Paul Wayne Matthews, a 43-year-old White man, was found dead on October 15, 1995, at a drifter camp outside Whitefish, Montana, where rail riders gathered near the tracks. His death became part of a homicide investigation that later connected to a series of killings of transient travelers around rail yards and encampments.

Detectives eventually named Robert Joseph Silveria Jr. as the suspect. Silveria was arrested on March 2, 1996, and confessed to killing Matthews as one of several victims. Investigators also recovered Matthews’ identification and food-stamp documents among items found when Silveria was taken into custody, linking the suspect to the victim beyond the confession.

Matthews was buried in a pauper’s grave at Demersville Cemetery near Kalispell; later his son, James Owen, and locals arranged for a proper headstone that records the date October 15, 1995. Does anyone have memories of the Whitefish rail camps or knew Paul Matthews and can share information that might add to the record?