CLINTON TOWNSHIP (WWJ) - The sister of a man accused of murdering his girlfriend and living with her corpse in the basement of his home for seven months took the stand on Thursday during a preliminary hearing to determine if the man is fit for trial.
Matthew Gerard Lewinski, 37, appeared in Clinton Township District Court on May 19 as reported by The Detroit News, after being charged with first-degree premeditated murder, mutilation of a body and concealing the death of an individual in the 2021 slaying of his girlfriend, Jerri Courtney Winters.
He was formally arraigned last August and has been held without bond in the Macomb County Jail -- Thursday's preliminary hearing will determine if Lewinski will stand trial.
Lewinski's sister, Debra Federico, was the first to testify during Thursday's hearing covered by The Detroit News, which convened shortly after 11 a.m.
She told the court about the day she and her stumbled across Winters' body while collecting items from the home at Crosswinds Condominiums in Clinton Township.
Federico explained the condo Lewinski was staying at belonged to her father, but due to her being her father's legal guardian, Federico occasionally kept up with the property.
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She testified that she had a falling out with her brother and the two barely communicated during the time the alleged murder took place.
"I haven't really talked to him probably since early 2019," Federico said. "There was some disagreement related to my father's health issues and guardianship related to that," she said.
Due to her guardianship over her father, Federico was listed as a contact for the condo association. Federico said that prior to the start of the COVID pandemic, the condo had been foreclosed upon and she tried to gain access to the property, but Lewinski was always there to stop her.
"I did try to go there a couple of times but Matthew wouldn't let me in," she said.
According to her testimony, Federico was called on July 28, 2021 by the association because lights had been left on inside the residence. Federico said her brother was hospitalized at the time and, because of the foreclosure, she decided to head over to the property to pick up some belongings and see what was going on.
Federico told the court that she stayed outside and Facetimed her husband, son and a family friend as they went through the house. Federico said they were looking for a ceramic Christmas decoration and they headed to the basement to find it.
Shortly after the group made it downstairs, her husband, Joseph, found Winters's body.
"I saw something on the floor, didn't know what it was," Joseph said; he was the second to testify after Federico.
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Joseph said he could not see a face on the corpse and he could not tell if the body belonged to a man or a woman -- he said only arms and legs were visible.
He said the group left the condo and waited outside for police after calling 911.
Joseph's testimony appears to be consistent with police reports from the same day that state large portions of the victim's skin had been removed from her back.
Det. Michael Chirco, an investigator with the Clinton Township Police Department, was the third witness to give testimony.
Chirco said he and another detective obtained a search warrant to enter the condo, which he described as unkempt and "somewhat soiled" with "musky air."
As the officers reached the basement, Chirco testified that he and his partner could see human remains on the floor through a doorway.
Chirco said the body was "in a state of decomposition," and was nude, face down, lying flat, with its arms apart and the head turned off the the side, The Detroit News reported.
He described the body as being mutilated, with sections of skin missing off the victim's back.
Chirco said they found several bleach bottles in the basement, as well as a knife and rubber gloves. Blood splatter was also spotted around the body.
After the officers discovered Winters' body, they went to where Lewinski was being treated at Henry Ford Hospital. Chirco said Lewinski had been hospitalized the day before after he was found walking about the complex in his underwear.
According to Assistant Prosecutor Sian Hengeveld via the Macomb Daily, Lewinski admitted to police that he strangled Winters last December during an argument in his living room.
He then stashed her body in the basement and lived with her remains for 7 months while mutilating her body.
Federico said she was aware of Winters, who she called Courtney in her testimony. She recalled speaking to the victim once before while on the stand.
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"They were very volatile," she said of Winters' and Lewinski's relationship. "She yelled at me and told me she was going to have me arrested for not paying the bills."
Her husband, Joseph, said he had never met Courtney and didn't know who she was.
Thursday's preliminary hearing will feature evidence presented by the prosecution to show probable cause that a crime was committed. The prosecution must also produce enough evidence to show that Lewinski is the person connected to the crime.
A judge is set to decide if the case will go to trial.
If convicted as charged, Lewinski is facing a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.