A college professor in Wisconsin was arrested after he allegedly murdered his pregnant girlfriend and her dog and tried getting rid of the evidence by setting her house on fire.
Matthew R. Sierra has been arrested on charges of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child, arson and mistreatment of animals causing death after he was accused of killing Alexis Pickett, according to jail records viewed by Us Weekly.
The La Crosse Fire Department responded to the home on November 13 around 3:30 a.m. following reports of a fire, according to the criminal complaint. Once the firefighters entered the home, they found Pickett dead at the age of 27.
An autopsy was conducted on Pickett’s body, and it was revealed that she lacked soot in her lungs and had low traces of carbon monoxide in her system. The discoveries meant that she was dead before the fire started. However, her cause of death has not yet been revealed.
Authorities also determined that Pickett’s dog was killed before the home was set on fire.
Surveillance video captured Sierra, 38, arriving at Pickett’s home around 12:45 a.m. on the day of her death. He left about two hours later, while the home’s smoke alarms started to go off as he got into his car.
In addition to being pregnant with Sierra’s child, Pickett already shared a child with the professor. Cops said that they believe he wanted her to have an abortion and threatened to seek custody of their first child if she refused, per the complaint.
Following his arrest, one of Pickett’s friends spoke to detectives to share insight into her relationship dynamic with Sierra. “All I know is that they have been on and off and they have been constantly fighting because he found out she was pregnant with his kid and he didn’t want anything to do with it,” the friend said.
Sierra claimed that he was at a gas station at the time of the fire. However, his cellphone data connected him to the crime by showing that he was at Pickett’s home when the residence burst into flames.
One month after the fire, police confirmed Sierra was arrested on Tuesday, December 16, and was taken to the La Crosse County Jail. Sierra currently remains behind bars and is being held on a $1 million bond. He is next scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, December 23.
It is not currently clear if he has entered a plea or obtained legal representation.
“This has been a very diligent, comprehensive, and strategic investigation in collaboration with the La Crosse Fire Department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation and the Wisconsin State Fire Marshal’s Office,” City of La Crosse Police Chief Shawn Kudron said in a statement. “Our thoughts continue to be with the Pickett family.”
Sierra currently works as a mechanical design professor at Western Technical College in La Crosse, Wisconsin, according to WXOW. He has since been placed on administrative leave in light of his arrest.
