More than one million people have moved into Dallas-Fort Worth during the past decade. Some come for school and stay after graduation, some relocate for family reasons, and with enviable industry diversity, many are attracted by career opportunities.
And then there’s John Matthews.
“I own a winery, and I catch killers.”
Talk about work-life balance. Matthews moved to the region from Upstate New York as a teenager with his family. He remembers fields everywhere with a lot of cattle, and he’s amazed by the way the area has evolved and surpassed the quality of life in similarly sized cities.
“The metroplex is more diverse than it gets credit for,” said Matthews. “Last night, my boys attended the Dallas Film Festival after being at a wine event at the stockyards in Fort Worth. And last weekend, we were all at an event in Frisco … so all throughout the metroplex you’ve got growth and diversity that not all cities have.”
Matthews knows this first-hand. He travels a lot these days, hitting all 50 states and multiple cities in each one.
“I think I’ve done about 40 network television shows,” said Matthews, who became an expert on serial killers and mass shooters during his career with the Dallas Police Department (DPD).
“I had a great example in my dad. He was a cop.”
Matthews graduated high school at 17 and earned his bachelor’s at the University of North Texas. He then obtained his master’s in business administration and began post-graduate work in organizational policy and theory.
When he joined the DPD, it wasn’t yet clear how all the academic work would lend itself to policing. During his tenure there, he worked in both the Northwest and Southwest Divisions, working on special projects for the Chief of Police, serving as a Field Training Officer and Supervisor, and spending time walking the beat.
In each position, he brought the academic lens that he had honed during his studies. It’s that approach that led to a “street cop” catching the Eyeball Killer, a serial killer who was using the Dallas area as his hunting grounds.
That’s also what catapulted him into television news, where he’s called in as an expert.
“There’s tremendous interest in how these guys think and what set of circumstances leads a person to making killing their life’s work,” he said.
You can see that interest reflected in myriad TV shows and true crime podcasts. About three years ago, Matthews saw an opportunity to combine his wealth of knowledge with his family winery, and True Crime and Wine was born.
“I try to pick cases from across the country that are unique in some way,” said Matthews. He presents facts and evidence (nothing too gory), and “murderinos,” as he calls his audience, try to solve the crime.
In 2024, Matthews is taking his show on the road, visiting wineries in other Texan cities and out of state. He’s tapping into a societal trend that pulls in armchair investigators who like to solve crime with a cheeseboard and a nice cabernet.
