CHICAGO – A man is charged with murder after Chicago police investigators used the CPD’s surveillance camera and license plate reader networks to find footage of him disposing of the murder weapon, officials say. Johnnie Matthews, 42, was the last person seen with Kristina Romandine, 33, before she was found fatally shot in their West Loop apartment on New Year’s Day, according to the charges.
Matthews and Romandine, who were dating, had an argument about a chain sometime between 9 and 10 a.m. on Jan. 1 at their apartment in the 1500 block of West Warren. Romandine was later found dead in the home with a gunshot wound to her head. Investigators found a .38-caliber shell casing nearby.
Prosecutors said Matthews called a woman and asked her to lie so he would have an alibi. He returned to the apartment while police were still on scene and agreed to go to the station for an interview, according to his CPD report.
Detectives collected data from license plate readers and compared it to police video archives to track Matthews’ movements, prosecutors said. They allegedly found a video of him throwing away a black backpack in the 1400 block of West Washington. Police went to that location, recovered the backpack and found inside a .38-caliber handgun that matched the shell casing found at the murder scene, prosecutors said.
According to his police report, Matthews “provided numerous conflicting stories” during his interview with detectives.
Judge Susana Ortiz granted the state’s detention request. In the petition, Ortiz noted that Matthews had a “recent history of choking and threatening women with weapons.”
He is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon as a felon.
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