Murder in Pleasantville
Murder in Pleasantville? Yep, they do happen in Mt. Pleasant from time to time.
We have become jaded after nearly three years of researching and writing about the criminal element, so the ages of those involved in this incident didn’t really surprise us. Sadly, the reason for the murder wasn’t even shocking. The cause of the Mt. Pleasant murder of 17 year old Lucas “Luke” Cavanaugh by 16 year old Mathew “Matt” Fischer is said to be jealousy over a girl. We would say that is a bit ridiculous, but we just reported this weekend on the murder of a 16 year old by a 15 year old. The reason for that one was someone was not from the neighborhood where they were attending a party. It’s all relative, right?
No, none of that surprised us. What was pleasantly surprising in such a difficult situation was the demonstration of responsible parenting. According to police, after Fischer stabbed Cavanaugh he fled the scene and called his mother. After Fischer told her what happened she brought him back to the scene. She didn’t try to hide her son or lie for him or dispose of the weapon. There was none of that, “My son might rob you, but he won’t stab you.”
Doing the right thing can be a pretty painful experience for a parent. There are quite a few in the Lowcountry who could learn a valuable lesson from this mother.
Lucas Cavanaugh (Facebook)
Mathew Fischer (Facebook)
The apparent lack of any criminal history for either party was also a bit surprising.
We did note there is no mugshot available for Matthew Fischer, but the media didn’t hesitate to put the video from his bond hearing in their stories. Maybe there is a cut-off age for murder charges because they sure haven’t showed any video or photos of the 15 year old murder suspect from Saturday night. Of course, a white teenage murder suspect from Mt. Pleasant is big news. A black teenage murder suspect from North Charleston is really nothing new.
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I find I need to apologize for the grammar, run on sentences and double comments in my last email.
My only excuse is I was committing a violation of law as I wrote it.
I was driving, wrote it in bits & pieces and DIDN’T review it before I hit send!
But, I had to ask the question.
Ed
There is not a criminal record for these kids because they are amazing young men. I don’t know how this very sad situation happened. I have known the Fischer family for many years and Matt is a very caring and gentle person. His parents are very involved in their kids lives. I am sure they are devastated as am I. it bothers me that you say a white boys death is more news than a black boys. This is not about race. Everything is not about race. Good kids do make horrible choices.
We were just pointing out the issues presented by the slant of local news organizations time and time again.
If your going to be a racist, man up instead of being sly or feigning innocence/ignorance. Not all of us are dumb rednecks. If you’re going to use this to condescend about responsibility for speech and action, maybe you should practice it yourself here…and put your name behind your words…chief
Matt was a very violent kid. When he went to Cario I went to Laing and I did often hangout with Matt. Matt had a lot of anger built up inside of him. Matt also was arrested for knocking a kid unconscious in 6th grade. Matt did have anger boiling up. Matt knew that Luke (Rest in peace brother) was better looking and cooler than him and that he would eventually lose his girlfriend to him. When I talked to Matt I heard him say how much he hated Luke. I went to the vigil tonight and I will tell you what he will be missed. I hope Matt gets the death penalty. Matt is a pussy. May Luke rest in peace and I love you brother.
Fist fighting over a girl is one thing. Pulling out a knife and stabbing the other guy is another.
I don’t now any details except what is reported in the media, perhaps they both had knives?
I could see with all the accusations of racism thrown at CTL wanting to appear to be more fair by posting more stories about white people committing crimes. But Fischer is not a thug and this story does not belong on CTL.
We post tons of stories about criminals - black and white. If you re-read the post, we didn’t say Fischer was a thug. In fact, we pointed out neither party had a criminal history. Reading comprehension - it can be a good thing.
Proof reading your own story so you can get the spelling of his name correct!
Prayers need to go out to both families and to all families that have gone through tragedies such as this.
The Wando community needs lots of prayers, not judgement.
Judgement? Where? Since when is reporting facts a judgement?
This story is no different than the other stories that are posted on this site. This young gentleman committed murder. His thoughtless act is no different than the other stories that are constantly being posted on this site. All of these crime are unfortunate and my heart goes out to all families and friends of all victims and my heart goes out to the families and friend of those who have committed these crimes. Just because the color of the individual committing the crime is not of the norm, it does not take away the severity of the crime that has been committed by this young man. It should be an outcry every time a young adult takes the life of another. This site “Charleston Thug Life” should not be branded a site for just young black males who are involved in gang activities; however, this could be a site that host forums on various solutions that could help stop some of the violence. I looked up the definition of a “Thug” and you can see some of the meanings below. None of the definitions give the meaning as being “young black gang members.”
Merriam-Webster: A Violent Criminal
Oxford: A violent person, especially a criminal.
None of these definitions states that the criminal is black; however, it defines their actions as being violent. MURDER IS A VIOLENT ACT REGARDLESS IF THE PERSON COMMITTING THE ACT IS BLACK, WHITE, CHINESE, MEXICAN AND THE LIST CAN GO ON AND ON!!
THIS SITE HIGHLIGHTS THE VIOLENT ACTS OF JUVENILES. PEOPLE ARE UPSET BECAUSE THE EDITOR OR WRITERS PLACED THIS JUVENILE IN THE SAME CATEGORY OF ALL OF THE OTHER JUVENILES WHO HAVE COMMITTED VIOLENT CRIMES. WHAT MAKES WHAT MATHEW FISCHER DID SO DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS??????
This was utterly pointless and points out the stupidity of two young men. Luke was dumb for knowingly going into a fight. He had to prove that he was the tougher man but wound up getting killed. Matt tried to be a macho man by threatening Luke and he ended up stabbing him. Now, one goes to the morgue and the other to jail. One guy’s wasted and the others a waste. This story replays itself all the time and across all races. Both young men could have made something of their lives. Now, both lives are effectively over. Guy’s need to wise up. It is not worth killing someone over a woman. You may eliminate your rival but you will end up in jail for many years. Your girl will move on and will be banging lots of guys while you are sitting in a jail cell and getting butt raped by Jimbo. Stupidity is multicultural.
It’s amazing what an excessive amount of testosterone and a teenage girl can cause so much rage and discontent that it drives a teenage boy to a moment of insanity. “A white teenage murder suspect from Mt. Pleasant is big news. A black teenage murder suspect from North Charleston is really nothing new.” And that is the saddest part.
I think what the poster of this article is doing is trying to post an article about a white thug so that he/she doesn’t come off as a racist. Yet the article doesn’t ridicule this white teenager like other articles on this site does to blacks. Instead this article paints the picture of a white parent turning in her child, while insinuating that a black parent lies and defends their child. That is not the issue at hand. The issue is that this white “THUG” took the life of another. But because he is white, the poster focuses on a good act by the parent in order to deflect attention off of the real issue here. Classic racism.
You couldn’t be more wrong with your racist worldview. The suspect in this case is not a serial offender, therefore, while he may now be a criminal as a result of his action, he is not what we consider a “thug”. Your racism leads you to believe all thugs are black. The fact that you even posted this tells us you haven’t read the blog for very long or you chose to ignore the multitude of white thugs we regularly profile.
You are correct, I haven’t read this trash of a website because I knew of it’s racists and biased filth ahead of time. You and your website are trash for that matter. What you are is another cowardly racist cop, that hides behind your badge and keyboard. Modern day KKK. From under the sheets to behind badges and keyboards. Whatever makes you sleep at night. God bless.
Don’t go away mad, bro, just go away
You ‘knew of it’s racists (sic) and biased filth ahead of time’ without even reading it? Interesting. I hope you do a better job of educating yourself before forming an opinion in other areas of your life. The teens in this incident are not considered thugs by most people because they don’t have rap sheets a mile long, are not in gangs, aren’t drug dealers, etc. It has nothing to do with the color of their skin, as there are thugs of every race. This site simply reports the news without sugar-coating the facts. Expand your mind, son. Sometimes the truth hurts. Face it, and deal with it.
LOL at you, Kenny. You’ve proven all one needs to know about you in this immature reply.
Just because this is his first charged offense doesn’t make him any less of a criminal. They have to start at some point, right? He’s only 16, maybe he didn’t get the chance to become a habitual offender. Lets face it, this wasn’t a spur of the moment incident. It was premeditated and intentional! He didn’t threaten to fight or simply harm the victim. He threatened to kill him! But yeah, lets portray him to be this angelic 16 year old that comes from this awesome family,& wouldn’t harm a fly! Do they all carry concealed weapons, initiate fights, then stab/kill their unarmed opponents? He’s a COWARD, but a THUG nonetheless!
Kenny must be a Pelosi fan. “I don’t know what’s in it, but vote for it anyway”. He has decided that this site is racist, but he’s never looked at it before. I really hope he’s not old enough to vote.
Sorry but I’ve just gotta ask. Who bought a pocket blade big enough to kill someone for a 16 kid with raging hormones? My teenager wanted one and I said NO because teen boys get into fist fights, historically. Why should a kid be armed with a commando blade or a Daniel Boone bear knife?
Katy,
I carry around a 3-inch pocket knife on a daily basis. I do this because of those wonderful little signs that all protect us by saying “Gun Free Zone”. I know those signs are great, and they serve the community well and all.
Without diverging too far off the path, I wanted you to know that it doesn’t take a “commando” blade to kill someone. I could kill a man just as easily with my 3-inch folder as the 7-inch ka-bar in my truck. Depending on where he struck him, and how he struck him, all it would take is one quick puncture; and yes, a 3-inch knife could do so.
p.s. A 16-year old CAN buy a pocket knife. NO, we do not need to raise the age limit. NOR do we need to outlaw knives as well. We need to practice responsible parenting. We need to actually play the part of being a parent, and being involved in our children’s lives.
If we’re going to outlaw the knives, we might as well outlaw the pencils in their backpacks too. That’s a nice sharp 6+inch shank….
I can’t believe someone is actually blaming the knife?
If your kid wanted a knife, he would need to go to your kitchen, or anyone’s kitchen.
Retrieving a knife from the kitchen and then using it during a fight requires a much greater time span of intention and forethought. Probably wouldn’t have happened in thus case. However, carrying a deadly blade around in a front pocket allows instant access during an anger fueled fight. That is what I am trying to learn about. Why do youth in a safe neighborhood feel the need to pack such a knife.
He already had the knife in his pocket. For all we know it was a small kitchen knife. Access to knives is universal.
I don’t think it has anything in particular to do with youths in SC. When was the last time you heard of a situation like this in SC? Do situations like this not happen in other states?
The variable is the person, not the inanimate object they choose to use as a weapon.
I saw some of the reports and witness the comments between the person who knew Fischer(16) and the reporter and my conclusion is we all have a RIGHT to voice what we think, but we must be ready to present a answer to your readers and the people who post likewise .In this case all youth need to be educated about being responsible for their actions and accountable for their choice. Both parties, the writers and the readers are needed to build a bridge of communication to give more than a comment or a report but solutions after the fact. We are loosing our children over personal preference. Let’s get rid of our PRIDE and focus on developing a plan to help our children. thanks for listening,BLF
I’ll venture a guess and say that Matt here will be doing “gay-for-the-stay” until he inevitably hangs himself in prison. After reading a comment further up by one of his peers, it sounds like he was a pretty unstable kid to begin with, so he is right where he belongs anyways.
The truth has finally come out… it was not a quick little jab with a pocket knife. Luke was disemboweled - numerous stab wounds. The full 911 tape released has the girlfriends mother stating that Luke was lying in the road with his intestines outside of his body. Any sympathy I had for Matthew (regardless of his lack of a record, temper, etc.) has disappeared. If he “simply” stabbed quickly then realized what he had done and ran away I would blame it on stupidity. BUT, what he actually did is that of a crazed psycho that DOES need full punishment for this. Either way - lives have been destroyed (both sets of parents, the girlfriend and her mom). Sad times in my neighborhood.
Whether it was one stab or, as you said, much worse…the whole sympathy for the murderer thing just doesn’t work for me. He is responsible for his reprehensible actions.
There is more to this story that is not being told. Anyone find it quite a coincident the boyfriend happened to just notice the knife in his girlfriend’s room on this night, and all of a sudden found himself in a situation to use it? It seems more likely the threatening texts began before he got the knife from the girlfriend. Motive for lying? To prevent the girlfriend from being charged too.