Tragic spiral into addiction and crime of Matthew Pearce — the little boy who lost his family in one night of madness

The son orphaned as an eight-year-old when SA’s most wanted man massacred the rest of his family has now gravitated to a bikie gang and is serving a significant prison sentence for dealing ice.

Matthew Pearce in 2002 — 11 years after his mother and three siblings were murdered and his father vanished.

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The son orphaned as an eight-year-old when South Australia’s most wanted man massacred the rest of his family has now gravitated to a bikie gang and is serving a significant prison sentence for dealing ice.

Matthew Stuart Pearce — whose father Stuart Pearce is believed to have murdered his wife and three of his children before setting their Parafield Gardens home ablaze in 1991 — was last week jailed for a minimum of four years.

For the first time, this case revealed that Matthew Pearce was a member of the Comanchero bikie gang — and had lived for a period in his 20s with state MP Frances Bedford after she took the troubled young man into her home.

Stuart Pearce is suspected of murdering his family in 1991.

Matthew Pearce with a detective soon after the tragedy was discovered.

District Court Judge Jane Schammer said police evidence that Pearce, 36, had joined the Comanchero — which was disputed by the defence — indicated he identified with “those who consider themselves in a small percentage of society who reject its social mores and values”.

“Because of your tragic personal circumstances and irrespective of any such membership, I acknowledge that you have lived most of your adult life as an outsider, struggling to deal with the loss of your family and struggling to survive,” she said.

“In your handwritten letter of apology, you expressed regret for the offending and explained the terrible impact on you of what happened to your family.

“Without any real family support or proper counselling, you have gravitated towards negative peers and have made many poor lifestyle choices.”

Matthew Pearce only survived a massacre that shocked the nation because he was at a sleepover.

On January 6, 1991, the body of Meredith Pearce, 31, was found tied to a chair with a towel pushed into her mouth. Three of her children — Adam, 11, Travis, 9, and Kerry, 2 — were suffocated with plastic bags placed over their heads. They all died before the house was set alight with petrol.

Stuart Pearce is the prime suspect in the murders and despite several reported sightings in the 1990s police are unsure if he is still alive.

Four years ago they released new computer-generated images of what Pearce could look like aged in his mid-50s.

Matthew Pearce has a long history of run-ins with the law and has now been declared a serious repeat offender.

Judge Schammer said one of his few periods of stability in his life came when Ms Bedford, the independent member for Florey, reached out and offered him accommodation in her home.

Pearce, a long-term methylamphetamine addict, was arrested in February 2015 when police found crystals containing 32.2g of ice and 11 rounds of ammunition at his Seaview Downs home. An audio recorder in his car had captured Pearce and a female friend discussing drug dealing.

“You have at times believed that it is easier for you to remain in jail where you are fed, have shelter and access to a gym with no need to think about how you are to find a house or to support yourself,” the judge said.

She jailed Pearce for five years and two months with a non-parole period of four years, backdated to May.