Emily Matson/Twitter
TO UPDATE: Pennsylvania news anchor Emily Matson made headlines this week after news of her death broke. The WICU TV personality died at the age of 42 when she was struck and killed by a train.
Now multiple sources are reporting that Matson died by suicide. The Erie County coroner's office has concluded the fatal incident was a suicide, TMZ reports.
11TH DECEMBER: Emily Matson, a beloved, award-winning news anchor and reporter at WICU-TV in Erie, PA for nearly two decades, has died. She was 42.
NBC affiliate WICU's parent company, Lilly Broadcasting, confirmed her death on Dec. 11 but gave no further details.
“It is with very heavy hearts that we learned of the passing of our beloved Erie News Now anchor Emily Matson,” Lilly Broadcasting said in a statement. “Emily was a shining light in our newsroom, delivering news with passion and love for the Erie community and Northwest Pennsylvania. We loved Emily very much and are with the Matson family and her husband Ryan during this time.
Matson began her career as an intern at Erie's WJET-TV in the early 2000s. When she moved to WICU, she initially produced the station's morning show for two years before landing a job as an on-air reporter. “I was sad to leave the morning crew, but I was excited when I was offered the reporting job I wanted,” Matson wrote on her bio. “As a general assignment reporter, I have focused on crime since my first day on the job and I love it! I feel like I can really make a difference in the Erie community, meeting new people and telling the stories that affect everyone every day.”
She co-anchored the WICU broadcast nightly at 7 and 11 p.m. and twice won the Outstanding Spot News Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters.
“One of the things I love about my job is that no two days are the same,” Matson wrote in her bio. “I love breaking news situations.”