at the same time, it could mean nothing, or it could mean like a few people have said, it could have been used to throw off the police. You also don't need several people to kidnap and rob someone when you are the only one with the gun.

You have to take your minds out of 2010 to 2016. in 1988 ATMs were outside the bank and there were not that many. The reason they were ATM cards and not debit cards like today was that you could only take out cash then. You could not buy anything with them, so whether someone had a bank account or not, the cards were exactly what the killer thought, cash cards. Also, If I remember correctly, after 2 or 3 failed attempts at you PIN, the machine took your card, fearing that it was stolen. People complained about this in the late 80s to the early 90s, so the banks stopped taking potentially stolen cards.

Honestly, this guy looks like either a junkie or a career thief, and possibly was not a killer until this night. He probably felt that Matt got too good of a look at him, since he didn't get money right away, so he killed him because dead men tell no tales. One person mentioned why wasn't the car sold for parts. If you just killed someone, you want to get away from the victim, and anything connecting you to him as quickly as possible. It's possible that this guy was a junkie which would explain the repeated attempts to get cash. Junkies tend to be obsessive compulsive, so instead of looking to rob someone else, he stayed focused on this one until he got paid. He may have seen him depositing his check and waited a bit before going after him. It's possible that he sparked up a conversation with him and Matt being from Oregon, was friendly and polite and that's why a half hour passed. The thief might have been building up his courage to rob him A regular mugger wants to spend as little time as possible with the victim, because he does not want to kill he just wants money. That would make me think that this guy was likely a junkie and that's why he botched the robbery.

DNA evidence and heat in the car would likely ruin any finger prints or DNA evidence. DNA research technology was not very good at the time and could have also been ruined from the heat being out there for so long before it was found would have likely made any technology useless.

I was trying to compare the Facebook page with the video while taking into account that Teresa would be about 50 today if she were 22 in 1988. More years have passed than the age she was at the time. From looking at that Facebook picture from 2014 (making her about 48 at the time), the noses look identical to me along with the features of the smiles and the eyebrows . The boy to the right, likely her son, looks to have similar eyes to the young Teresa. I think that it is a good possibility that it is she. They could have all moved to California after college. Check the picture comparison.

The poor kid had a whole life ahead of him. Who knows what would have happened had he just gone to bed that night. I feel worse for his parents because they had to go on with this pain. Matthew's ended the moment he died. If he was their only child, their family died with Matthew. Hopefully his killer is dead and suffered before his death. Even if it means the crime never gets solved. The only true justice for a killer is that he gets killed as well.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1264815833542932&set=a.1264815920209590.1073741826.100000435829852&type=3

If he was their only child, their family died with Matthew.

Given that Matthew was gay this was a certainty. I know what you mean, though.

Given that Matthew was gay this was a certainty. I know what you mean, though.

Who said he was gay?
:confused:

I thought they lived in Pasadena.

No, his body was found in a ravine in Pasadena. Very easy to get between LA proper (not "LA" or Greater Los Angeles) and Pasadena from the 110 Freeway.

The bandanna belonged to a gang member. Period. The initials and the colors are a dead give away.

If this suspect himself was a gang member, he's most likely dead, or in prison. Hard core gang members of "violent" gangs do not have long life expectancy.

Who knows what happened in those 30 minutes between ATM withdrawals.

I do believe that by the time the $400 was withdrawn and the card confiscated, Matt was dead.

Who said he was gay?
:confused:

Wow...would that be the worst thing in the world?!

Who said he was gay?
:confused:

Check out the rest of the thread. And this post: http://forums.previously.tv/topic/18962-unsolved-and-unforgettable/

Is this the Steve Dahl from the case? It's been a while since I saw the segment, but based on the location, I figured it might be him.

https://kobi5.com/news/phoenix-fires-city-manager-26680/

Is this the Steve Dahl from the case? It's been a while since I saw the segment, but based on the location, I figured it might be him.

https://kobi5.com/news/phoenix-fires-city-manager-26680/


Maybe. I just looked at the segment. Teresa Dahl plays herself and I am assuming that Steve Dahl is playing himself. It's almost 30 years later, but the guy in the picture looks the right age and his features look a little like the Steve Dahl in the segment. I just looked at it again with the enlarged picture. I would slightly lean toward maybe not.

I want to know where exactly in L.A. this was. Downtown? Westside? Does anyone know?

I can't find any news articles about this case. It really should get more attention.

I want to know where exactly in L.A. this was. Downtown? Westside? Does anyone know?

I can't find any news articles about this case. It really should get more attention.

That will be a tall task since no articles seem to be available. All we know is that the ATM was two blocks from their apartment. Well, the ATM where he deposited his paycheck and the three failed withdrawals 30 minutes later. The ATM where his picture was taken with the man by his side was at a different location.

I want to know where exactly in L.A. this was. Downtown? Westside? Does anyone know?

I can't find any news articles about this case. It really should get more attention.


Give me a few days. If anyone can find it, I can. If I can't find the exact location, I will try to find the vicinity.

What a very odd coincidence. While searching for the Matthew Chase story, I found the obituary for a Matthew Chase who died at 22, in August 2010 in Pennsylvania.

If they lived anywhere near the Midnight Mission, then they lived in the vicinity of the downtown or Arts District area.

Maybe. I just looked at the segment. Teresa Dahl plays herself and I am assuming that Steve Dahl is playing himself. It's almost 30 years later, but the guy in the picture looks the right age and his features look a little like the Steve Dahl in the segment. I just looked at it again with the enlarged picture. I would slightly lean toward maybe not.

The former Phoenix city manager looks too weathered and old to be Steve Dahl to my eyes.

I don't know why but I always thought they lived in Burbank.

To be able to figure details of a crime out, one must first learn to take his or her own biases out and think of every possible scenario. Many of you are assuming that the bandanna belongs to the killer. He could have stolen it from someone else he killed, so the letters could mean absolutely nothing for this case. He could have found it and thought that it would be great for robberies, or to cover his face if he needs to stay away from others coming after him. It could have been dropped by someone Teresa knew that went unnoticed. Someone could have stolen the car after it was abandoned. It was found three weeks later. Anything could have happened in 3 weeks. It could have even been stolen more than once. It's also possible that the killer was never in the car and used his own car to move Matthew around. They never mentioned if the car keys were in there. Also why would he go out driving without his license? I guess it wasn't that big of a deal in 1988 Los Angeles. I think the guy at the mission saw the information on the license and was messing with them, or was that messed up thinking that he is helping them by lying.

This crime happened shortly before I was 13. I remember watching the episode and thinking that from the picture that the killer was a white guy, honestly. Some of you want to be right, so you ignore other facts that don't fit your theory and try to make everything work with it. That is not good police work. You have to have an open mind to every possible scenario and see where the evidence takes you. The bandanna could identify the killer and at the same time, it could mean nothing, or it could mean like a few people have said, it could have been used to throw off the police. You also don't need several people to kidnap and rob someone when you are the only one with the gun.

You have to take your minds out of 2010 to 2016. in 1988 ATMs were outside the bank and there were not that many. The reason they were ATM cards and not debit cards like today was that you could only take out cash then. You could not buy anything with them, so whether someone had a bank account or not, the cards were exactly what the killer thought, cash cards. Also, If I remember correctly, after 2 or 3 failed attempts at you PIN, the machine took your card, fearing that it was stolen. People complained about this in the late 80s to the early 90s, so the banks stopped taking potentially stolen cards.

Honestly, this guy looks like either a junkie or a career thief, and possibly was not a killer until this night. He probably felt that Matt got too good of a look at him, since he didn't get money right away, so he killed him because dead men tell no tales. One person mentioned why wasn't the car sold for parts. If you just killed someone, you want to get away from the victim, and anything connecting you to him as quickly as possible. It's possible that this guy was a junkie which would explain the repeated attempts to get cash. Junkies tend to be obsessive compulsive, so instead of looking to rob someone else, he stayed focused on this one until he got paid. He may have seen him depositing his check and waited a bit before going after him. It's possible that he sparked up a conversation with him and Matt being from Oregon, was friendly and polite and that's why a half hour passed. The thief might have been building up his courage to rob him A regular mugger wants to spend as little time as possible with the victim, because he does not want to kill he just wants money. That would make me think that this guy was likely a junkie and that's why he botched the robbery.

DNA evidence and heat in the car would likely ruin any finger prints or DNA evidence. DNA research technology was not very good at the time and could have also been ruined from the heat being out there for so long before it was found would have likely made any technology useless.

I was trying to compare the Facebook page with the video while taking into account that Teresa would be about 50 today if she were 22 in 1988. More years have passed than the age she was at the time. From looking at that Facebook picture from 2014 (making her about 48 at the time), the noses look identical to me along with the features of the smiles and the eyebrows . The boy to the right, likely her son, looks to have similar eyes to the young Teresa. I think that it is a good possibility that it is she. They could have all moved to California after college. Check the picture comparison.

The poor kid had a whole life ahead of him. Who knows what would have happened had he just gone to bed that night. I feel worse for his parents because they had to go on with this pain. Matthew's ended the moment he died. If he was their only child, their family died with Matthew. Hopefully his killer is dead and suffered before his death. Even if it means the crime never gets solved. The only true justice for a killer is that he gets killed as well.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1264815833542932&set=a.1264815920209590.1073741826.100000435829852&type=3

I agree with some of what you said, but disagree with one contention and that is the bandana found in the car is unmistakably gang paraphernalia with ES PBS standing for East Side PlayBoys, a violent predominantly Mexican gang. There's simply no coincidence there, and no way someone could have that or make it up unless they are in that gang. Do we know for sure that it wasn't planted as a red herring? No, we don't. Case hasn't been solved yet but Im willing to bet that is way too elaborate, and requires too much thought that I don't think the perp(s) in this case have. These are lowly street criminals we're talking about, not the Sicilian Mafia.
It is possible that the person(s) who robbed Matt did not plan to kill him at first and it escalated. It also seems highly likely he could have been held hostage for several days before they decided to kill him. That doesn't make things any better to me if he got to live longer past June 9th, that scenario seems worse to me if he had to suffer or be in terror for an extended period of time. The end result is they killed him, and I just hope it was quick and he didn't suffer.

The fact that the robber/killer in the atm camera appears white does not cancel out this being a gang related crime. Whites are in gangs too. Additionally, "hispanic" and "white" can overlap many times. I really think the bandana needs to be tested for DNA. body fluids, sweat, hair follicles, saliva, etc. The advancement we have today in DNa technology could really help.

You can find both Teresa and Steve Dahl on FB and they both live in LA today.https://www.facebook.com/teresa.dahl.7?fref=ts
I say it safely because looking at friends and family leads to many living back in Medford, Oregon where they are from.

I totally agree that the only true justice for murder is that they be put to death. It's the only transgression listed in all five books of the Torah ( I am Jewish) for which the prescribed consequence is death, for murder, destruction of a human being created in Gds image, is the worst thing someone could do.
If the gang theory is true, then probably the people responsible for Matt's death are already dead and probably suffered. Nice karma. I would like an official answer one day, though.

Wow...would that be the worst thing in the world?!

No. That would actually be the best thing in the world. Is that what you want to hear?

LOL!

Matthew Marshall Chase
7800 Fountain Avenue
West Hollywood, CA

Disappeared on June 8/9th. Official Death Record says he died on September 17th.

WHAT??

I assume September 17th is the day his body was found. It was discovered 3 months after he disappeared and that would work in the timeline for those two dates.

This is 7800 Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood on Google Maps.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad64/andy80_bucket/Mat1_zpsv6c4e2oc.jpg

No. That would actually be the best thing in the world. Is that what you want to hear?

Just calling out homophobia when I see it.

I assume September 17th is the day his body was found. It was discovered 3 months after he disappeared and that would work in the timeline for those two dates.

This is 7800 Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood on Google Maps.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad64/andy80_bucket/Mat1_zpsv6c4e2oc.jpg

I also assumed they put Sept. 17th as the date of death because it's the day they found his body.

Cute house.

I would hate to think that he was kept alive for days while his killer tried to get money out of him. *shudder*

One thing that I can't reconcile is that Teresa Dahl contradicts herself in the segment. It's a pretty well known fact she asks him to pick up cat food while he's out, but then she says 'it shouldn't have taken him that long to run the errand' (note the singular), saying 15 minutes at the most because the ATM was two blocks from their house, but doesn't say how far the store would have been. Odd.

I don't see how she contradicted herself with that statement. The ATM was two blocks away so going there by car and depositing his paycheck would have taken no time. And the pet store was a close enough drive that she figured it would have taken around 15 minutes to return home with the cat food afterwards. What's odd about that?

I certainly hope she feels no guilt over asking Matt to run that errand. It's comparable to Kari Lynn Nixon's father asking her to pick up the chips and pop from the convenience store and the tragedy that unfolded after that. It's nothing more than horrible luck where you're doing something you've done a million times before but this one instance has you in the absolute wrong place at the wrong time.

I'm sure I mentioned this before but it always bugged me that UM never mentioned if Matt made it to the pet food store or not. Records could have been checked, employees could have been interviewed as to his last sighting, if he was there. If he purchased the cat food at _____ o'clock, you've got a most likely abduction within minutes of leaving the store since he planned to come straight home. That is, unless he was driving home and then decided to run another errand and something happened THEN. We just don't know.

I don't see how she contradicted herself with that statement. The ATM was two blocks away so going there by car and depositing his paycheck would have taken no time. And the pet store was a close enough drive that she figured it would have taken around 15 minutes to return home with the cat food afterwards. What's odd about that?

I certainly hope she feels no guilt over asking Matt to run that errand. It's comparable to Kari Lynn Nixon's father asking her to pick up the chips and pop from the convenience store and the tragedy that unfolded after that. It's nothing more than horrible luck where you're doing something you've done a million times before but this one instance has you in the absolute wrong place at the wrong time.

I'm sure I mentioned this before but it always bugged me that UM never mentioned if Matt made it to the pet food store or not. Records could have been checked, employees could have been interviewed as to his last sighting, if he was there. If he purchased the cat food at _____ o'clock, you've got a most likely abduction within minutes of leaving the store since he planned to come straight home. That is, unless he was driving home and then decided to run another errand and something happened THEN. We just don't know.


+1

Thanks for posting the address. I lived in West Hollywood for a few months, only a five minute drive away from that address.

Dynoguy, I totally agree with you about this being similar to the Kari Lynn Nixon case. It was just very bad timing, and I hope Teresa doesn't feel like she is responsible. She and her brother were commendable in their attempts to find Matt after his disappearance.

I think it's likely Matt was driven to Pasadena that night and killed in the ravine area after the killer(s) failed to get any money from him. They may have held onto the card until it was confiscated by the ATM.

I think it's likely Matt was driven to Pasadena that night and killed in the ravine area after the killer(s) failed to get any money from him. They may have held onto the card until it was confiscated by the ATM.

Indeed. Sadly, I don't think he was kept alive very long after he was originally abducted.

I know everyone has said over the years how much the man at Matt's side in the ATM photo is scary but I always thought the expression on Matt's face in that photo is more haunting. He doesn't look terrified but more like he's trying to remain calm. It's unsettling.

Indeed. Sadly, I don't think he was kept alive very long after he was originally abducted.

I know everyone has said over the years how much the man at Matt's side in the ATM photo is scary but I always thought the expression on Matt's face in that photo is more haunting. He doesn't look terrified but more like he's trying to remain calm. It's unsettling.

I agree. What's even more haunting is knowing that he was killed shortly afterwards. I didn't think the man at his side was scary looking, mainly because you cant really see any facial features.

I agree. What's even more haunting is knowing that he was killed shortly afterwards. I didn't think the man at his side was scary looking, mainly because you cant really see any facial features.

I think that's what bugs people. It's a shadowy profile of the dude who probably killed Matt Chase.

I agree with the earlier comment-- I haven't watched the segment recently, but I can only imagine that Matt's face is very troubled...

I wanna know what Steve Dahl looks like today

I wanna know what Steve Dahl looks like today

Check your PM box. :)

CORRECTION: My apologies, I was wrong. While Matt and the Dahls did live at 7800 Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood (I believe as late as mid 1987), they moved to Sherman Oaks (home of B-list celebrities), then to save on rent, moved to Pico-Union in downtown L.A. Horrible place I'm told, or at least was at the time. That is all according to Teresa Dahl. It also would have been near the 110, which provides a straight shot to Pasadena.

I have deleted the erroneous post.

CORRECTION: My apologies, I was wrong. While Matt and the Dahls did live at 7800 Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood (I believe as late as mid 1987), they moved to Sherman Oaks (home of B-list celebrities), then to save on rent, moved to Pico-Union in downtown L.A. Horrible place I'm told, or at least was at the time. That is all according to Teresa Dahl. It also would have been near the 110, which provides a straight shot to Pasadena.

I have deleted the erroneous post.

Anyone that wishes to hear more of what Teresa had to say recently about this case, feel free to e-mail me.

I wouldn't mind hearing any recent news in regards ot this case. It walkways resonated with me.

Do we know exactly what bank and/or what neighborhood this took place in? For some reason I haven't been able to find those details, and it seems unusual to make that info so secret as I imagine that could help bring possible leads (or at least could have at the time)

Do we know exactly what bank and/or what neighborhood this took place in? For some reason I haven't been able to find those details, and it seems unusual to make that info so secret as I imagine that could help bring possible leads (or at least could have at the time)

Pico-Union. Not sure on the bank, but it was probably the Bank of America.

The Sherman Oaks residence they were living in was a lovely 5 bedroom Victorian, $1,000 a month. If they were to have 5 people living there, that comes out to $200 a month per person. Not bad at all. Teresa came from a privileged background and was not cash-strapped. Apparently, that also applies to her brother Steve. Matt had no car and was presumably living paycheck-to-paycheck and was the "poorer" member of the group. Teresa decided she wanted to save even more money on rent and moved everyone to Pico-Union, which I'm told is the LA equivalent to Harlem. Heavy gang presence and one of the worst neighborhoods in the entire country. She admits it was a mistake.

And boy was it ever.

Matt and Teresa worked in a department store called Bullocks at the time and both were planning on attending college, Matthew was hoping to get into Otis School of Art & Design.

Pico-Union. Not sure on the bank, but it was probably the Bank of America.

The Sherman Oaks residence they were living in was a lovely 5 bedroom Victorian, $1,000 a month. If they were to have 5 people living there, that comes out to $200 a month per person. Not bad at all. Teresa came from a privileged background and was not cash-strapped. Apparently, that also applies to her brother Steve. Matt had no car and was presumably living paycheck-to-paycheck and was the "poorer" member of the group. Teresa decided she wanted to save even more money on rent and moved everyone to Pico-Union, which I'm told is the LA equivalent to Harlem. Heavy gang presence and one of the worst neighborhoods in the entire country. She admits it was a mistake.

And boy was it ever.

Matt and Teresa worked in a department store called Bullocks at the time and both were planning on attending college, Matthew was hoping to get into Otis School of Art & Design.
Great info, thanks for sharing. Always wish I was able to find more details about this case. But of course being LA in the 80's this probably happened regularly, being on UM was the only thing really unique about it

Learning about the detective's overt homophobia is a piquant look at the times.

Just calling out homophobia when I see it.

Wow, you're an idiot. But go ahead and think what you want. By the way, let's not soil this fine message board. PM me and we can take the name calling there.

What is all this homosexual talk about? Don't remember it being part of the segment & even if he was gay so what? He was still the victim of a homicide.

Pico-Union. Not sure on the bank, but it was probably the Bank of America.

The Sherman Oaks residence they were living in was a lovely 5 bedroom Victorian, $1,000 a month. If they were to have 5 people living there, that comes out to $200 a month per person. Not bad at all. Teresa came from a privileged background and was not cash-strapped. Apparently, that also applies to her brother Steve. Matt had no car and was presumably living paycheck-to-paycheck and was the "poorer" member of the group. Teresa decided she wanted to save even more money on rent and moved everyone to Pico-Union, which I'm told is the LA equivalent to Harlem. Heavy gang presence and one of the worst neighborhoods in the entire country. She admits it was a mistake.

And boy was it ever.

Matt and Teresa worked in a department store called Bullocks at the time and both were planning on attending college, Matthew was hoping to get into Otis School of Art & Design.

I'm sure the info I'm about to give, I've already said perhaps more than once over the (last few?) years. I am from SoCal and grew up there in the 80's. Yes, a lot of the non-touristy areas of LA were gang lands filled will 24 hour gang wars and crimes. The bandanna found in the car was from the EastSide Play Boys gang, and from the clique Chicos Locos. Looking it up tonight, I came across a site which states their territory is in the east side of South LA, and another Play Boys gang is in the Pico-Union area! Both of these areas are, as you stated, not far from the 110. Even the more southern territory.

Anyone who has lived in LA for a length of time knows that you drive around and get to know "LA." Even areas 30 miles away from your home, and further. There's no question in my mind Matt's killer was a gang member who knew the area Matt was abducted in, and where his body was found.

The man in the picture could have been a 17 year old kid. He had darker skin, and was obviously latino/chicano/hispano/etc. I am hispanic myself, so I know what my people look like. The Play Boys gang, even then, was predominantly hispanic. It all fits. I'm sure the police back then knew exactly what kind of killers they were looking for.

Gang members don't have a long life span, usually. It would be nice to bring the killer to trial and put him in prison. Most likely, he's either already there, or he's dead. I hope it's the latter.

Matt was the victim of a random gang related murder.

I just watched the segment again. Very sad indeed. Especially Theresa saying he was her best friend, and he meant a lot to her.

Learning about the detective's overt homophobia is a piquant look at the times.

It's a very depressing look at the times. But it's also part of an infuriating overall picture involving missing people of that time regardless of sexual orientation. That detective had no business telling Theresa that Matt probably just ran off with a guy because he didn't want to tell you he was gay. On top of the homophobia, he based that theory on seeing a picture of Matt and knowing he was missing. This is kind of comparable to the book I read involving the murders of Bobbie Obherholtzer and Annetthe Schnee. When Jeff Oberholtzer reported his wife missing a second time, one of the detectives pulled him aside and told him she probably ran off with another man and he should forget about it. In both these cases, the missing person has already been abducted and murdered at this point and police are telling their loved ones they ran away so don't look for them. :mad:

What is all this homosexual talk about? Don't remember it being part of the segment & even if he was gay so what? He was still the victim of a homicide.

Nobody here has ever cared that he was gay. It was not brought up in the segment but little else about Matt was brought up either. Usually when a story about a victim (missing or murdered) was featured on this show, they would do a quick summary of what the person was like before they explained the ugliness of what happened to them. UM didn't do that with Matt. All they mentioned was that he was from Medford, Oregon before moving to LA. Some folks online who knew Matt back in the day in Medford posted that he was gay and when his high school wouldn't let him take his boyfriend to the prom, he brought a mannequin as part of a protest, (which is both hilarious and awesome in my book.) And you're right, nothing changed that fact that he was part of a homicide. It's just nice to get a picture of what he was like since we didn't get to learn it from the segment.

The man in the picture could have been a 17 year old kid. He had darker skin, and was obviously latino/chicano/hispano/etc. I am hispanic myself, so I know what my people look like.

I thought he looked Hispanic, no doubt. But I don't think he looked 17. I always thought he looked middle age. Granted, it's a dark photo from an old security camera so I could be wrong. I just don't think he looked that young from what I could make out.

I thought he looked middle aged as well, which I am thinking would be more unlikely for the gang theory.

Off topic...but does anyone find it coincidental that both ATM murders featured on the show (Gretchen and Matt), the assailant left behind headwear in each vehicle? A bandana in Matt's car, and a Paisley hat in Gretchen's car.

Off topic...but does anyone find it coincidental that both ATM murders featured on the show (Gretchen and Matt), the assailant left behind headwear in each vehicle? A bandana in Matt's car, and a Paisley hat in Gretchen's car.

And with both, each had gone to the ATM to deposit a check - Gretchen two blocks from work, Matt two blocks from home.

Both happened in California.

Both happened in 1988.

Both of them were forced to drive their own cars to a different ATM to withdraw more money than the bank would allow.

:crazy:

And with both, each had gone to the ATM to deposit a check - Gretchen two blocks from work, Matt two blocks from home.

Both happened in California.

Both happened in 1988.

Both of them were forced to drive their own cars to a different ATM to withdraw more money than the bank would allow.

:crazy:

Wow, stranger than I thought when I posted the headwear aspect of it! So funny how certain things on UM connect together in some way. For instance, certain people having the same last names as victims in different segments, ie. one might be an investigator or friend, but has the same last name as a victim from another segment, etc... It happens very frequently. It's like they are all connected in the stars :) ha

Anyone else see this new update on Matthew's page at the UM wiki?
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Matthew_Chase

The case has since been "cleared" by police. They believe that Matt's killer was a gang member named David "Bear" Meza. Ironically, he was killed just two days after Matt vanished. When interviewed by police, Meza's girlfriend identified him as the man seen in the surveillance photographs. Other circumstantial evidence also linked him to the crime. However, the possibility still exists that there were accomplices involved.

Where did this information come from?

Anyone else see this new update on Matthew's page at the UM wiki?
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Matthew_Chase



Where did this information come from?

Wow. If true....well...to quote John Lennon, "Instant Karma's gonna get you."

Anyone else see this new update on Matthew's page at the UM wiki?
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Matthew_Chase



Where did this information come from?

That's what I would like to know. Also, when did police interview Meza's girlfriend? How and when did they track her down and zero in on Bear?

I listened to Teresa Dahl's podcast interview a couple months ago where she specifically talks about Matt and she never once mentioned any of these developments.

Anyone else see this new update on Matthew's page at the UM wiki?
http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Matthew_Chase



Where did this information come from?

There was a thread on Unresolved Mysteries about "creepy" photos/footage associated with unsolved cases and someone mentioned Matt's case. They also talked about how it was basically solved, and mentioned the "Justice for Matthew Marshall Chase" Facebook page. I went to the page and there was a post from about a week ago saying that they had gotten into contact with Matt's sister, and with her help and lot of research, they found out about Meza:

"UPDATE: With very special thanks to Matt's sister Kristina and my co-administrator Matthew Paddison for their labor of love, a very big update. We feel confident that Matt's killer was killed himself within 48 hours of Matt's death. His name was David "Bear" Meza and his death ceritificate indicates he died on June 10, 1988, the day after Matt's disappearance. We're thankful Meza cannot hurt anyone else. Although the possibility of accomplices can't be dismissed, the main perpetrator is long since off the streets. We will always keep Matt's spirit alive and look forward to watching the community grow."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/375856862809034/permalink/490995837961802/

EDIT: I believe Wiseguy is involved with the page, so he may have more information as well.

Wow! Here's a case I thought would never get cleared.

There was a thread on Unresolved Mysteries about "creepy" photos/footage associated with unsolved cases and someone mentioned Matt's case. They also talked about how it was basically solved, and mentioned the "Justice for Matthew Marshall Chase" Facebook page. I went to the page and there was a post from about a week ago saying that they had gotten into contact with Matt's sister, and with her help and lot of research, they found out about Meza:

"UPDATE: With very special thanks to Matt's sister Kristina and my co-administrator Matthew Paddison for their labor of love, a very big update. We feel confident that Matt's killer was killed himself within 48 hours of Matt's death. His name was David "Bear" Meza and his death ceritificate indicates he died on June 10, 1988, the day after Matt's disappearance. We're thankful Meza cannot hurt anyone else. Although the possibility of accomplices can't be dismissed, the main perpetrator is long since off the streets. We will always keep Matt's spirit alive and look forward to watching the community grow."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/375856862809034/permalink/490995837961802/

Good to hear. It would be neat if this info gets officially updated on the UM website.

I mean the bandana found in the car was clearly left by a someone with a gang affiliation. The fact that this guy himself was killed 2 days after Matt's murder seems to confirm this. Glad to hear there is a resolution of sorts to this case.

So, I *literally* just approved a thread on this very topic a few moments ago. Upon doing so, I commented that I had never heard this information before.

Apparently I'm not the only one. Heck of an interesting development this morning, to say the least!

Did someone remove the update off the wikia page? I don’t see it there.

Wow! I am very happy this case is finally solved. Would love some more details as to how they figured out it was this Meza guy and how Meza ended up dying.

Nothing can bring back Matthew, but his family is right, at least the killer is unable to hurt anyone else.

I'd be interested in seeing a proper photograph of this "Bear" creature.

Wow! I am very happy this case is finally solved. Would love some more details as to how they figured out it was this Meza guy and how Meza ended up dying.

Nothing can bring back Matthew, but his family is right, at least the killer is unable to hurt anyone else.

Gang members have short lifespans. Fortunately.

I read two updates on this case, both saying the same thing. Except one stated Meza's girlfriend confirmed he was the one who killed Matthew and she identified him in the picture. Yes, grainy photo, but when you see someone you know, you know... y'know? Anyway I always believed Matt's killer was dead or in jail by now. Looks like I was right. Meza could have been died any number of ways. Drive by, drug deal gone bad, killed by rival gang members, drug OD, killed by a higher up 'cause he messed up some how, car accident. Gang members seldom meet natural ends.

Wow! I am very happy this case is finally solved. Would love some more details as to how they figured out it was this Meza guy and how Meza ended up dying.

Nothing can bring back Matthew, but his family is right, at least the killer is unable to hurt anyone else.

Gang members have short lifespans. Fortunately.

I read two updates on this case, both saying the same thing. Except one stated Meza's girlfriend confirmed he was the one who killed Matthew and she identified him in the picture. Yes, grainy photo, but when you see someone you know, you know... y'know? Anyway I always believed Matt's killer was dead or in jail by now. Looks like I was right. Meza could have been died any number of ways. Drive by, drug deal gone bad, killed by rival gang members, drug OD, killed by a higher up 'cause he messed up some how, car accident. Gang members seldom meet natural ends.


Oh, looks like I was on the right track about Meza's demise. It's so fitting. Reading this made me happy.


http://articles.latimes.com/1988-06-13/local/me-3206_1_gang-members

http://articles.latimes.com/1988-06-12/local/me-7045_1_gang-members

As far as the scariest UM segments, I have seen a lot of the creepier ones and am one of those people who pretty much hate the miracles and about 3/4ths of the lost loves variety. One of the ones that's supposed to be super creepy is the California ATM murder. I have heard that a camera catches a man at an ATM late at night with a supposedly scary person next to him. Then, I guess he either is grabbed by the guy or he walks off and the guy follows him.

Any help in more details of the case, or possibly a clip of it? (And if you have a clip just PM it to me so we don't violate the site advertising). Thanks.

Matthew Chase. His body was found in Pasadena 3 months later. David Meza was determined to be the killer, who he himself was murdered days after the Matthew Chase murder. Possibility of others being involved, but that was never determined.

Some mentioned he was gay. That is irrelevant unless this was a hate crime. I do not believe it was. My guess Meza met Matthew going into his car, kidnapped him robbed him at the ATM visit then shot and killed him, dumped him in the raveen. All so Maze could get his rankings in his gang. Most likely at least one other involved that drove Meza there, and followed him after dumping the car and body.

I am just surprised that an ATM in 1988 would have had a camera.

But either way, creepy case for sure.

Is the Meza case still unsolved? Is there an obit anywhere? Can’t find one

Is the Meza case still unsolved? Is there an obit anywhere? Can’t find one

Virtually nothing online. The only thing I could find was that his girlfriend at the time came forward and said he was the one who killed Matthew, and she had information that corroborated things only known to law enforcement, so they felt that they could close the case.