(WWJ) – Arthur Williamson, the Pontiac man who pleaded no contest to murdering former WWJ overnight anchor Jim Matthews and brutally attacking his family last fall, has been sentenced to life in prison.
Judge James Biernat described Williamson as “the embodiment of evil” at Thursday’s sentencing in Macomb County Circuit Court, where family members shared impact statements in front of him.
Williamson, 55, attacked Matthews with a hammer on Sept. 23, 2022, hitting him in the head more than two dozen times as he returned from work to his Chesterfield Township home.
Williamson then attacked Matthews’ girlfriend, Nichole Guertin and their two children, ages 5 and 10.
Prosecutors showed police body camera footage of police entering the home and finding 10-year-old Hunter bound inside a closet.
In a letter read Thursday, the boy said “I hate you for what you did to me and my family,” noting Williamson “ruined” their lives.
Guertin, speaking via zoom, said the world has “lost its sunshine,” while other family members said no punishment for Williamson would be adequate.
When given the opportunity to speak, Williamson had little to say, simply saying “I’m sorry.”
Matthews’ brother Joe Nicolai and his wife Jennifer told WWJ’s Ryan Marshall they don’t believe Williamson is truly remorseful for the brutal attack.
“I have no forgiveness for him,” Joe Nicolai said. “You can’t forgive something like that.”
"The only sound we got was 'I'm sorry,' and that was it," Jennifer Nicolai said. "There was no looking back at us and caring about what he did to our family and how he changed it forever."
Authorities have said after the attack Williamson was found in the basement suffering from self-inflicted wounds and overdosing in what is believed to be a suicide attempt.
At a pre-trial hearing in February, Matthews' longtime girlfriend, Nicole Guertin, testified that Williamson was a friend, and that they would do drugs together while Matthews was at work, anchoring the overnight news on WWJ.
But the morning of Sept. 23, Guertin said, Williamson duct taped her to a bed inside the condo and cut her throat and told her when Matthews returned home he was going to kill him.
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