Inset (left): Nobert Matara (New Castle County Police). Inset (right): Tracy Nyariki (GoFundMe). Background: The motel in Aberdeen, Md., where Tracy Nyariki's remains were found (Google Maps).
A Delaware man who admitted to stabbing and dismembering his ex-girlfriend will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Nobert Matara, 33, received a life sentence after pleading guilty to first-degree murder earlier this year. With his plea on April 26, Matara admitted that he fatally stabbed his ex-girlfriend, 31-year-old Tracy Nyariki, at her apartment in Newark, Delaware, on Dec. 17, 2024. According to the Delaware Department of Justice, Matara waited at the apartment until Nyariki returned. He then stabbed her 58 times and dismembered her body.
According to the New Castle County Police, officers were asked to conduct a welfare check at Nyariki's apartment on Dec. 20, 2024. The home health aide had not shown up for work for several days, and the report was made by her employer.
When police arrived at Nyariki's apartment, officers said they found "several suspicious circumstances that raised concerns about her safety and well-being." The last time Nyariki was seen alive was on the morning of Dec. 17, 2024.
After Matara was identified as a person of interest, detectives tracked his car to the motel in Aberdeen, Maryland. When they opened the car, detectives found the suitcase containing Nyariki's "dismembered human remains." Matara was arrested at the scene and brought back to Delaware.
Matara was charged with first-degree murder. After changing his plea to guilty earlier this year, he was handed a mandatory life sentence on June 26.
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in a press release, "The diligent work of the New Castle County Police Department and our Department of Justice trial team has brought this heinous criminal to justice, and I am grateful for their dedicated efforts. My thoughts are with the victim's family at this difficult time, and I hope this outcome provides them with some degree of peace and closure."
A GoFundMe started by Nyariki's loved ones is still active and accepting donations.