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Murder motive still murky after arrest

Detectives don't know what led to Matthew Seybert's death.
By Ryan Lillis - rlillis@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, February 2, 2008 Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1 Print | E-Mail | | Digg it | del.icio.us

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The motive behind Matthew Seybert's slaying remains a mystery, even after a team of heavily armed Mounties stormed into a suburban Canadian house and arrested his suspected killer last week. Since that time, the suspect, Arthur Charles Carnes IV, has been described as both a survivalist with "anti-government tendencies" and a mild-mannered "computer nerd kind of guy" who used the alias of a famed Australian outlaw. And yet, nearly two months since Seybert's decomposing body was found in a creek near the rural southern Sacramento County property where he and Carnes both lived, homicide detectives are still trying to explain what led to Seybert's death. "It's hard to determine a motive because we don't know of any ill will between the two," said Sacramento Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran. "We know they were friends, so it's hard to explain why he did this." Seybert, who was 41, was reported missing from his home on East Stockton Boulevard on the outskirts of Galt on Nov. 18. Sheriff's deputies searched the 38- acre property for several days, eventually finding Seybert in Laguna Creek, about a mile from his home, dead from gunshot wounds to his head and neck. Authorities soon named Carnes as the suspect, saying he had stolen Seybert's ATM card and was using the card in Canada. Carnes, 36, lived in a blue wooden shed the size of a jail cell on the same property where Seybert also lived and operated a lawn mower repair business, authorities said. At one point, sheriff's detectives believed Carnes had
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Arthur Charles Carnes IV

Crime & Public Safety - Murder motive still murky after arrest - sacbee.com

returned to the Sacramento area and said he should be considered armed and dangerous. But, a few days later, officers with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police learned he was hiding out in a home in Fort Langley, British Columbia, and that he was "in possession of dangerous firearms," according to a Mounties news release. Authorities believe Carnes deceived a family into letting him hide out in their home in Fort Langley while authorities from two countries hunted him. On the evening of Jan. 25, Canadian police began telling residents of nearby homes to stay inside and lock their doors. They evacuated the family Carnes was staying with before leading Carnes out without incident, the Mounties said. Canadian police said they found an automatic assault weapon with ammunition and "evidence connected to the murder in California." During a search Thursday night of a shed behind the Fort Langley house, police found "very volatile chemicals," said Mounties Sgt. Pierre Lemaitre. Carnes was taken into custody on an immigration violation. Sacramento sheriff's investigators said Carnes had at least two aliases, including "Ned Kelly," the Australian outlaw played in films by Heath Ledger and Mick Jagger. His attorney said he is suspected of crossing into Canada without checking in at a port of entry. That attorney, Phil Rankin, said it would be easier for Sacramento authorities if Carnes were simply deported for the immigration violation rather than have him face an extradition hearing. Canada is strict about extraditing American citizens who are facing potential death penalty cases in the United States. However, Sacramento District Attorney Jan Scully's office has already informed Canadian authorities that they do not intend to seek the death penalty, spokeswoman Lana Wyant said. The process of moving Carnes into the custody of Sacramento authorities is expected to take weeks. Carnes, who is also facing identity theft charges in connection with Seybert's ATM card, "perhaps may be entitled to a refugee claim," his attorney said. Rankin said he has not spoken to Carnes at length about the Sacramento charges and described his client as "well-spoken and not coarse." "He sounds like a computer nerd kind of guy, very modulated, very normal," Rankin said.

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Crime & Public Safety - Murder motive still murky after arrest - sacbee.com

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