Law&Crime Sidebar - Gruesome Details of Attack That Left News Anchor Dead, Family Injured Revealed

Episode Date: September 27, 2022

Radio news anchor Jim Matthews is murdered in his home outside of Detroit after returning from work. Now there are questions about the relationship between the suspect and Matthews' family after police discuss domestic violence related to the case. Defense attorney Neil Rockind joins Angenette Levy to discuss the case and how the survivors are doing now.GUESTS:Neil Rockind: https://twitter.com/neilrockindlawLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokePodcasting - Sam GoldbergVideo Editing - Michael Deininger & Logan HarrisGuest Booking - Alyssa FisherSocial Media Management - Kiera BronsonSUBSCRIBE TO OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Court JunkieObjectionsThey Walk Among AmericaCoptales and CocktailsThe Disturbing TruthSpeaking FreelyLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. A sad and strange story out of Michigan where a radio news anchor is murdered in his home after working the overnight shift. Now another man is charged with killing him. I'm Janette Levy and welcome to this latest edition of Law and Crime Sidebar podcast. Jim Matthews was a beloved radio news anchor. Police in Chesterfield Township, Michigan, this is outside of Detroit, say that Matthews returned home from work last Friday morning around 6 a.m. and then sometime after Arthur Williamson murdered him. Police were called to the home after Matthew's girlfriend, Nicole Gerton, escaped from the home with their five-year-old daughter. This is what the prosecutor said about the relationship between Gertt, Matthews and Williamson. The relationship that had been established, we know that it was not a breaking and entering or it was not a, it was a relationship that didn't show that he was not an unwanted guest

at the place. That description really just added to the confusion in this case. It's really not clear what the relationship between all of these people is or was. According to published reports, Matthews and Gerton's 10-year-old son was found tied up in a closet and police say the five-year-old girl was released from the hospital. Nicole Gerton was held for observation and that 10-year-old boy was still in critical condition, but stable at the hospital. Arthur Williamson faces a number of charges, including murder in the first degree, two counts

of assault with intent to murder, and three counts of unlawful imprisonment. The police chief had this to say at a press conference. Domestic violence has victimized too many in our community. If you are a victim or someone you know is a victim, please. reach out for help. And joining me to discuss this is Neil Rockhind. He is a criminal defense attorney out of Michigan. Great to be here. Neil, this is a really strange case. And I feel like it really begs the question, why on earth was Arthur Williamson, somebody who had done some hard time in prison, welcomed into this home in the middle of the night? This is a very bizarre and as yet not public disclosed

or not publicly available explanation of why this man with this history was in this house. Although he seems to have had a relationship with the family. Prosecutors so far have been very tight-lipped about this relationship between Williamson and the Matthews family. And Neil, another thing I think is kind of odd, the fact that the chief of police says something about domestic violence in relation to this case. And domestic violence typically has to do with family members harming other family members. I hate to speculate, but as you know, domestic violence can carry in a domestic situation can contain or can involve a variety of different circumstances. You could be in a romantic relationship. One could be living in the home. Or that could just be

the way the police are describing the relationship between Williamson and the Matthew's home. In other words, that he has some type of relationship. And this is not a stranger who just happened to embark or get to the house and cause his family violence. And you know, it seems like Jim Matthews is at work, Neil. It seems like Nicole Gerton would have had to have been the person who let Arthur Williamson into the home and welcomed him in. This case lends itself to all types of speculation right now. I mean, speculation is wild about he's the one who's killed. She ends up escaping. There are children who are harmed, which is the sort of thing that one would maybe expect in a case in which Williamson or someone in his shoes is trying to cause harm to,

Gerton and or her family. And then in the most bizarre of twists, Williamson ends up in the basement with the self-inflicted wound and he actually overdoses and the police have to revive him with or resuscitate him with Narcan. It's almost like he went there with the and had some kind of domestic conflict. And then in the end, when things went the way they went, he tried to kill himself. I know they said that they found Arthur Williamson overdosing in the basement with a self-inflicted wound. A stab wound. This is a stabbing death. That is a very personal type of death. To kill somebody by an airplane, you're doing it at long distance. To kill somebody with the gun or a rifle, you have some distance between you. But to actually get close enough, to stab somebody

repeatedly and to kill them and getting blood on yourself is deeply personal. You're face to face with your victim. And then as I understand it, to tie up or potentially tie up some kids and lock them in a closet, that is deeply personal. Deeply. And I guess Jim Matthews, his brother, was telling some news outlets that the 10-year-old boy, Jim Matthews' son, was actually found in a closet tied up and there's speculation that he may have been trying to protect his father. This is every homeowner's worst nightmare, right? I mean, even to the extent that you have a past relationship with somebody or you have a connection to someone or you're nice or pleasant to a stranger or to somebody or you open

your arms to somebody or home to somebody who has a prior record, to find yourself a loved one locked in a closet, stabbed, brutally murdered, and then to have that person attempt to take their own life in the house and be reminded of this for the rest of their lives, this is a tragic and horrible story. The details are only going to get worse and worse as we learn more about them. You know, Neil, I contacted the Chesterfield Police Department requesting an interview with the police chief, just trying to get some more details about what's happened, even if it's just a little, little tidbit here that could help us clear things up and understand this case a little bit more. But basically, I was told there will be no interviews about this case.

this is an ongoing investigation, that 10-year-old boy was still in the hospital, stable, thank goodness, but in critical condition. So it just breaks your heart to hear that he possibly was injured trying to help his father. I couldn't agree with you more. The police department gave a press conference and the prosecutor gave a press conference basically to announce that the case had been solved. They had the guy, which is essentially a way to calm the public so that they know that they don't believe that there's someone roaming the streets and that this isn't neighbors and neighborhoods aren't potentially victim to this map. But, I mean, there's a 10-year-old who's gone through repeat surgeries. There's a young girl in the house who is also going to need

treatment. I mean, you're talking about people who, if they even imagine this in a movie, they would have nightmares for years, but they live through this. And when this young boy awakens, And we certainly hope that he does and that he is able to overcome these surgeries and these injuries, think about the life ahead for him. While we're blessed that he's alive and hope that he continues to improve, he's not going to have a father. His memory is going to be if his father actually being killed and he being unable to do anything about it.

That is just so tragic. And what happens in a case like this, Anjanet, is Michigan doesn't have the death penalty. And I'm not a supporter of the death penalty, but there are people. now that will begin to talk about death penalty, that will be talk about the desire for more severe punishment, and they'll also focus on the need to reform parole and prison release. Because as you've already touched on, Williamson had a long record and had been released from prison previously. And you know that people tend to, in response to situations like this, begin to talk about ways to reform the legal system. And in a case like this, the reform is never good for civil

rights or civil liberties. And that talk may very well come up. That really does come up sometimes by people who are advocates for the death penalty, people who want it reinstated or implemented in their states when really heinous things happen. So it's unfortunate that these things get brought into this. Sometimes these things are politicized a little bit. But we can tell you that Arthur Williamson is in jail being held without bail. He was wearing this green kind of outfit. It looked like one of those suits they put on people who are on suicide watch to keep them from harming themselves. And the prosecutor in McComb County actually said that Arthur Williamson could face even more charges in all of this. So we will keep an eye on it. Neil Rockhind, thank you as always for joining us

for your time and your expertise. My pleasure. Thank you so much. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.