Detroit Radio: Killer Sentenced To Life In Death of WWJ's Jim Matthews

WWJ's Jim Matthews

Before a Macomb County judge on Thursday sentenced a Pontiac man to life in prison for killing a WWJ news anchor and assaulting his family last Stepember, prosecutors made him watch a video of police rescuing the 10-year-old boy he had tied up and hit with a hammer.

The Detroit News reports the video showed the officers finding WWJ anchor Jim Matthews’ body on the ground in his home and their desperation to find Matthews’ son, who they knew was in the house somewhere.

They found the boy tied up in a closet, covered in blood after having been hit in the head with a hammer. His injuries were severe, police said.

Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Steve Fox wanted that video to be one of the last things Arthur Williamson saw before he went to prison for the rest of his life.

A Detroit-area man has been sentenced to life in prison for the slaying of a radio news anchor and attack on the anchor’s family. https://t.co/3lQMneJDOv

— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 5, 2023

“I hope he sees some of the images and hears these sounds for the rest of his life,” Fox said.

Macomb County Circuit Court Judge James Biernat said it was good that Williamson would never see life outside of prison again.

Williamson pleaded no contest to fatally stabbing and beating Matthews with a hammer and to assaulting his two children and long-time girlfriend in September 2022. Biernat sentenced him to life in prison.