Detroit man accused of murdering radio news anchor and injuring others was ‘welcomed’ into home before attack

A Michigan man accused of murdering a Detroit radio news anchor and injuring the man’s girlfriend and the couple’s two children was “welcomed in as a guest of the home” just hours before the attack, Chesterfield Township Police Chief Brian Bassett said on Monday. 

Arthur Williamson, 55, is facing charges of first-degree homicide, homicide felony murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder, and three counts of unlawful imprisonment. He pleaded not guilty on Monday.

The victim, WWJ-AM overnight news anchor Jim Matthews, arrived home around 6:00 a.m. on Friday. Police responded to the scene around noon after Matthews’ girlfriend, 35-year-old Nicole Guertin, was seen fleeing the home with the couple’s 5-year-old daughter. 

Guertin was stabbed multiple times and was at a hospital in stable condition on Monday. The 5-year-old girl was also treated at a hospital but has since been released. 

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Police found the couple’s 10-year-old son tied up in a closet in the home with trauma to his head. He was listed in critical but stable condition on Monday. 

Williamson, the suspect, was located by police in the basement of the home apparently overdosing on drugs. First responders treated him at the scene then transported him to a local hospital. 

He was invited into the home just hours before the attack, according to police. 

“He arrived some time in the middle of the night and was welcomed in as a guest of the home,” Bassett said on Monday. “This is somebody who has been there in the past.”

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There were no signs of breaking and entering and there was evidence that Williamson was not an “unwanted guest,” according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido. 

Police are still trying to develop what the exact relationship was between Williamson and the family. 

  

Joe Nicolai, Matthews’ brother who lives next door, told the Detroit News that he had seen the suspect around the home a few times. 

Williamson was released from prison in 2018 and has a lengthy rap sheet, with convictions on charges ranging from assaulting police to kidnapping, according to Fox 2 Detroit. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.