Matthew Geary

Matthew Patrick Geary (October 30, 1970–January 29, 2012)[1] was an American criminal defense attorney and prosecutor who served as the Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney for Richmond, Virginia from 2006 to 2009.[2] He ran for Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2011, finishing last behind Bill Janis and Shannon Taylor. In January 2012, Geary committed suicide by gunshot.[3][4]

Matthew Geary
Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney for Richmond
In office
2006–2009
Personal details
BornOctober 30, 1970
DiedJanuary 29, 2012
Short Pump, Virginia
Spouse(s)Tabitha Geary
Children5
EducationBenedictine High School
Alma materMary Washington College
University of Richmond School of Law

Biography

Early life and career

Geary was born on October 30, 1970. He graduated from Benedictine High School in 1988, Mary Washington College in 1992, and University of Richmond School of Law in 1995.[5] In 2006, he helped convict Ricky Gray and Ray Dandridge, the perpetrators of the 2006 Richmond spree murders and was appointed to Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Richmond from 2006 to 2009.[6] Geary served on many boards such as President of the Richmond Criminal Bar Association, the Board of Governors of the Virginia State Bar, Criminal Section, and Chair of the Criminal Law Section of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, as well as in the Justice Committee for the Virginia House of Delegates for three years.[7]

2011 Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney campaign

In 2009, Geary announced that he would be running for Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney in 2015, going against incumbent Attorney Wade A. Kizer who had been in office since 2000.[8] won the endorsement against Kizer. Geary was then subjected to criticism by Republicans, including former supporter Eric Cantor,[9] as it was revealed that he had engaged in an affair with a married woman. Geary admitted to the affair and said that it had ended, but the party had switched to endorsing Bill Janis, another Republican who was running as an independent in the race.[10]

In August, campaign consultant Amanda Chase announced that she would be leaving the campaign to "refocus on prior commitments," with Geary hiring new staff to work on the campaign.[11][12] The he Henrico County Executive Committee called Geary "an angry and volatile candidate" in a document about a meeting with Geary, although Geary said was false and did not know of the existence of the document.[13]

Death

On January 29, 2012, 1 p.m., police found Geary at a house in Short Pump with a gunshot wound to the head.[14] He was pronounced dead at the scene. Many people, including friends and former election rivals Taylor and Janis, offered their condolences after news of his death.[15][16][17] His death was ruled a suicide on February 1, with his funeral happening the day after.[18] Some speculated that Geary losing support of Republicans in the Commonweath's Attorney election drove him to suicide, but Jim Hoeft of BearingDrift, a conservative website, said that his treatment by Republicans did not cause it.[19]

Electoral history
2011 Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Election[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shannon Taylor 25,975 45.85%
Independent Bill Janis 21,540 38.02%
Republican Matthew Geary 9,045 15.97%

References
  1. "Matthew Geary". Dignity Memorial.
  2. "Matthew P. Geary". Virginia Lawyers Weekly. February 6, 2012.
  3. "Matthew Geary, former Henrico GOP candidate, found dead". Richmond Times-Dispatch. January 29, 2012.
  4. Hall, Kate; Weisleder, Shannon. "Finding Me: A Sister's Notes in the Loss of Her Brother". Richmond Mom.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. "Matthew GEARY". Legacy.
  6. McKelway, Bill (January 30, 2012). "Geary remembered as tenacious prosecutor, competitor". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012.
  7. "Matt Geary". Tribues.
  8. "Geary to challenge Kizer for Henrico prosecutor". Virginia Lawyers Weekly. September 16, 2009.
  9. "Virginia's top Republicans removed from party". The Washington Times. October 14, 2011.
  10. McKellway, Bill (August 18, 2011). "Janis enters Henrico prosecutor's race against Geary, drops House bid". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  11. "Consultant leaves Matt Geary campaign". WWBT. August 15, 2011.
  12. "UPDATE: Geary says he has hired new campaign staff". Richmond Times-Dispatch. August 15, 2011.
  13. "Henrico GOP reveals details of heated meeting that ousted Geary". WWBT. August 16, 2011.
  14. Bass, Scott. "Matt Geary Found Dead". Style Weekly.
  15. Bass, Scott (February 7, 2012). "Remembrance: Matthew Geary". Style Weekly.
  16. "Former Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney candidate dies". WWBT. January 29, 2012.
  17. "Friends reflect on the life of Matt Geary". WWBT. January 30, 2012.
  18. Bryan, Alix; Dutton, Nick (February 1, 2012). "Matt Geary's death ruled suicide". WTVR-TV.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. Hoeft, Jim (January 31, 2012). "Republicans did not cause Geary to commit suicide". BearingDrift.
  20. "Henrico County Commonwealths Attorney". The Virginia Public Access Project.
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