A Pennsylvania man will spend the rest of his life in prison for the brutal killing of his wife, a crime he chillingly confessed to through a stream of text messages sent to family members and colleagues shortly after the incident.
Matthew Scott Harrison, 49, was sentenced Wednesday by Lancaster County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Conrad to life in prison plus an additional five to 10 years for the February 2024 murder of his wife, Jami Harrison, who was also 49 at the time of her death.
The sentencing follows Harrison’s guilty plea to charges of first-degree murder and strangulation, part of a plea agreement that led prosecutors to dismiss additional charges, including second-degree murder and aggravated indecent assault.
Court proceedings revealed disturbing details of the killing, including evidence that Harrison sexually assaulted his wife in their home before strangling her to death. He then left her body in the bedroom, where it was tragically discovered by her then-11-year-old daughter.
In an emotional courtroom moment, one of Jami Harrison’s daughters stood to deliver a victim impact statement, pausing to directly address the man convicted of killing her mother. “You are a coward,” she told Harrison, as quoted by the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office.
She went on to describe how she and her siblings had once hoped Harrison could be a positive role model, but instead revealed himself as abusive and unworthy of the trust placed in him. “He was not the best example of a man,” she stated.
The daughter also emphasised the devastation Harrison caused by taking away the “only true parent” the children had, underlining the trauma inflicted on the young girl who found her mother’s lifeless body.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick, who prosecuted the case alongside ADA Jennifer Ponessa, shared with the court several deeply disturbing text messages that Harrison sent in the days leading up to and immediately after the murder.
Among the approximately 120 messages sent while Harrison was staying at a nearby hotel were lines such as, “You’re not getting away with this,” “If I’m going down, you’re coming with me,” “How’s that for your marriage,” and “It’s still death do us part.”
In those texts, Harrison also called his wife a “whore,” stated that he “hates her,” and wrote that she deserved “nothing but misery and much, much pain.” These messages, prosecutors said, painted a picture of escalating rage and emotional volatility.
The messages also revealed that Harrison was closely monitoring his wife and maintaining a pattern of harassment. On the day of the murder, he texted her to say he needed to “grab things from home,” signalling his impending return.
Additional messages sent after the crime further confirmed Harrison’s awareness of the gravity of his actions. On February 7, he texted a co-worker: “Dude, I’m in a world of s—,” followed by “I won’t be back,” and “The demon in me broke free.”
In one particularly chilling revelation, prosecutors cited a message Harrison allegedly sent to his son on February 3. According to the probable cause affidavit, Harrison wrote, “If I kill her by now, I’m cool son.” His son responded jokingly, “Come on now old head lol,” to which Harrison replied, “S— you think I’m kidding?” He continued, “Ever since what happened to you… I’ve been having murder on my brain.” Prosecutors have not disclosed what event Harrison was referencing.
After his arrest, Harrison made additional confessions to investigators, reportedly claiming that Jami “wanted him to kill her so she could stop being a whore,” and that by ending her life, he believed he had “set her free.”
Judge Conrad denounced Harrison’s actions in strong terms during the sentencing, echoing the words of the victim’s daughter by calling the murder “one of the most cowardly acts a man can do.”
In addition to the life sentence, Harrison was ordered to pay $6,500 in restitution, a small sum in contrast to the irreplaceable loss endured by Jami Harrison’s family.
The case has left the Lancaster community shaken and mourning the violent loss of a woman described by loved ones as a devoted mother and irreplaceable presence in her children’s lives. Her death stands as yet another tragic reminder of the devastating toll of domestic violence.
