Arthur Williamson, 55, has been charged with the murder of Jim Matthews after attacking him in his own home in Michigan
The man charged with killing Michigan overnight news anchor Jim Matthews, 57, visited the victim’s girlfriend up to four times a week while the newscaster slept after his night shifts, neighbors say.
Arthur Williamson, 55, was charged with the murder of Matthews after he allegedly beat him to death on Friday before stabbing Matthews’ girlfriend and injuring his son, 10, and daughter, 5.
Williamson, who was revived with narcan after being found overdosing on heroin in the home’s basement after the attacks, has been hit with seven felony charges, including first-degree murder, felony murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder and three counts of unlawful imprisonment. He is currently held without bond.
State records indicate Williamson had a lengthy criminal history dating back 30 years with convictions on charges of kidnapping and assault among others.
While the relationship between Williamson and Matthews, who worked for WWJ NewsRadio 950, remains unclear, neighbors said the man is known to visit the household up to four times a week while Matthews slept after returning from his overnight shifts.
News anchor Jim Matthews, 57, was killed at his home in Michigan, and his ‘on-off’ girlfriend Nichole Guertin was stabbed multiple times in the incident
According to the Michigan Department of Corrections, Williamson has at least eight previous convictions including kidnapping and assault with intent to commit murder
The couples two children, Hunter, 10, (left) and Rosie, 5 (right), were hospitalized following the murder of their father – Hunter is thought to have tried to stop his dad from being attacked
Police discovered Williamson overdosing on heroin and suffering from self-inflicted wounds in the basement of the family home after the attack
Matthews, who also went by Nicolai, was reportedly found in a scene worse than ‘a horror movie’ by his brother Joe Nicolai
Chesterfield Township Police believe Williamson arrived at the house on Friday ‘sometime in the middle of the night’ before he ambushed Matthews when he arrived home around 6.30am. Matthews died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido called it a ‘hammer attack,’ but said there were no signs of breaking and entering and said Williamson was not an ‘unwanted guest.’
Matthews’ ‘on-off girlfriend’ and the mother of his children Nichole Guertin, 35, had managed to escape the property despite being stabbed multiple times as well as gagged and bound.
She fled with their five-year-old daughter, Rosie, who was not seriously injured, and managed to flag down a car after collapsing in a nearby parking lot.
Their son Hunter, 10, was beaten, hit with a hammer and bound before being thrown into a closet after the incident.
He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and had to undergo brain and ear surgery after bravely trying to fight his father’s killer.
A GoFundMe page confirmed that Hunter underwent successful surgery on his neck and can now move both sides of his body.
‘They have been through so much and I feel like the least I can do is create something that helps them adapt to what comes after this tragedy,’ wrote the children’s aunt, Ashley Quigley.
Nicole is in stable condition but is being held for observation, Chesterfield Police Chief Brian Bassett said.
Police discovered Williamson overdosing on heroin and suffering from self-inflicted wounds in the basement of the family home.
The 55-year-old was resuscitated by officials before being rushed to hospital and was then taken into police custody at Macomb County Jail.
Pammy Healy, the children’s aunt, told DailyMail.com: ‘It’s someone that Nicole knew. I know that he knew Nicole pretty well.
‘It’s really disturbing.’ She said the family were in shock and were trying to get ready for when the children returned home.
Their son Hunter was discovered by officers stuffed into a closet after being hit with a hammer when he tried to pull his father’s attacker off him
Family members say that the alleged killer was known to the family and knew Matthews girlfriend ‘very well’
The victim’s brother is worried his girlfriend, Nicole, pictured, was manipulated by Williamson and called the woman ‘very naïve’
Matthews, who also went by Nicolai, was reportedly found in a scene worse than ‘a horror movie’ by his brother Joe Nicolai, who lives next door and ‘dropped everything’ when he heard of the attack.
‘It’s not even something you’d see in a horror movie,’ Nicolai told news station WXYZ.
‘Nicole, my brother’s girlfriend, was laying out in the parking lot and was duck-taped and bleeding so my wife went out to hold her hand,’ he said.
The victim’s brother is worried his girlfriend, Nicole, was manipulated by Williamson and called the woman ‘very naïve and said she ‘wouldn’t hurt a fly, always means well.’
The neighborhood was put on lockdown Friday as well as the school across the street where Matthews’ children attend, Nicolai said.
‘He loved taking care of his kids, he loved being on the radio,’ Nicolai said of his brother. ‘He used to play radio when he was a kid. He would play DJ, that was his passion. he was a really amazing person.’
When quizzed on the motive behind the attack, Nicolai said ‘there is no motive, I don’t know why he was in the house. I talked to the lead investigator, and my brother probably came home to this.’
Nicolai said Matthews’ son tried to fight his alleged killer before being beaten and bound: ‘I believe that Hunter the 10-year-old was trying to fight off this man that was attacking and trying to kill his father.’
Unfortunately, he said ‘Hunter has sustained many wounds to his face and head and may be scarred.’
Colleagues of the news anchor were forced to report on the death of the late journalist, who spent nearly seven years as the radio station’s overnight news anchor.
Journalist Jackie Page reported the breaking incident to thousands of listeners, saying: ‘It’s very difficult to report. Our overnight news anchor Jim Matthews was killed this afternoon in Chesterfield Township.’