Matt, Denise, and Danielle Flores
Real Name: Matthew Donald Flores
Nicknames: Matt
Location: Silicon Valley, California
Date: March 24, 1994
Case[]
Details: Twenty-six-year-old Matt Flores was a successful military officer starting a job at Applied Materials Inc. in the Silicon Valley with his wife of four years, Denise, and newborn daughter, Danielle. On March 24, 1994, on his ninth day at his new job, he arrived at work at around 8:12am and parked his car, a white Chevy Corsica that his bosses had rented for him. He was then murdered execution-style by an unknown party as he got out of his car and was found by a woman sitting in a car nearby. Amazingly, despite a total of twenty people in the parking lot at the time, not one person saw his killer.
Authorities found that Matt had no known enemies and no reason to have been killed. Police were at a standstill when they learned that his murder occurred in a security camera's blind spot. However, the security footage did give police their most significant lead. The footage shows an unidentified two-door Ford Explorer entering the parking lot twenty minutes before the shooting. Seconds later, a two-door Ford Probe, similar to Matt's, was followed by the Explorer. The Explorer exited the parking lot a few minutes later. Then, three minutes before the shooting, the Explorer re-entered the parking lot and went in the direction of where the shooting occurred. At 8:12am, two minutes before the shooting, Matt and the female eyewitness entered the parking lot. At 8:14am, the shooting takes place, just out of camera range. Approximately twenty seconds later, the Explorer left the parking lot, never to be seen again.
Re-enactment footage of the suspect's car
Investigators believe, based on the tape, that the killer was stalking Matt that morning. They believe that he was a victim of mistaken identity, and that the killer was planning on killing a man driving the same type of car Matt was driving. The killer has never been identified and Matt's case remains unsolved. A $100,000 reward is being offered for information that helps solve the case.
Suspects: The car that police are looking for is a two-door sport modeled Ford Explorer manufactured between 1991 and 1994. It has a distinctive black trim on its lower panels. The color is not black, white, dark green, or dark blue.
Investigators suspect that Matt's murder may have been a case of mistaken identity. They have also looked into several theories, including that he was killed as a result of a road rage incident, that his murder was related to the military and his job. They looked into the possibility that it was related to that of Sgt. Nicholas Gange, who served under Matt while in the military. He mysteriously vanished in April 1993 and was later found dead under suspicious circumstances. However, no evidence has been found to substantiate these theories.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the October 27, 1995 episode. Investigators asked the actual surveillance footage to not be shown, due to the active investigation.
Results: Unsolved. Investigators are still actively looking into Matt's case and have tried to give it more publicity; however, they have received few new leads.
Links:
- Matt Flores on Unsolved.com
- Matt Flores on Cold Case World
- March 2009, Santa Clara murder still haunts family 15 years later - March 24, 2009
- Santa Clara police revisit cold case - March 24, 2011
- Mystery killing leaves scars from R.I. to Silicon Valley - May 16, 2016
- California authorities seek public’s help to solve R.I. native’s 1994 murder - May 17, 2016
- Death in a public place - the killing of Matt Flores - May 17, 2016
- Matt Flores' killing: A 22-year-old Santa Clara mystery - May 17, 2016
- Minisode 15: Matt Flores - March 22, 2017
- Matt Flores on Find a Grave