For residents of a townhome complex tucked away off South Pacific Highway in Phoenix, the afternoon of May 12 was a Friday unlike any other.

That’s when authorities arrested Matthew Brian Winder, 28, over allegations he murdered his mother, Cheryl Sellers, 59, in Unit 1D of Bear Creek Townhouses, 610 N. Main Street, Phoenix. 

“He (Winder) called and said, ‘I stabbed my mother to death,'” said a woman who lives in one of the townhomes, quoting what she heard a police officer say. She asked that her name not be used.

Other neighbors reportedly heard screaming coming from the unit and then saw Winder run from the house and drive off before he was arrested.

Another woman who lives across from the unit where the murder occurred, also requesting anonymity, said the report of a stabbing happened mid-day. It wasn’t long, she said, before a swarm of squad cars came and cordoned off the townhome with police tape. 

The woman who said she overheard police talk about Winder noted that she was at work when the murder happened, but arrived home just in time to see Winder in a car, surrounded by police.

According to the woman, Winder — who was wearing pajama pants and possibly no shirt — drew his window down, when police told him to get out. He did as instructed and put is hands on his head, then behind his back before he was arrested without incident. 

The woman said police controlled traffic flow into the units during the investigation.

“I said to my husband, ‘Let’s get out of here; let’s go to church,'” she said.

The person next to the unit where the killing took place did not respond to a ring of the doorbell.

On Thursday and Friday, the townhome complex was quiet, with not a trace of a police investigation. Some residents left their sliding doors and windows open on the sunny afternoon.

A woman who was home by the time police arrived called the what happened “a tragedy.”

“It really stumped us, all of us here — to the point where we don’t know if we even want to live here,” she said. “It’s pretty tragic.”

Several other residents did not respond to Rogue Valley Times’ request for an interview or said they did not know anything about the murder because they were not home at the time.

The woman, who has only lived in the townhome with her husband for two months, said she said “Hello” to Winder and his mother at least once and didn’t notice anything unusual about them. She did not even know Seller’s name until police questioning during the investigation.

The woman added that she would be surprised if anyone saw or heard the murder. 

“For the family, I wish I would have; but I didn’t,” the woman said.

The investigation was handled by the Major Assault Death Investigation Unit — comprising the Oregon State Police, the OSP Crime Lab, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Medford Police Department and Jackson County District Attorney’s Office.

In a statement issued Monday, OSP said it responded to 610 N. Main Street, Phoenix, for a homicide investigation, but did not specify how the murder was carried out. The statement also confirmed Winder as the suspect and Sellers as the victim.

On Friday, OSP Capt. Kyle Kennedy wrote in an email that further updates about the case will come from the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office.

Asked for more details in the case, Senior Deputy District Attorney Michael Cohen wrote in an email Friday that, “in order to preserve the integrity of the criminal investigation, we will not be releasing further information at this time.”

Winder’s next court appearance was originally set for 4 p.m. Monday, May 22, but the hearing was canceled. It is not clear when the next hearing will be.