WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A man charged in the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of a Palm Beach County woman in 1985 was found guilty Wednesday.
Richard Lange, 62, of Boynton Beach, was accused in the killing of Mildred Matheny, 78, of Lake Worth Beach.
Matheny was found lying naked on Old Indiantown Road in Jupiter on April 27, 1985, roughly 30 miles from her home. She was bleeding from blunt force injuries to her head and face, and her bloodstained dentures were found nearby.
Matheny died from her injuries days later at Martin Memorial Hospital in Stuart. A medical examiner said she was sexually assaulted.
For 35 years, her death was left unsolved, until April 2021. That's when Palm Beach County deputies announced they arrested Lange, then 61, for the crime. Detectives said they identified him through DNA.
The state of Florida on Wednesday called to the witness stand a detective who worked for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office for more than 20 years, specifically in the agency's cold case homicide unit.
He said he was assigned Matheny's case, but was not involved in the initial investigation. He told the court when he took over the case, he started building a timeline for the case based on the initial investigation, but said all leads looked at by previous detectives had been exhausted.
The detective said the cold case unit did obtain a forensic lead from a national DNA database, which led to the identification of Lange. The detective said that prior to this lead, he had no idea who Richard Lange was.
He also testified that in 2021, he went to Lange's home in Boynton Beach to obtain forensic DNA from him.
He said he spoke to Lange at his home and said he had no reason to believe he needed DNA from any other member of the Lange family. He also said he showed Lange a photo of Matheny, and asked if he knew her, which Lange denied.
A handwritten statement documenting this was shown to the court, reading in Lange's handwriting, "Never seen this woman in my life."
The detective also said Lange told him at the time he did not have a twin nor any family members in the area.
Following his testimony, the prosecution rested their case.
The jury was then briefly dismissed for a recess as the judge, the prosecution and the defense discussed the admittance of specific evidence and testimony into the courtroom.
The jury then received the case in the afternoon.
Lange is scheduled to be sentenced April 6.
