James Lucas Smith IV

James Lucas Smith IV, known to some as Jamie, was a 19-year-old man finding his way in the world. A family man who was close to his parents and sister, he had recently decided to leave East Carolina University, feeling unhappy with his classes. His plan was to regroup, attend community college, and work for a while. A friend from his days at a comic store, 37-year-old John Mattmiller, helped him get a job at Woodson Music & Friendly Pawn in Havelock, North Carolina. The two shared a passion for history and were both involved in Civil War reenactments. By the fall of 1997, James had been working at the pawn shop for about five months.

On the evening of Tuesday, November 18, 1997, James and John were preparing to close the shop around 8:00 p.m. In a crime that stunned the small military town, one or more assailants entered the store, overpowered both men, and bound them. The attackers then brutally beat both James and John to death with golf clubs. The motive appeared to be robbery; the shop was looted of handguns and an estimated $30,000 worth of jewelry. The perpetrators also broke into the locked box containing the surveillance equipment and stole the videotape, erasing any recorded evidence of the attack.

The horrific discovery was made in the early hours of the next day. Around 1:30 a.m. on November 19, a Havelock Police officer on a routine patrol noticed that the back door of the pawn shop was open. Venturing inside to investigate, the officer found the bodies of James Smith and John Mattmiller. The scene was one of extreme violence that shocked even veteran investigators. A double homicide was an exceptionally rare event in Havelock, a community largely made up of military personnel from the nearby Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station.

The investigation was launched immediately by the Havelock Police Department, with assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI's behavioral sciences unit. Hundreds of leads were pursued, but the case grew cold. A significant break came two years later, in December 1999, when an informant led police to a 9mm Taurus handgun. Ballistics testing confirmed it was one of the weapons stolen during the pawn shop robbery and murders. The gun was traced to a former employee of the shop, Timothy Williams, who told investigators he had purchased it and other stolen items about two weeks after the crime from a man he met at a party named Johnny "Radd" Rodriguez. Police have sought to locate Rodriguez for questioning ever since.

For decades, the families of James Smith and John Mattmiller have lived without answers. James’s father, grandmother, and aunt all passed away without ever knowing who was responsible for his death. His mother, Dorothy Houde, has remained a fierce advocate for justice. In a November 2026 letter, she addressed her son's killer directly: “You are still walking the streets!!!! You may think you have gotten away with it. But James’ family and I will never stop aggressively advocating for justice. How can you live with yourself and look in the mirror every day?”

As of November 2026, the double homicide remains an active and open investigation. Hope for a breakthrough now rests on modern technology. The Havelock Police Department, with the district attorney's approval, is resubmitting DNA evidence from the crime scene for advanced testing. Investigators and the family are hopeful that investigative genetic genealogy—the same technique used to solve other high-profile cold cases—may finally identify a suspect from previously unusable DNA samples. A reward of $30,000 is offered for information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information about the murders of James Smith and John Mattmiller is urged to come forward. Tips can be directed to the Havelock Police Department at 252-447-3212, the North Carolina SBI at 910-346-2121, or anonymously to Craven County Crime Stoppers at 252-633-5141 or Carteret County Crime Stoppers at 252-726-4636.