On the evening of Jan. 15, Matter and Urquhart were in Urquhart’s truck in Greene Township looking to poach deer, something they did often together as friends, Matter said.

Urquhart had a crossbow and Matter had a .44-caliber magnum, which belonged to his late father. They reached a field on Bandy Road and Urquhart saw a deer and shot it with the crossbow. The men exited the truck and followed the deer’s trail of blood about 400 to 500 yards into the woods, Matter said.

It was dark and hard to see but Matter said he saw some movement about 10 feet away and fired a gunshot in that direction.

“The deer ran in and out of the thicket and I thought it came back out,” Matter said, crying. “It was Howard.”

Matter said he went to Urquhart, whom he caught in his arms before he fell to the ground. Matter couldn’t tell where Urquhart was shot and his body went limp and he stopped breathing, leading Matter to believe that was the moment he died.

Matter said he was an experienced hunter with a license and knew they were breaking the law by poaching deer at night. The men separated several times in the woods and had flashlights but didn’t use them the entire time, he said.

Matter agreed with St. John that his actions in not properly identifying his target were reckless and careless. After leaving Urquhart’s body in the woods, Matter said he panicked and drove away in the truck.

He had it for about a week before he was caught by authorities Jan. 20 on the military base of Camp Lejeune, N.C. Matter also used Urquhart’s checkbook to cash a $2,800 check he wrote to himself and Urquhart’s credit card to buy gas.

Matter was extradited to Mercer County and told his attorneys on Feb. 20 where authorities could find Urquhart’s body, Matter said.

Urquhart was reported missing Jan. 17 by his daughter and was last seen Jan. 15 by his co-workers at Cattron Group Inc., Sharpsville. A witness saw Matter in Urquhart’s truck that night, police said.

On Feb. 27, Matter told a confidential witness Urquhart’s death was an accident. Autopsy results showed Urquhart was shot from less than three to five feet away and he died from the gunshot wound.

Matter was charged with a firearms violation because he’s ineligible to possess a firearm, stemming from a 1999 conviction of possessing cocaine in Mercer County, St. John said.

Matter was represented by Dana Flick and Veronica Smith, attorneys with the Mercer County Public Defender’s office.