Cricket bag killer William Matheson - who strangled his teenage girlfriend and hid her decomposing body in a basement - has allegedly raped a woman over three days at a hotel while on parole for the murder.
uncertain
who → strangle → murder
A bail hearing on Tuesday heard the convicted murderer sexually assaulted the woman, 38, in Sydney while he was wearing an electronic satellite tracking anklet.
asserted
he → hear → anklet
Police allege the assault continued despite Matheson, 42, 'repeatedly' being told to stop.
asserted
Matheson → allege → ?
Matheson had met the woman in May 2025 via a fellow inmate who was in an 11-year-long 'open relationship' with the alleged victim, the court heard.
uncertain
court → meet → victim
The court was told the inmate had asked the alleged victim if she would spend time with Matheson, to which she replied: 'I suppose I can.'
asserted
I → tell → which
Matheson was arrested two months after meeting the woman and charged with sexual assault without consent and sexually touching another person without consent.
asserted
Matheson → arrest → consent
He was refused bail and 12 days later his parole was also revoked.
asserted
parole → refuse → bail
Appearing at NSW District Court on Tuesday via video link from jail, Matheson looked considerably older than the teen killer whose 2003 crime caused national outrage.
William Matheson murdered Lindsay Van Blanken, 18, by strangling her with cable ties and then stuffed her body into a cricket bag where it was found heavily decomposed in a basement
Matheson, now 42, was refused bail after being charged with sexually assaulting a 38-year-old woman in a Sydney hotel room
Wearing glasses, prison greens and with his now-grey hair swept back, Matheson constantly looked down as Judge Mark Williams or prosecutors referred to his past crime or fresh allegations.
In 2003, after his ex-girlfriend Lindsay Van Blanken, 18, ended their relationship when she met a new partner, Matheson lured her to a meeting and choked her with cable ties.
asserted
Matheson → appear → ties
He crammed her body into a Slazenger cricket bag and left it in a basement storeroom of a Queens Park apartment block in Sydney's eastern suburbs where he lived with his parents.
asserted
he → cram → parents
As her family launched a frantic two-month hunt for the mysteriously missing teen, her decomposing body remained hidden until its discovery in January 2004.
asserted
body → launch → January
Matheson was sentenced in 2006 to at least 18 years in jail for her murder, with a maximum term of 27 years, which was later reduced to 25 years.
asserted
which → sentence → years
After serving 19 years, he was released on parole in May 2023 despite fierce opposition from his victim's mother Cynthia Van Blanken, who warned he was still a danger.
uncertain
he → serve → mother
'If they let him out next week, they will be responsible for what happens and it won't be good,' she said weeks before he walked out of jail.
asserted
he → let → jail
Matheson was released with six years remaining on his sentence after the NSW State Parole Authority ruled he was a 'low risk' of reoffending.
asserted
he → release → reoffending
William Matheson, a cellist Lindsay met at her mother's wedding, murdered the teenager after she left him for another man, hiding her body in a sports bag in the basement of a block of flats
The family of Lindsay Van Blanken (pictured) fiercely opposed his release and, just over two years after he walked out of prison, he was charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel
The former cellist had been on parole for just over two years when he is accused of sexually assaulting the woman.
asserted
he → meet → woman
Matheson was arrested at a home in Randwick, in Sydney's east, and has been held in jail ever since.
asserted
Matheson → arrest → jail
Matheson applied for bail this week, but would have remained behind bars on his revoked parole in any event as he awaits trial in March 2027 on the new charges.
asserted
he → apply → charges
Judge Williams described the new charges as 'very serious'.
asserted
Williams → describe → charges
Matheson's defence told the court the prosecution's allegation of 'three days' of offending was 'somewhat misleading' and said there was 'nothing to suggest it was an ongoing pattern of violent behaviour'.
asserted
it → tell → behaviour
While serving his jail sentence for murder, Matheson had previously said: 'I think that I have now taken a more peaceful and pragmatic approach to life.
'I remember that I was greatly depressed when I came into custody and could not play the cello.'
uncertain
I → serve → cello
In 2016, 13 years after he killed Ms Van Blanken, her backpack was found on a Randwick building site, close to where Matheson was living at the time of the murder.
asserted
Matheson → kill → murder
William Harold Matheson (above at court) served 19 years of a maximum 25-year sentence for murder and disposing of a body and was released on parole in 2023
William Matheson was a loner with a controlling nature who kept a collection of human bones
In 2016, 13 years after William Matheson (above) murdered Ms Van Blanken, her backpack was found on a building site in Randwick, with human remains found nearby
Near the backpack were human remains of at least two women.
asserted
remains → serve → women
The fragments included a leg bone, curved bones and part of a skull with a nail in it.
asserted
fragments → include → it
It was speculated the bones may have belonged to Matheson who had a bone collection.
uncertain
who → speculate → collection
Matheson became eligible for parole in May 2022, and was released a year later.
uncertain
Matheson → become → May
His maximum sentence expires in 2029.
asserted
sentence → expire → 2029
He applied for bail on the conditions that he live with his parents in Randwick under virtual house arrest, only go out under escort to report to police and abstain from alcohol and drugs.
asserted
he → apply → alcohol
On Tuesday, Judge Williams cited concerns about ongoing 'entrenched attitudes towards women which have escalated to violence' and a 'danger to the community'.
asserted
which → cite → community
Judge Williams refused bail on the grounds he was an unacceptable risk and faced a lengthy custodial sentence if convicted on the new charges.
asserted
he → refuse → charges
The Aporia
