Solved case · 1999
Also known as Killing of Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder · Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder's murder
The short answer
Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder, a gay couple from Happy Valley near Redding, California, were shot to death in their home on July 1, 1999, by brothers Benjamin Matthew Williams and James Tyler Williams, who told investigators and media the killings were motivated by the victims' sexual orientation.
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Suggest coverage for this caseBackground Gary Matson (born April 6, 1949) and Winfield Mowder (born May 30, 1959) were a couple who had been together for 14 years and lived in Happy Valley, California, just outside Redding. Matson held a Master of Science in environmental horticulture from UC Davis and, with Mowder, founded Matson Horticulture and Florabundance Nursery, later launching the online business Plantstogo.com in 1997. Matson helped found a community garden that became the Redding Farmers Market, the Carter House Natural Science Museum (now Turtle Bay Exploration Park), and the Redding Arboretum. Mowder held a Bachelor of Science in anthropology, worked part-time at Orchard Supply Hardware, attended California State University, Chico, and spoke at local high schools as a resource for gay and straight teens.
Benjamin Matthew Williams and James Tyler Williams, brothers who ran a landscaping business from their parents' home in Palo Cedro, California, were raised in a fundamentalist Christian household and had prior contact with white supremacist literature and figures, including phone calls to Matt Hale and Alex Curtis before the murders.
The murders On the morning of July 1, 1999, Matson's father called and heard a newly recorded answering machine message, apparently made under duress, saying the couple were ill and traveling. Gary Matson's brother, Roger Matson, went to the home and found both men's nude bodies in bed, killed by multiple .22 caliber gunshot wounds; Matson was shot six times, Mowder eight times. There was no sign of forced entry or robbery, and Matson's car was later found abandoned near Yuba City.
Arrests and investigation The Williams brothers were arrested on July 7, 1999, near a Yuba City shopping mall after police traced an ammunition order placed on Matson's credit card. Searches of their residences uncovered white-supremacist literature, including material from the World Church of the Creator, .22 caliber shells, and black powder. In a pre-sentencing interview, Tyler Williams described planning and carrying out the killings with his brother, who he said had met Matson and Mowder through the Redding Farmers Market and local landscaping work.
Motive and aftermath Matthew Williams later gave media interviews admitting the murders and stating he was "obeying the law of God," citing the victims' homosexuality as justification. Investigators also linked the brothers to the June 18, 1999 arson attacks on three Sacramento-area synagogues and a July 2, 1999 arson at a medical center housing an abortion clinic; both brothers pleaded guilty to the arsons in September 2001 and were sentenced in December 2001. Matthew Williams died by suicide in his jail cell on November 17, 2002, two days after mailing a signed confession to his brother's attorney taking sole responsibility for the murders. On March 3, 2003, Tyler Williams pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 29 years to life, to be served after his 21-year arson sentence.
Arson attacks on three synagogues in Sacramento, California, later linked to the Williams brothers.
Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder are shot to death in their home in Happy Valley, California.
Arson at Country Club Medical Center, which housed an abortion clinic, later linked to the Williams brothers.
Benjamin Matthew Williams and James Tyler Williams are arrested near a Yuba City shopping mall.
Matthew Williams begins giving media interviews admitting to the murders.
An advertisement congratulating Matthew Williams on his ordination as a minister appears in The Redding Record Searchlight.
The Williams brothers plead guilty to the 1999 synagogue and clinic arson attacks.
The brothers are sentenced for the arsons: Matthew Williams to 30 years, Tyler Williams to 21 years.
Matthew Williams and another inmate attack a prison guard with a homemade hatchet.
Matthew Williams mails a signed confession to his brother's attorney taking responsibility for the murders.
Matthew Williams is found dead in his jail cell in an apparent suicide.
Tyler Williams pleads guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and is sentenced to 29 years to life.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Shot to death in his home on July 1, 1999, along with his partner Winfield Mowder.[3]
Shot to death in his home on July 1, 1999, along with his partner Gary Matson.[3]
Pleaded guilty on March 3, 2003, to two counts of first-degree murder for the killings of Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder, and previously pleaded guilty to related arson charges; sentenced to 29 years to life.[3]
Charged with the first-degree murders of Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder and with arson attacks on synagogues and a clinic; died by suicide in custody in November 2002 before sentencing, having admitted the murders in media interviews and a signed confession.[3]
From the record
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SOLVEDListenRedding, California · 2010s
Sherri Papini fabricated a three-week disappearance from Redding, California, in November 2016, and in 2022 pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud and false-statement charges for staging the hoax.
Image recordCC BY-SA 4.0SourceUNSOLVEDListenRedding, California, United States · 1890s
In 1892, brothers John and Charles Ruggles robbed a stagecoach near Redding, California, during which a guard was fatally shot. While awaiting trial, both were seized from the Redding jail by a masked mob and hanged; no one was ever prosecuted for the lynching.
Image recordCC BY-SA 4.0SourceSOLVEDListenRed Bluff, California · 1970s
Colleen Stan was abducted while hitchhiking in 1977 and held captive by Cameron Hooker and his wife Janice, who was granted immunity from prosecution, in Red Bluff, California, for over seven years, subjected to torture and sexual assault before escaping in 1984.
Robin Hood Hills, West Memphis, Arkansas · 1990s
Three eight-year-old boys were found murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993; three teenagers were convicted the following year in a case marked by disputed evidence, allegations of coerced confession, and claims of a Satanic motive, and were released in 2011 after entering Alford pleas.
Credit: Photo by Calvin Beale, as an employee of the Economic Research Service, part of the…Public domainSourceSOLVEDListenMadison, Jefferson County, Indiana · 1992
In January 1992, twelve-year-old Shanda Sharer was abducted and killed in southern Indiana by four teenage girls, all charged as adults; each pleaded guilty and received prison sentences.
Credit: en:User:Paul.hPublic domainSourceSOLVEDListenPetaluma, California, United States · 1993
Polly Hannah Klaas, a 12-year-old girl, was abducted at knifepoint from her home in Petaluma, California, on October 1, 1993, and later found murdered. Richard Allen Davis was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to death.
