Background: Crosswinds Condominiums in Clinton Township, Mich., where the remains of Courtney “Jerri” Winters were found in July 2021 (Google Maps). Inset: Matthew Lewinski and Courtney “Jerri” Winters (Facebook).
A Michigan man strangled his ex-girlfriend in an armchair before moving her remains to the basement in his condo.
Matthew Lewinski, 42, was convicted of first-degree murder on Thursday, more than five years after he killed his former girlfriend, Courtney “Jerri” Winters. According to reporting by local news outlet Macomb Daily, Lewinski was accused of strangling Winters in December 2020 after she paid him a visit at the condo they once shared in Clinton Township, Michigan. Prosecutors said the former couple had been broken up for about a month when Winters unexpectedly showed up at the condo and told Lewinski that she had an abortion.
Winters sat down in an armchair while Lewinski made tea for her in the kitchen. The former couple got into a verbal argument that escalated into a physical altercation. Winters purportedly bit Lewinski, who then strangled Winters until she went limp.
According to testimony from Lewinski”s sister, Debra Federico, at a preliminary hearing in May 2022, Lewinski was hospitalized that month after being found wandering the grounds of the Crosswinds Condominium property in his underwear. As Detroit-based Fox affiliate WJBK reported, Federico told the court that she had not spoken to her brother since 2019, but kept tabs on the condo where he lived because it belonged to their father. She said Lewinski would not let her in the condo when she tried to enter.
On July 27, 2021, the condo association contacted Federico because the unit’s lights were on, but no one was home. At that time, Lewinski was in the hospital. Federico told the court that she and her family were looking for a ceramic Christmas decoration and used the opportunity to enter the condo to find it.
Instead, they found human remains in the basement. The family called the police, who confirmed that there were decomposing human remains of a woman in the condo’s basement; the mutilated body was nude, lying on its stomach, and some of the skin appeared to have been removed.
A detective testified that there was blood in the basement, as well as bottles of bleach, a knife, and rubber gloves.
Lewinski confessed to the killing after police interviewed him at the hospital. Macomb Daily reported that he told police that Winters had “egged” him on.
Lewinski’s defense team argued that he had been the victim of “intimate partner violence” inflicted by Winters, who regularly threatened him. They said he “snapped” upon learning that Winters had terminated her pregnancy. Winters’ history of arrests and a troubled relationship with her family were also presented to the jury.
The prosecution pushed back, saying that Lewinski also had a troubled relationship with his family, pointing out that his sister had to sneak into his condo while he was hospitalized. While the defense argued that Winters was the abuser, the prosecution countered that by presenting witnesses who said Lewinski was the one in control.
The prosecution also argued that the act of strangulation demonstrated a level of premeditation, telling the court, “This is conscious… five minutes of conscious thought to squeeze the life out of someone. It wasn’t a ‘pull-out-a-gun and shooting’ in two seconds.”
Lewinski was found guilty of first-degree murder, mutilation of a body, and concealing a body, and faces a sentence of life in prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 14.
