After the brutal September attack that left Audacy Detroit News/Talk WWJ-AM 950 anchor Jim Matthews dead and his family traumatized, the fate of the man accused of his murder has been decided. Presiding Judge James Biernat referred to Arthur Williamson as the “embodiment of evil” as he handed down a sentence of life in prison.
Williamson was sentenced in Macomb County Circuit Court on Friday after a no-contest plea to charges of first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, and unlawful imprisonment.
The incident occurred in September in Chesterfield Township, northeast of Detroit. Williamson was a friend of Matthews’ girlfriend, Nichole Guertin. She testified that Williamson came to their home to use drugs and engage in role-play, but when she refused to participate he slashed her throat and restrained her.
Upon Matthews’ return home from work, he was struck with a hammer and fatally stabbed. During this, Guertin managed to escape with their 5-year-old daughter and sought help from others to call the police.
Guertin, she and Matthews’ 5-year-old daughter, and their 10-year-old son were also harmed in the attack. The young boy was struck in the head with a hammer and left tied up in a closet. In a victim impact statement, the son expressed his hatred towards Williamson for the terror he inflicted on their family.
During the sentencing, Williamson only offered a brief apology, which Matthews’ brother and wife felt was insincere. They expressed their lack of forgiveness and criticized Williamson’s lack of remorse or acknowledgment of his actions’ impact on their family.
