[dailyprogress.com] A soft room for hard conversations: New interview room designed to empower survivors

A new ‘soft interview room’ at the Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office is designed to make a more comfortable place for victims to recall and discuss the traumatic events they’ve been through as prosecutors and police prepare criminal court cases.

[WDBJ7.com] Soft interview room opened at Virginia Military Institute Police Department

There’s a new room in the Virginia Military Institute Police Department. It’s the first of its kind on a college campus in Virginia and ready to be used to help survivors of sexual assault. It’s called a soft interview room and it’s all thanks to a non-profit organization. “Project Beloved is a non-profit with a mission statement to educate, advocate and collaborate to change the conversation about sexual assault and empower survivors to find their voices. Project Beloved was born out of a parent’s worst nightmare. It’s the easiest way I can say it. My daughter was raped and murdered April 10th, 2017 and in the aftermath of that and understanding the circumstances that basically allowed her to be killed, we decided we had to do something,” said Tracy Matheson, Project Beloved founder.

[wsls.com] VMI now offers ‘soft interview room’ for sexual assault survivors

Tracy Matheson, founder of Project Beloved, is creating a space for sexual assault victims to feel safe when telling their stories. This new space on campus is called the “soft interview room,” and will be open to any law enforcement agency in the area who needs it. The soft interview room at VMI is the third in Virginia and the very first to be on a Virginia college campus.

[fortworthreport.org] After death of her daughter, mother to be awarded for nonprofit helping sexual assault survivors

After recovering her daughter’s body, Tracy Matheson, 56, learned her child had a tattoo: the word “Beloved.” Matheson’s daughter, Molly Jane, 22, was killed after she was sexually assaulted in April 2017. Then, Matheson started seeing the word “Beloved” everywhere, and it inspired her nonprofit.

[wfaa.com] 'I can't sit here and be quiet' | Texas woman found her daughter raped, strangled 5 years ago. Now, she advocates for sexual assault survivors.

“When I kind of pieced all of that together, I was like ‘Wait, she could be alive had someone done their job, had someone believed,’” the mother said.

[Texas Association Against Sexual Assault] A witness to system failures & how to do better by survivors, AMA panel conversation

We'll be talking to Project Beloved founder Tracy Matheson, whose daughter Molly Jane was raped and murdered in 2017 at the age of 22. Tracy will be joined by Katie Coats and Melissa Winton, survivors who were assaulted years earlier by the same perpetrator who killed Molly Jane. These courageous women will be joined by Deputy Division Chief Allenna Bangs from the Tarrant County District Attorney's office and TAASA CEO Rose Luna.

Tracy MathesonJune 29, 2022Project Beloved, sexual assault, Tracy Matheson, TAASA, Molly Matheson

[Houston Police Department] Project Beloved Soft Interview Room

HPD is proud to partner with Tracy Matheson, founder of Project Beloved, a non-profit organization who installs soft interview rooms for the investigations of sexual assault and domestic violence. Project Beloved's install of soft interview room #42 at the Houston Police Department creates a trauma-informed space for survivors to share their experiences of abuse and assault.

[focusdailynews.com] ‘These Murders Were Preventable’, Survivors Call Serial Killer ‘A True Monster”

Molly Jane Matheson and Megan Getrum did not die in vain. Their lives and deaths will have an impact on the way law enforcement approaches victims of sexual assault, according to several individuals who gave victim impact statements in the 213th District Court Tuesday morning.

Tracy MathesonJune 29, 2022sexual assault, Tracy Matheson, Project Beloved, Molly Matheson

[cbsdfw.com] 5 years after her daughter's murder, Fort Worth mother shares her new life's mission

While the date of April 10 may seem insignificant, five years ago today the world changed for a Fort Worth family. "The first April 10 and the second April 10 and so on... they were hurdles. Honestly, every 10th of every month for several years were hard," Tracy Matheson said.

Tracy MathesonJune 29, 2022sexual assault, Tracy Matheson, Project Beloved, Molly Matheson

[fox4news.com] North Texas serial rapist admits to murdering two women

A North Texas serial rapist and murderer will spend the rest of his life behind bars after admitting he's guilty of two murders. Reginald Kimbro was set to go to trial next week for the 2017 rape and murder of 22-year-old Molly Matheson.

Tracy MathesonJune 29, 2022Project Beloved, Tracy Matheson, sexual assault, Molly Matheson

[dallasnews.com] Serial rapist who killed Plano, Fort Worth women is sentenced to life in prison

A Plano man accused of killing two Dallas-area women after committing a string of rapes across the state was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

[dallasnews.com] ‘You are the heroes in this story’: Survivors, relatives see justice after serial rapist’s sentence

Dallas-area women reported Reginald Kimbro to authorities before he killed in 2017. They said they waited years to get justice and lamented that he wasn’t stopped sooner.

Tracy MathesonJune 29, 2022Project Beloved, Tracy Matheson, sexual assault, Molly Matheson, Allocution

[wfaa.com] Families of victims give impact statements

Reginald Kimbro pled guilty on Friday, March 18, to the April 2017 rapes and murders of Molly Jane Matheson, a 22-year-old Fort Worth woman, and Megan Getrum, a 36-year-old Plano woman. He has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for both cases. Getrum's murder case was handled in Dallas County.

[fortworthreport.org] Victims families address serial killer

Molly Jane Matheson and Megan Getrum did not die in vain.

Their lives and deaths will have an impact on the way law enforcement approaches victims of sexual assault, according to several individuals who gave victim impact statements in the 213th District Court Tuesday morning.

[star-telegram.com] Molly Jane Matheson's father gives victim impact statement at Reginald Kimbro trial

Molly’s dad, David Matheson, said as he took the stand in the courtroom that he had nothing to say to the man who murdered his daughter. Instead, he thanked prosecutors and the Fort Worth Police Department for helping bring justice for Molly.

[star-telegram.com] Molly Jane Matheson's mother gives victim impact statement

Molly Jane Matheson’s mother said her daughter’s killer “had accomplices along the way who are responsible for growing you from a serial sexual predator into a serial, murderous rapist.”

[nbcdfw.com] Family Members Address Reginald Kimbro After Conviction

In a crowded Tarrant County courtroom, families, some of whom have waited nearly a decade, received their chance to address Reginald Kimbro directly.

Kimbro pled guilty Friday in violent sexual attacks on 6 women over 5 years in 4 counties. Two of those victims, 36-year-old Megan Getrum of Plano and 22-year-old Molly Matheson of Fort worth were killed just days apart in April 2017.

Tracy MathesonJune 29, 2022sexual assault, Project Beloved, Molly Matheson, Tracy Matheson

[wfaa.com]This Fort Worth non-profit designs cozy, soft interview rooms in law enforcement offices for sexual assault victims

FORT WORTH, Texas — What do you picture when you think about an interview room at a police department?

“The traditional model of interviewing a victim is in cold, stark and sterile environment, where the law enforcement sits across the table from the victim and asks what, what, when, where," Tracy Matheson said.

Matheson's 22-year-old daughter, Molly Jane Matheson, was raped and killed in 2017. Tracy Matheson said she started Project Beloved on the one-year anniversary losing her daughter.

[dallasnews.com]Mother of murder victim brings soft interview room to Mesquite police department

When Tracy Matheson set up the soft interview room at the Mesquite Police Department on Aug. 27, she wished she didn’t have to. The Fort Worth resident wishes the other 30 rooms she has created around Texas and the nation weren’t needed to help sexual assault survivors as they recall one of the most traumatic moments of their lives for investigators.

[cityofmesquite.com]Mesquite Police Department debuts new interview room for assault victims

On Aug. 27, the Mesquite Police Department debuted its new Soft Interview Room for victims of sexual assault and other violent crimes. The room featuring living-room style chairs, decorative lighting, a rug and artwork was sponsored by Project Beloved - The Molly Jane Mission.

In the News