A Michigan man was sentenced to life in prison on June 1 after brutally murdering a Detroit-area news anchor and assaulting the victim’s family.
Arthur Williamson, 55, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading no contest in April 2023 to first-degree murder charges after bludgeoning WWJ-AM overnight anchor Jim Matthews to death with a hammer in Sept. 2022, CBS News reported. Additionally, Williamson pleaded no contest to assault with the intent to murder and unlawful imprisonment after assaulting Matthews family, including tying up Matthews’ 10-year-old son and striking him in the head with a hammer, the outlet stated.
55-year-old Arthur Williamson was officially sentenced in Macomb Circuit Court today in the murder of former @WWJ950 News Anchor Jim Matthews, assault of girlfriend Nichole Guertin & their 2 kids.
Arthur pled no contest to 1st degree premeditated murder over a month ago.
(1/4) pic.twitter.com/joMnHUKFhr
— Ryan H. Marshall (@RyanHMarshall) June 1, 2023
Matthew’s girlfriend, Nichole Guertin, testified that Williamson had been a friend of the family who would often come to the house to do drugs while Matthews was at work, WWJ-AM reported. On the night of September 23, Guertin refused to role play with Williamson and “tie herself up,” angering him. In retaliation, Williamson reportedly “slashed her throat” before zip tying her wrists and ankles, according to The Detroit News.
When Matthews returned home, Williamson struck him more than two dozen times with a hammer and killed him, WWJ-AM reported. While Guertin was eventually able to flee the scene with her 5-year-old daughter, whom Williamson reportedly tried to rape, Williamson tied up her 10-year-old son and beat him severely with a hammer, The Detroit News reported. (RELATED: Wärtsilä Employee Arrested After Allegedly Bludgeoning Co-Worker To Death With Sledgehammer: Police)
“The only thing that’s amazing is you didn’t kill all of them,” Macomb County Circuit Court Judge James Biernat said at Williamson’s sentencing, calling him the “embodiment of evil,” CBS News reported.
When police responded to the scene after Guertin alerted them to the assault, they found Williamson in the basement of the Hidden Harbor Condominiums where Matthews and his family lived, with self-inflicted wounds from an apparent suicide attempt, The Detroit News reported.
Asked by Biernat whether he had attempted to take his own life after the gruesome assault on Matthews and his family, Williamson replied in the affirmative. Williamson’s admission prompted Biernat to reply, “Try to commit suicide before you do any of this. Take yourself out so you don’t kill people and try to rape 5-year-olds,” the outlet reported.