Hamilton man charged with murder and other crimes for beating death at motel

Yolanda M. Wilson was found dead in a room at the Cove Motel on Dixie Highway the night of November 24th. Hamilton police say she was beaten to death. After an autopsy, the Butler County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled her cause of death was head trauma.

The indictment states that Wilson’s murder occurred between November 22 and 23.

Matthews has been held without bail in the Butler County Jail since his initial arraignment in Hamilton Municipal Court on murder charges last week. He was scheduled to appear in City Court again Wednesday morning, but there will be no hearing on the direct charge.

Wilson was found in room 140 of the motel at 7:30 p.m. on November 24th. According to police, Matthews allegedly entered the motel room 24 hours earlier at around 7:30 p.m. on November 23 and did not leave until 3 a.m. on November 24.

When paramedics arrived on scene, they found Wilson unresponsive and upon examination determined she was deceased. According to a police report, Wilson suffered multiple visible blunt force injuries to the head.

According to police, video from the Cove Motel showed that no one had entered or exited room 140 between Matthews’ departure and the arrival of officers and paramedics.

Matthews’ case is assigned to Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Spaeth. A trial date for the said charges has not been set.

Staff writer Michael Pitman contributed to this story