Lucinda Wallen stood at the podium before the judge, dabbing tears as a statement, one describing the pain of losing her husband and two-time Cocoa city councilmember Jim Wallen, was read during a sentencing hearing for the man who pleaded guilty to taking Wallen’s life.
The statements came during a Nov. 17 hearing for 47-year-old Matthew Lane Inklebarger, sentenced in a plea deal to 50 years in state prison for the 2020 stabbing death of 75-year-old Wallen.
“Jim was not only my husband of 53 years but my best friend and partner …Every day feels emptier,” she said in a statement read by retired priest John Bender of St. Mark Episcopal Church in Cocoa.
“Murder doesn’t just take a life, it shatters many.”
Inklebarger, initially charged with first-degree premeditated murder, armed burglary of a dwelling and petit theft, had faced the death penalty before the plea deal reducing the charge to second-degree murder was accepted. Brevard Circuit Court Judge Charlie Crawford sentenced Inklebarger to 50 years after listening to witness impact statements from family members who each described the loss and pain left by the murder.
Defendant: ‘I know that sorry doesn’t mean anything’
Cocoa police were called to the Wallen home, at 1645 Manor Drive, on Aug. 21, 2020. There, officers talked to Wallen’s wife, who told them that she returned home and found her husband, bloodied and surrounded by shattered glass, slumped on the floor between the water heater and wall. Wallen had been stabbed repeatedly in the neck and abdomen, the medical examiner said.
The case left the Cocoa community stunned. Wallen, who had been known to raise funds for various groups, visit nursing homes and deliver meals to residents, worked as a teacher for 37 years, teaching English at Kennedy Middle School and adult education at Brevard Community College. Twice elected, he served on the Cocoa City Council from 1979-81 and 1983-86, and a Cocoa park on Manor Drive was renamed in his honor in August 2021.
Inklebarger, who had been held at the Brevard County Jail on a no bond status since his arrest, spoke briefly at the beginning of the hearing. He described to Crawford and the court how he broke into the Wallens’ home and while inside, locked a dog in a back room before seeing Wallen and getting into a scuffle with him.
Officers quickly tracked Inklebarger down and took him into custody.
Crawford asked Inklebarger, who sat at the defense table in shackles, how many times he stabbed Wallen.
“I don’t remember,” said Inklebarger, who acknowledged the impact of his crime and said that “I know that sorry doesn’t mean anything.”
Later, Inklebarger looked on as Wallen’s widow was helped up and walked slowly to the podium. He then turned and stared ahead as she spoke. Other friends and supporters of the Wallens looked on, with some openly crying.
“Jim had a gift for bringing joy to others,” Lucinda Wallen said in her statement. “He was my world. He cared for me in every possible way.”
Inklebarger was then fingerprinted and led back to holding by deputies.
He will have 30 days to appeal the case.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. X: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard man, 47, sentenced to 50 years in stabbing death of former Cocoa city councilman
Reporting by J.D. Gallop, Florida Today / Florida Today
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