Gary Matson

Gary Matson (1949 - July 1, 1999) and Winfield Mowder (1959 - July 1, 1999 were a gay couple from Redding, California, who were murdered by white supremacist brothers Benjamin Matthew Williams and James Tyler Williams. The Williams brothers confessed killing the couple because they were gay.

Background

Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder

Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder were together as a couple for 14 years. They made their home, in Happy Valley, California, just outside of Redding.

Matson, 50, earned a Master of Science degree Environmental Horticulture from UC Davis in 1984. Afterwards, he and Mowder founded Matson Horticulture and Florabundance Nursery in Redding, Matson helped found the Redding Farmers Market, the Carter House Natural Science Museum, and the Redding Arboretum.cite web |url=http://cnps.org/cnps/publications/fremontia/january_2000/index.php |title=Fremontia Special Issue - Vernal Pools |accessdate=2007-08-05 |year=2000 |month=January |format=PDF |publisher=California Native Plant Society |pages=71-72]

He was divorced from his wife, Marcia Howe, with whom he had a daughter, Clea.

Mowder, 40, held a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology, and worked part-time as an associate in Orchard Hardware Supply Garden Department, while also attending Chico State University.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Brothers charged in gay slaying |url=http://archive.seacoastonline.com/1999news/7_10_w2.htm |work=The Portsmouth Herald |publisher=Associated Press |date=1999-07-10 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

Together, in 1997, Matson and Mowder founded Plantstogo.Com, an online nursery specializing in plants for hot climates. Matson helped found a community garden to help feed the hungry (called the Redding Farmers Market); Carter House, a children's natural science museum; as well as an arboretum. Mowder frequently spoke at local high schools, serving as a source of knowledge and support for both gay and straight teens.

The Williams Brothers

The Williams brothers, who were both known by their middle names, operated a landscaping and lawn service out of their parents' home in Palo Cedro, California. Neighbors said that the family was known for their fundamentalist Christianity, and that recordings of sermons and religious music were often heard from their house. cite news |first=Sam |last=Stanton |authorlink= |coauthors=Gary Delsohn |title=Poster boys for the summer of hate |url=http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/06/redding/index.html |work=Salon.Com |publisher= |date=1999-10-09 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

Prior to moving to Redding, the Williamses lived in Gridley, California, a farming community in Butte County, California. According to neighbors, the family kept to themselves. They grew their own food, keeping chickens and an organic garden. The Williams boys, Matthew and Tyler, were homeschooled until they reached high school.cite news |first=Rene |last=Sanchez |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Path of Calif. Hate Crimes Leads to Strictly Reared Brothers |url=http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-07/12/060l-071299-idx.html |work=The Washington Post |publisher= |date=1999-07-12 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] The boys, both honor studentscite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Suspects in slayings, fires were former honor students |url=http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/071399/nat_071399056.shtml |work=The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal |publisher=Associated Press |date=1999-07-13 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] , were not allowed to participate in extracurricular activities.

When the family moved to Redding, on what the father -- Benjamin Williams -- told neighbors were "God's orders" -- mail from militia groups, addressed to the family, continued to arrive at their home. After the move, Matthew Williams briefly served in the Navy. While stationed in Bremerton, Washington, during his stint in the Navy, Matthew Met and had a daughter with Kimberly Rodgers. Rodgers, however refused to marry Williams.cite news |first=Maline |last=Hazle |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Williams' sexuality questioned |url=http://web.redding.com/specials/matson_mowder/stories/19990722.shtml |work=Record Searchlight |publisher= |date=1999-07-22 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

Matthew attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. While there he joined the charismatic Christian church, Living Faith Fellowship, in Pullman, Washington. He also became interested in purification diets, and during a visit from his brother, coached Tyler in achieving the "perfect bowel movement" to cleanse his body

After becoming disillusioned with Living Faith Fellowship, Matthew Williams became fascinated with white supremacist and antisemetic literature he read on the Internet. In January 1998, Williams was selling literature at as speech by Montana Militia founder John Trochmann. By the time Matthew moved back to California, he had developed in interest in Christian Identity.

The Discovery

Matson's and Mowder's bodies were discovered on July 1, 1999. The couple's nude bodies were found in their bed. Shell casings from a .22 caliber gun littered the floor, and the walls and ceiling were stained with blood.cite news |first=Kimberly |last=Bolander |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Victim may have been forced to make message |url=http://web.redding.com/specials/matson_mowder/stories/19990825.shtml |work=Record Searchlight |publisher= |date=1999-08-25] |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] There was no sign of forced entry, and no apparent signs of robbery or anything being taken from the house. Matson's Toyota Tercel station wagon was gone, and police recovered it 50 miles south near Yuba City.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Yuba city police arrest brothers in shooting deaths of gay couple |url=http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/071099/nat_0710990014.shtml |work=Lubbock Avalanche-Journal |publisher= |date=1999-07-10 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

The couple had visited Matson's father -- Oscar Matson -- for dinner the previous evening. Troubled by a distressed sounding message on the couple's answering machine, and a voice that did not sound like Matson's or Mowder's, Roger Matson went to the couple's house around 1:00 p.m.

The Arrests

Matthew and Tyler Williams were arrested after police found Matson's vehichle abandoned at the side of the road near Oroville, California.cite news |first=Alex |last=Breitler |authorlink= |coauthors=Maline Hazle |title=2 arrested in killings - Palo Cedro brothers held in murders of Gary Matson, Winfield Mowder |url=http://web.redding.com/specials/matson_mowder/stories/19990709.shtml |work=Record Searchlight |publisher= |date=1999-07-09 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] The brothers were arrested at about 4:30p.m. on July 1, as they left a Yuba City shopping mall. Both carried handguns. Matthew wore a bullet proof vest.

Police were alerted by a phone call made two hours after Matson and Mowder were killed, to a company in Scottdale, Arizona.The caller ordered ammunition and other equipment worth $2,276.09, and asked that the order be sent to a Yuba City private mailbox firm, care of Gary Matson. The order was paid for with Matson's credit card. Detectives traced the address and arrived just as the Williams brothers showed up.

Searches of the brothers' residences yielded finds of literature from white supremacist organizations, including the World Church of the Creator (now known as the Creativity Movement).cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Link cited in slayings, arson cases |url=http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/071199/nat_071199113.shtml |work=The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal |publisher= |date=1999-07-11 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] Investigators examined whether the case was part of a conspiracy of hate-crime violence by members of the World Church of the Creator. The Matson and Mowder murders took place just days before World Church of the Creator associate Benjamin Nathaniel Smith went on a shooting spree targeting racial and ethnic minorities in Illinois and Indiana. Unnamed federal resources were cited as having found a handwritten letter from Matthew Williams to National Alliance leader William Pierce.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=CA Suspects Plead Not Guilty |url=http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?1999/07/30/3 |work=The Advocate |publisher=PlanetOut.Com |date=1999-07-30 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

In addition, investigators also found .22 caliber shells and 13 lbs. of black powder. Depending on its quality, 1 pound of black powder is enough to fire 100 to 200 rounds.

ynagogue and clinic arsons

During searches of the brothers' homes and storage utilities, authorities also found a "hit list" of prominent Jewish civic leaders in the Sacramento, California area. The list was apparently compiled after the June 18 arson attacks against three synagogues in Sacramento -- Congregation B'nai Israel, Congregation Beth Shalom, and Knesset Israel Torah Center. The fires caused over $1 million in damage.

On March 17, the brothers were charged with setting the three synagogue fires and the July 2 fire at Country Club Medical center, which housed an abortion clinic.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Williams brothers charged with arson |url=http://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories/00March24.htm |work=The Gay People's Chronicle |publisher= |date=2000-03-24 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] The charges carried of up to 235 years in prison.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Brothers Accused of Synagogue Arsons |url=http://www.gfn.com/storyArticle.cfm?storyRecordID=2933 |work=GFN |publisher=Associated Press |date=2000-03-22 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] Matthew Williams later admitted to reporters that he was one of eight or nine men who set fire to the synagogues and the clinic.cite news |first=Sam |last=Stanton |authorlink= |coauthors=Gary Delsohn |title=Indictments issued in Sacramento synagogue arsons |url=http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2000/03/18/indictments/index.html |work=Salon.Com |publisher= |date=2000-03-18 |accessdate=2007-08-06 He also claimed that his brother Tyler had not been involved.]

The Murders

On the morning of July 1, Oscar Matson called his son, Gary, and heard a newly recorded outgoing answering machine message saying that the couple were both ill and were leaving to visit with a "specialist friend" of theirs in San Francisco for a week. Police said the man on the recording sounded distressed and seemed to be feigning illness. Detectives said they believed that the man in the recording was trying to send a message that a close acquaintance had forced him to make the recording.

Another male voice was heard in the background telling the man in the recording to "just calm down." Believing that the male voice did not sound like Matson or Mowder, Roger Matson drove to his brother's home and discovered the bodies.

Investigators said that, after being forced to make the recording, the couple was forced into their platform bed, which stood seven feet off the floor. The killers then stood on chairs at the foot of the bed and fired at the couple. Matson received five shots to the head and one to the back. Matson was shot seven times in the head and once in the neck.cite news |first=Maline |last=Hazle |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Williams describes events leading to murders |url=http://web.redding.com/specials/matson_mowder/stories/20030330toplo045.shtml |work=Record Searchlight |publisher= |date=2003-03-30 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

Tyler Williams' Account

After the brothers' arrest, authorities said they believed the brothers were acquainted with Matson and Mowder through their involvement in the local landscaping industry. In a pre-sentencing interview with Shasta County deputy probation officer Gerald Salles, Tyler Williams recounted how he and his brother planned and carried out the murders.

Tyler Williams said he and his brother first talked about killing Matson and Mowder two weeks before the July 1, 1999 shootings, after Matthew Williams told Tyler that he'd met Matson and Mowder at the Redding Farmers Market. The couple, like Matthew Williams, had a booth. Ed Smith, who owned a Palo Cedro nursery where Matthew Williams worked for six months, also said Matthew Williams knew Matson and described them as friends.

Tyler Williams said he did not know how his brother decided to single out the couple, but that Matthew told him they were a homosexual couple. Olin Gordon, of Olinda -- who had considered hiring the Williams brothers to do some landscaping -- said that Matthew Williams had mentioned knowing Maston was homosexual.

According to Tyler, the brothers drove out to Happy Valley late on the night of June 30 or early on July 1, in a Toyota Corolla registered to their father. Matson and Mowder were asleep in their bed. He then said that Matthew Williams did the shooting, emptying a clip from his .22 calibre semiautomatic handgun before reloading and firing five more shots. Other than labored breathing, Tyler Williams said the victims made no sound before or after the shootings. After the shooting, Matthew Williams drove away in Matson's Toyota Tercel while Benjamin Matthews returned to his parents' house and went to sleep.

Tyler Williams' account did not include an explanation for the newly recorded outgoing message on the answering machine, which investigators believed the couple had been forced to make, suggesting that they were awake at time of the shooting, and not asleep as Tyler Williams claimed.

Motive

In his account of the murders, Tyler Williams said that his brother did not consider the killing of Matson and Mowder to be murder, but a "judgement" instead.

In November 1999 Matthew Williams began giving interviews to various media outlets. In an interview with "The Sacramento Bee", he admitted to the murders and said that when he killed Matson and Mowder he was "obeying the law of God." Williams said that he committed the murders because he believed their homosexuality violated God's laws, and he hoped his actions would incite more killings. cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Williams admits killing couple; says he 'obeyed God's law' |url=http://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories/99nov12.htm |work=The Gay People's Chronicle |publisher= |date=1999-11-12 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

Williams insisted that his actions did not constitute murder. Because the Bible holds that homosexuality is a sin that must be punished by death, he claimed, the responsibility lies with the victims. Williams expressed regret that more "people who claim to be Christians" didn't "have the guts" to act as he had. Facing the possibility of execution, he said he hoped to become a "Christian martyr" whose death would inspire others to lash out against Jews, homosexuals, and other minorities.cite news |first=Gary |last=Delsohn |authorlink= |coauthors=Sam Stanton |title="I'm guilty of obeying the laws of the creator" |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/11/08/hate/index.html |work=Salon.Com |publisher= |date=1999-11-08 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

Matthew Williams' Sexuality Questioned

In interviews with media, two friends from Matthew William's past recounted incidents concerning questions about his sexual orientation.

Todd Bethel served in the Navy with Williams, and claimed to have been his best friend during that period. briefly rented an apartment with Williams when they both assigned to a ship in Bremerton, Washington. Bethel, who reportedly tried to sell a videotape and photographs of Williams, said that he and others thought Williams acted too "prissy" and "sat too close to other men." Bethel asked Williams if he was gay, and said Williams denied it but seemed disturbed by the idea that he might be perceived as such.

In August 1999 Dan Martin, Williams' best friend from his time in the Living Faith Fellowship, gave an interview to "The Advocate", which described their relationship as a romantic friendship. According to Martin, the two shared poetry, skinny-dipped, and traded stories over campfires in the Idaho mountains.cite news |first=Chris |last=Bull |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Connect the dots - same-sex romance linked to white supremacist group |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_1999_August_31/ai_55543532 |work=The Advocate |publisher= |date=1999-08-31 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] When Williams left the church to drift into the white supremacist movement, Martin went on to become a gay rights activist.

According to Martin, shortly before the murders Williams called a mutual friend looking for Martin's home number in Moscow, Idaho. When he was told that Martin identified as openly gay and was coordinator of an HIV prevention group, Williams began to sob uncontrollably. Williams said he thought the revelation may have triggered the murders of Matson and Mowder.

Aftermath

Arson Pleas

In September 2001, the brothers pleaded guilty to there arson attacks against synagogues and clinic.cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=National News Briefs | West: California: Hate-Crime Guilty Pleas |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E7DE1F39F93BA3575AC0A9679C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fW%2fWilliams%2c%20James%20Tyler |work=The New York Times |publisher= |date=2001-09-08 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] In December 2001, the brothers were sentenced for the arsons -- Matthew Williams to 30 years, and Tyler Williams to 21 years, and were ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution.cite news |first=Maline |last=Hazle |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Brothers sentenced to prison - Judge hands down long terms for series of arsons |url=http://web.redding.com/top_stories/local/20011201toplo041.shtml |work=Record Searchlight |publisher= |date=2001-12-01 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

Congratulations Reverend Williams

In June 2000, Matthew Williams' court-appointed attorney paid for an advertisement that appeared in the June 18 edition of "The Redding Record Searchlight", congratulating Williams on being ordained as a minister by the Christ's Covenant Church. The two-column-by-four-inch advertisement depicted a dove bearing an olive branch, and was labeled as having been placed by "the family and friends of Benjamin Matthew Williams."cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title="Reverend" Williams Congratulated |url=http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2000/06/21/4 |work=The Advocate News & Politics |publisher=PlanetOut |date=2000-06-21 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

The ad, which appeared on Father's Day, read "Rev. Williams: May your knowledge and faith continue to grow during your current persecutions and trials." William's attorney, Frank J. O'Connor, placed the ad and paid the $107.70 bill to "The Redding Record Searchlight". O'Connor and the Williams family refused to comment on the ad. The newspaper said that the advertising representative did not focus on Williams' name when the order was placed, and that the ad would not have been printed had the paper been aware of its content.cite news |first=Maline |last=Hazle |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= 'Rev. Williams' ad stokes furor|url=http://web.redding.com/specials/matson_mowder/stories/20000620.shtml |work=Record Searchlight |publisher= |date=2002-06-20 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

Matthew Williams' Suicide

On June 22, 2002, Matthew Williams and another inmate attacked prison guard Timothy Renault with a homemade hatchet. Renault suffered a skull fracture and a broken jaw. Matthew Williams was kept in a segregation unit following the attack.

Late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, Williams jammed his cell door with a piece of cardboard, and then spread a blanket between his cell toilet and the wall, so that he would not be seen by his jailers.

On November 17, 2002 Matthew Williams was found dead in his cell, from an apparent suicide. He bled to death from multiple self-inflicted slash wounds to his arms, legs, and neck from a disposable jail-issue razor he had modified to expose the blade,cite news |first=Peter |last=Hecht |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Arsonist Williams dies in jail |url=http://www.geocities.com/three_strikes_legal/williams_dies_shasta_jail.htm |work=The Sacramento Bee |publisher= |date=2002-11-18 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] attached to a handle fashioned from a ballpoint pen, and fastened to his wrist with dental floss.

Around his neck he wore an amulet fashioned from dental floss and aluminum foil, containing various items, including two bible verses. Officials did not say which Bible verses the amulet held, but in Williams' cell a Bible was open to Psalms 22 and 23.cite news |first=Maline |last=Hazle |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Williams' test result released by coroner |url=http://www.geocities.com/three_strikes_legal/williams_dies_shasta_jail.htm |work=Record Spotlight |publisher= |date=2003-04-26 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] He was scheduled to be sentenced on December 2.

After Matthew Williams' suicide, it was reported that the Shasta County jail was ordered by the court to make sure that Williams had no narcotics in his system, so he could be drug-free for a brain scan his attorneys had arranged. Williams was to be weaned off his medications, but Shasta County jail staff stopped Williams' medication abruptly.cite news |first=Maline |last=Hazle |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Williams was taken off medication before suicide |url=http://web.redding.com/specials/matson_mowder/stories/20030226toplo049.shtml |work=Redding Spotlight |publisher= |date=2003-02-23 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

Two days prior to committing suicide, Matthew Williams mailed a signed confession to his brothers attorney, taking full responsibility for the murders of Matson and Mowder. In the one page letter, Williams wrote that it was an "accepted fact" and he killed Matson and Mowder, whom he referred to as "the 2 perverts." He expressed concern about poisoning a jury against his brother, whose innocence he maintained.cite news |first=Maline |last=Hazle |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Killer's last letter unsealed |url=http://web.redding.com/specials/matson_mowder/stories/20030620toplo010.shtml |work=Record Searchlight |publisher= |date=2003-06-20 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ]

entence

In March 2003 Tyler Williams pleaded guilty to the murders of Matson and Mowder. Under a plea agreement, Williams was sentenced to at 29 years to life, to be served after a 21 year sentence in the synagogue and clinic arsons. cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=National News Briefs | West: California: Sentence in Killings of Gay Men |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE7DC1439F93AA15750C0A9659C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fW%2fWilliams%2c%20James%20Tyler |work=The New York Times |publisher= |date=2003-03-29 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] If he had gone to trial, Williams could have received the death penalty.

ee also

*Violence against LGBT people

References

External links

* [http://andrejkoymasky.com/mem/wgm/wgm1.html Matt & Andrej Komasky - Memorial Hall - Mowder & Matson]
* [http://web.redding.com/specials/matson_mowder/ Redding: specials: The Williams Brothers: Allegations of Hate]