Man Who Murdered Girlfriend and Hid Body is Accused of Rape While on Parole

William Matheson, convicted of murdering his teenage girlfriend and concealing her body for months, has been accused of raping a woman in Sydney while on parole and wearing an electronic tracking anklet. A bail hearing on Tuesday revealed that Matheson, 42, allegedly sexually assaulted the 38-year-old woman over three days in a hotel, despite repeated requests to stop. The court heard Matheson met the woman in May 2025 through a mutual acquaintance. He was arrested two months later and charged with sexual assault without consent and sexually touching another person without consent. His bail was denied, and his parole was revoked 12 days later.

Matheson, who appeared in NSW District Court via video link from jail, was notably older and greyer than the man who committed the 2003 murder of 18-year-old Lindsay Van Blanken. In that crime, Matheson strangled Ms. Van Blanken with cable ties after she ended their relationship. He then placed her body in a cricket bag and hid it in a basement storeroom of his parents' apartment building in Queens Park. Her decomposing remains were discovered in January 2004, two months after she went missing.

In 2006, Matheson was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years and a maximum of 27 years for the murder, a term later reduced to 25 years. After serving 19 years, he was released on parole in May 2023. This release occurred despite strong opposition from Ms. Van Blanken's mother, Cynthia Van Blanken, who had warned that he remained a danger to the public.

The NSW State Parole Authority had deemed Matheson a "low risk" of reoffending, allowing for his release with six years remaining on his sentence. He had been on parole for just over two years when the new allegations arose.

Matheson was arrested at a home in Randwick, Sydney, and has remained in custody. His bail application this week was denied, and he would have stayed in jail due to his revoked parole regardless. Judge Mark Williams described the new charges as "very serious." Matheson's defense argued that the prosecution's claim of a "three-day" offending period was misleading and that there was no evidence of an "ongoing pattern of violent behaviour."

During his previous prison sentence, Matheson had reportedly expressed a desire for a more peaceful approach to life and regret over being unable to play the cello. In 2016, Ms. Van Blanken's backpack was discovered on a Randwick building site, with human remains of at least two women found nearby. Speculation arose at the time that these bones might have belonged to victims of Matheson, who was known to possess a collection of human bones and had a reputation for being a loner with a controlling nature.

Judge Williams denied bail, citing concerns about "entrenched attitudes towards women which have escalated to violence" and a "danger to the community." He concluded that Matheson posed an unacceptable risk and faced a lengthy custodial sentence if convicted of the new charges. Matheson's trial for the sexual assault charges is scheduled for March 2027. His maximum sentence for the original murder conviction expires in 2029.