Burlington County Acting Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw announced that a 26-year-old man pled guilty today in Superior Court to killing three people in Willingboro Township during two separate incidents in 2019, including his ex-girlfriend’s grandmother and brother as well as a man sitting inside a parked car on a residential street.
Under an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, Terrance J. Matthews of Willingboro will be sentenced to 60 years in New Jersey state prison for each homicide.
According to officials, the killing spree began just before 1 a.m. on February 18, 2019, when Matthews approached two men sitting in a car parked on Millbrook Drive and fired inside, fatally wounding Davell Williamson, 21, of Willingboro.
The passenger was struck in the arm, treated and released from Cooper University Hospital in Camden.
Officials said that on the evening of June 19, 2019, Williams killed his ex-girlfriend’s grandmother and brother inside their Eastbrook Lane home.
According to officials, Jennifer Vassell, 68, and her grandson, Ishon Mathlin Jr., 9, were stabbed multiple times, and Ishon was drowned in a bathtub.
The investigation into their deaths began the morning of June 20, 2019, when Westampton Township police officers were dispatched to the Wawa convenience store on Springside Road for a report of a woman in distress.
The investigation revealed that Matthews and his ex-girlfriend, Krissida Williams, had entered the store, and Williams told a Wawa employee that Matthews had killed her family.
According to officials, Matthews then fled the store, and Willingboro Township police officers discovered the bodies after being dispatched to the house to conduct a wellness check.
The investigation further revealed that the murders occurred while Williams was at work. When she arrived home after finishing her shift, Matthews, who was still living at the residence, was waiting for Williams and held her against her will through the night.
The motive for the killings stemmed from an argument Williams and Matthews had during a telephone call earlier in the day.
Officials stated that Matthews was apprehended on June 20, 2019, by the Camden County Police Department following a high-speed chase that ended when he crashed the Scion he was driving into a pole, then exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot.
He utilized his Facebook account to broadcast the chase live on social media.
The investigations were conducted by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Willingboro Township Police Department, with assistance from the Westampton Township Police Department and the Camden County Police Department.