Bloxom man pleads guilty to Second Degree Murder

Pictured: Edwin Colon-Matias

By Linda Cicoira

A Bloxom man pleaded guilty Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court to second-degree murder in the 2020 stabbing death of 29-year-old Deandre “Dre” Arness Abbott, a Parksley father of seven.

The defendant, 37-year-old Edwin Colon-Matias, admitted to the crime in a plea agreement with prosecutor Spencer Morgan that capped his active time in prison at ten years.

A presentence report was ordered. Sentencing was set for Jan. 30. The crime carries a maximum of 40 years in prison and a fine of $100,000.

Colon-Matias, who has lived on the Eastern Shore for about 10 years, needed a Spanish interpreter at an earlier bond hearing. He told the judge Thursday that he was now better able to understand English and did not need one. He does not read or write in English.

Morgan said Colon-Matias, had previously been convicted of burglary and was required to give his DNA, which came up as a match on a cigarette or cigar butt, two knives, and a straw found at the murder scene. He also could not be eliminated from material found under one of the victim’s fingernails.

A witness told authorities that there was a fight, and she had put her arms around Abbott to pull him away. Her hand was slashed in the process. She identified the assailant as a Latino man.

Abbott was stabbed several times with a final blow striking his heart. He attempted to drive away but didn’t get far before passing away. His body was found in a car on Bear Town Road, in Mappsville, on Sept. 12, 2020. Colon-Matias was arrested in February 2024.

Both men were poultry workers but did not work at the same plant.