MOUNT CLEMENS (WWJ) -- The man charged in brutal murder of WWJ Newsradio 950 anchor Jim Matthews and the attack on his family in their Macomb County home has pleaded no contest.
Reporting from Macomb County Circuit Court, where the decision was announced Thursday, WWJ's Ryan Marshall said a single count against Arthur Levan Williamson was dismissed, before Williamson entered his plea to the six remaining felony counts — including first degree murder and attempted murder.
According to Williamsons' attorney, the reason his client chose to plead was because Williamson claims he has no memory of the horrific morning of Sept. 23, 2022, when Matthews was killed.
WWJ issued the following statement in reaction to Williamson's plea: "While we are glad the case will end with the suspect spending the rest of his life in prison, nothing will bring Jim back to his family and friends. We miss him every day and continue to think about the loved ones left behind by this tragedy."
At a pre-trial hearing in February, Matthews' longtime girlfriend, Nicole Guertin, testified that Williamson was a friend, and that they would do crack cocaine together while Matthews was at work, anchoring the overnight news on WWJ.
But that morning, Guertin said, Williamson duct taped her to a bed in the condo — where she and Matthews lived with their two children — and cut her throat, telling her: "When Jim comes home I'm going to kill him."
When Matthews walked in the door, Williamson beat him with a hammer approximately 25 times, grabbed him by the head and slit his throat.
Guertin testified that Williamson, 55, also tied up the couple's 10-year-old son, beat him with a hammer, and attempted to sexually assault the couple's 5-year-old daughter.
Guertin was eventually able to cut herself loose, escape the home with the little girl, and run for help.
The boy was found by responding police officers in a closet, badly injured but still alive, while Matthews was pronounced dead at the scene.
Williamson, a Port Huron resident, was found by police in the basement of the home, overdosing on drugs, and was arrested.
While he acknowledged that a no contest plea is fairly unusual in a this type of murder case, Macomb County Prosecutor Steve Fox said he was pleased with Thursday's outcome.
"Mr. Williamson is no longer a threat," Fox told Marshall and other reporters. "Mr. Williamson is no longer someone that's going to put Nicole and the family members through the trauma of a trial. So, the good news is not only that justice has been served at this point, but they can move further along, hopefully, in that healing process."
As a condition of his plea Williamson will not face any additional charges in the case, including a sexual assault charge that Fox said had been discussed.
"We agreed not to add those charges. They would not have added anything to his punishment; they would not have increased his sentence," Fox said. "...And we certainly didn't want to further victimize those witnesses who would have to testify, and go forward if we didn't need to."
Williamson faces life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced in May.
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