DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A 49-year-old Royersford man has been charged with murdering his coworker — a Sellersville man who had been missing from Bucks County for about a year and a half.
Michael Stark is charged with kidnapping and killing 50-year-old Matthew Branning. Stark and Branning were both reported missing and last seen on Oct. 15, 2021. While Stark resurfaced a few months later in Michigan, there’s been no trace of Branning.
According to investigators, on the day the two were last seen, Stark took an Uber to the Silverdale company where they worked.
“Matthew Branning was scheduled to end his shift at 4 p.m. that day, and Stark was laying in wait,” said Bucks County First Assistant District Attorney Jenn Schorn.
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Schorn said Stark forced Branning to drive to a nearby ATM and withdraw $500. Stark then fled to New Jersey in Branning’s car, which was recovered in Virginia two months later. Stark’s DNA was found on the steering wheel.
She said while they have not recovered Branning’s body, “what we do know is that there was planning, that there was what we believe to be evidence of lying in wait, and what is clearly a kidnapping and robbery.”
Stark was arrested in Michigan in April 2022 and extradited back to Pennsylvania.
According to a grand jury presentment, the two men didn’t have much interaction outside of work. Stark has a criminal history, including armed robbery. Schorn said Branning kept in close touch with his family and never missed work without checking in.
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Investigators were able to track Stark’s movements on Oct. 15, 2021 — except for about an hour and a half in Somers Point, New Jersey.
“We appeal to the public for anybody who may have information, specifically as it relates to Somers Point, New Jersey, for that hour and a half of unaccounted-for time,” Schorn requested.
While she said they suspect robbery was the motive, it’s hard to say.
“Only Stark possesses that knowledge,” she said.
Stark is being held in the Bucks County Correctional Facility without bail. Court records do not currently list an attorney.