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GoFundMe created for Michigan radio anchor's kids after deadly attack

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Posted at 1:12 PM, Sep 26, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-26 13:12:44-04

CHESTERFIELD, Mich. — "They have nothing right now, absolutely nothing," said Sonya Healy, grandmother of the children traumatized in Friday's Chesterfield, Michigan, attack.

The family of the children has set up a GoFundMe for them to get the kids "everything they need."

"It’s horrific what we’ve had to overcome, and still overcome," said Healy to 7 Action News.

Chesterfield Police were called to the Bayview Drive condo at noon when the 35-year-old mother who lives there with the family escaped the home with stab wounds, cradling her five-year-old daughter.

Police said they found the mother’s life partner and father to their children, 57-year-old Jim Matthews, dead when they went into the home.

Matthews was also a beloved radio anchor at WWJ.

Chesterfield Police say they found Matthews's 10-year-old son bound and brutally beaten in the closet.

They also found the 54-year-old male suspect in the basement suffering from self-inflicted wounds and an overdose.

Police say the suspect was at the home frequently, but his relationship with the family is unknown.

Sunday evening, the kids and their mother are still in the hospital. The young son is sedated after trying to protect his father from the suspect.

Healy shared, "My granddaughter and her mother, they’re both in stable condition, thank the Lord. My grandson is in ICU and in critical condition."

According to the GoFundMe, which the kid's Aunt Ashley created, the boy has undergone brain and ear surgery.

"I’m sure he probably did all he could to try and protect his father that he adored," said Healy. "Him and his father were very, very close."

Healy says that her daughter Ashley is watching over the kids for the time being, but she doesn't have any clothes or toys, and the home where the kids lived is considered a crime scene so the family can't go in to get their things.

The GoFundMe will help with that and help to start a savings account for the children's future needs after the trauma they've experienced.

On the GoFundMe, Ashley describes what these children endured as a "vicious and needless attack."

The family says they'll most likely need life-long help to adapt and recover, they also say thank you to all of the strangers who have come out of the woodwork to help them.

"Keep up with the prayers," said Healy. "The amount of the prayers I’ve been getting from even strangers has been astronomical. Please just keep up with the prayers."

Sarah Grimmer at WXYZ first reported this story.