The Ryan Godbey case is the June 2025 murder of a 26-year-old Canton, Ohio drag performer by his former live-in partner, Daniel Zachary Mattay, which ended without a trial when Mattay died by suicide in the Stark County Jail on December 3, 2025, one week before his scheduled plea hearing.1News 5 Cleveland. Man Accused of Killing Ryan Godbey Dies by Suicide One Week Before Plea Hearing
What Happened to Ryan Godbey
Godbey was last seen around 11 p.m. on June 19, 2025, at Darlin’s CREW, an LGBTQ+ nightclub on Cherry Avenue NE in downtown Canton. Security footage showed him leaving with an unidentified man in a grey hooded shirt. His final known message went out at 12:27 a.m. on June 20, and in it he said a person named “Danny” was “mad.”2The Buckeye Flame. Ohio Drag Performer Missing After Police Find Signs of Struggle
His family reported him missing on June 22 after he failed to appear for a scheduled performance at the Canton Queer Prom. When officers entered his apartment on 17th Street NW, they found blood stains throughout the kitchen and living room and a flipped-over glass table. His seizure medication and his cats had been left behind.3Cleveland 19. Court Records Detail Blood-Stained Apartment in Missing Canton Man’s Case Days later, an Ohio Department of Transportation crew found Godbey’s driver’s license and debit card along Interstate 77 near the Pro Football Hall of Fame.4News 5 Cleveland. Human Remains Found in Woods in July Identified as Ryan Godbey
How Investigators Identified Daniel Mattay
Mattay, Godbey’s former boyfriend and former live-in partner, was arrested on June 24, 2025 at a vacant building in northwest Canton. The initial charges were aggravated drug possession and criminal trespassing, unrelated to the disappearance. A 38-year-old woman, Amanda Williams, was arrested with him on similar charges.2The Buckeye Flame. Ohio Drag Performer Missing After Police Find Signs of Struggle
The case against Mattay came together over the following weeks. A neighbor reported hearing a loud argument and someone yelling “he’s choking me.” Mattay told police he did not drive, but Canton Crimecenter surveillance showed him driving to an abandoned house on Walnut Avenue NE to meet Williams. Text messages between the two discussed needing bleach.3Cleveland 19. Court Records Detail Blood-Stained Apartment in Missing Canton Man’s Case
On July 3, 2025, Canton Police Chief John Gabbard announced the case had been reclassified as a homicide. “New evidence makes it clear that Godbey is deceased and that Mr. Mattay is responsible,” Gabbard said.5News 5 Cleveland. Canton Police Charge Man in Connection to Missing Person Ryan Godbey A criminal complaint alleged that on or about June 20, 2025, Mattay beat Godbey and strangled him to death. Mattay was charged with murder, felonious assault, strangulation, and domestic violence, and Judge Dennis Barr set bond at $1.5 million.6News 5 Cleveland. Bond Set at $1.5 Million for Man Accused of Killing Ryan Godbey
A Stark County Grand Jury indicted Mattay on August 27, 2025 on an expanded set of charges: murder, felonious assault, strangulation, domestic violence, tampering with evidence, gross abuse of a corpse, and escape. He pleaded not guilty.7Fox 8. Murder Suspect Dies by Suicide in Stark County Jail The escape charge came from an incident shortly after Mattay’s arrest, when he damaged ceiling tiles in the jail visitation area trying to break through an air duct. Judge Barr cited that attempt as evidence Mattay was a flight risk.8Cleveland 19. Court Hearing for Suspect Accused of Murdering Canton Man
Where Godbey’s Remains Were Found
Investigators located human remains in a remote wooded area in southern Stark County on July 23, 2025.4News 5 Cleveland. Human Remains Found in Woods in July Identified as Ryan Godbey Mattay had provided authorities with the locations where the remains could be found.9Cleveland 19. Plea Hearing for Stark County Man Accused of Killing Ryan Godbey The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation confirmed the identification through DNA testing, and Canton Police announced it publicly on October 20, 2025.10Cleveland 19. Body Found in Stark County Woods Identified as Ryan Godbey
Mattay’s Prior Record and Early Release
Mattay had a documented history of violence in Stark County. Canton Municipal Court records showed prior convictions for domestic violence and disorderly conduct.6News 5 Cleveland. Bond Set at $1.5 Million for Man Accused of Killing Ryan Godbey In October 2023, Judge Taryn L. Heath sentenced him to an aggregate 4.5 years in prison on multiple felonies, including domestic violence, two counts of intimidating a victim or witness, failure to comply, vehicular vandalism, and obstructing official business.11Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Offender Search – Daniel Zachary Mattay
His expected release date was January 2028. He was released early through judicial release, a process that lets a judge reduce an inmate’s prison term. How and why that happened has become a central unresolved question. Godbey’s mother, Jackie Godbey, has publicly pressed for answers about why someone with Mattay’s record was let out well ahead of schedule.12Cleveland 19. Betrayed: New Video Podcast Goes Inside Murder of Ryan Godbey One Year Later
Mattay’s Death in the Stark County Jail
Just before 9:30 a.m. on December 3, 2025, jail staff found Mattay unresponsive in his cell. CPR was administered and he was taken to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Stark County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the death as a suicide.7Fox 8. Murder Suspect Dies by Suicide in Stark County Jail The death came exactly one week before his December 10 plea hearing. His murder trial had been set for February 2026.1News 5 Cleveland. Man Accused of Killing Ryan Godbey Dies by Suicide One Week Before Plea Hearing
The circumstances of Mattay’s death remain under review by the Stark County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio Bureau of Adult Detention, and the Stark County Coroner’s Office. No published findings from that review have been reported.
Where the Case Stands Now
With Mattay dead, there will be no trial and no verdict. Jackie Godbey said the suicide “robbed me of a lot of closure — the burial of my son, the life of my son, the day in court.” She has said she is grateful Mattay disclosed the location of Ryan’s remains before he died; she was at the Stark County Coroner’s Office picking up one of Ryan’s belongings, his earring, when she got the call about Mattay’s death.13News 5 Cleveland. Mom of Murdered Ryan Godbey Grateful Suspect Revealed Location of Son’s Remains
In June 2026, Cleveland’s 19 Investigates released a podcast series, “Betrayed: The Murder of Ryan Godbey,” as part of its Dark Side of the Land series. It included previously unseen video that helped detectives build the case, footage from a traffic stop involving Mattay days before the murder, and video of his attempted jail escape.12Cleveland 19. Betrayed: New Video Podcast Goes Inside Murder of Ryan Godbey One Year Later The case remains listed as active, and Jackie Godbey continues to seek answers about how Mattay was granted early prison release.