Thomas Mather – Seven of Diamonds, Iowa

Nothing causes the true crime community to stir more than a case with the open-ended question of did he? Or didn’t he? Well, except that is, when the question is did SHE?

For longer than 32-year-old Thomas Mather was alive, a rural town in Iowa has been haunted by their only unsolved homicide. The former Sheriff told us it’s the only who dun it they have left.

Does no foreign DNA evidence and strange behavior mean that Dawn Mather had to have been involved in killing her husband? Or does an unidentified fingerprint and tire tracks prove she didn’t?

Thomas Mather - Seven of Diamonds, Iowa - Playing Card

Courtesy of Iowa Department of Public Safety – Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) In partnership with the Iowa Department of Corrections

Episode Info

If you know anything about the murder of Thomas Mather, investigators want to hear from you. Please contact the Iowa Attorney General’s Cold Case Unit at 800-242-5100, or to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 563-886-6618.

A photo of Tom and Dawn Mather.

A photo of Tom and Dawn Mather. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.
A photo of the Mather Farmhouse.

A photo of the Mather Farmhouse. Picture taken by Audiochuck staff.
Crime Scene Photos Taken Inside Mather House. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.

Crime Scene Photos Taken Inside Mather House. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office. Photo taken by Audiochuck staff.
Pictures of the rope used to bind Thomas Mather. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.

Pictures of the rope used to bind Thomas Mather. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office. Photo taken by Audiochuck staff.
Pictures of the rope used to bind Thomas Mather. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.

Pictures of the rope used to bind Thomas Mather. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office. Photo taken by Audiochuck staff.
Photos of tire tracks taken in a corn field north of Mather Farmhouse.

Photos of tire tracks taken in a corn field north of Mather Farmhouse. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.
Photos of tire tracks taken in a corn field north of Mather Farmhouse.

Photos of tire tracks taken in a corn field north of Mather Farmhouse. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.
Photos of tire tracks taken in a corn field north of Mather Farmhouse.

Photos of tire tracks taken in a corn field north of Mather Farmhouse. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.
Pictures of weapons seized during investigation.

Pictures of weapons seized during investigation. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office
Picture of Retired Deputy Dale Edens Revisiting the Mather Farmhouse.

Picture of Retired Deputy Dale Edens Revisiting the Mather Farmhouse. Photo taken by Audiochuck staff.
Composite Sketch.

Composite Sketch. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.
Photo of Retired Sheriff Keith Whitlatch.

Photo of Retired Sheriff Keith Whitlatch. Courtesy of Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.
Retired Sheriff Keith Whitlatch and Retired Deputy Dale Edens.

Retired Sheriff Keith Whitlatch and Retired Deputy Dale Edens. Photo taken by Audiochuck staff

Episode Source Material

Original reporting by Laura Frater