- Patricia Mattson shared heartbreaking photos of herself teaching her daughter to make lasagna on Friday, just days before Mattson’s suicide
- The Erie News Now anchor died after being struck by a train in Fairview on Monday
- Her brother, Travis Mattson, paid tribute to his “beautiful and wonderful” sister
Heartbreaking footage of beloved Pennsylvania news anchor Emily Mattson shows her cooking with her mother just days before she took her own life.
The 42-year-old died Monday after being hit by a train in Fairview, outside Erie. Her death was ruled a suicide.
Her mother, Patricia Mattson, shared photos of the Erie News Now anchor “happy and proud” just days before the tragedy, revealing that she had been teaching Emily how to make lasagna.
Her brother has broken his silence on his sister’s death to share that he has her “secret presents from Santa in my wardrobe”.
“I taught Emily how to make sauce and lasagna last Friday. She was so happy and proud,” Patricia wrote.
“She wanted her picture taken to show her brother Travis that she made lasagna just for him!
“I mentioned I was going to get her a lasagna pan for Christmas and she said she would like a lasagna pan for Christmas.”
The images show Matson in a festive red sweater clutching a glass of wine and stirring a pot. Another shows the mother and daughter beaming as they post together for the camera.
The TV presenter was extremely close to her brother, who revealed his ordeal in a lengthy Facebook post for the first time since her death.
“We had plans. I have your Secret Santa gifts in my closet, you still haven’t replied to my last text and we have a Christmas Eve party at Mom and Dad’s house next week where we were JUST talking about what to get the kids because every Christmas we just have to to receive the perfect gift,” he wrote.
“This shouldn’t have happened, it wasn’t planned and you should still be here. I hear and see many that are “speechless”, but I have a few that I scream at the top of my lungs on repeat.
He paid tribute to his “beautiful and wonderful” sister’s sense of humor and the many lives she touched.
“Yes, she was professional when she worked, worked hard and loved what she did. But when we got together, she wasn’t a news anchor, she was my silly sister, and neither of us took anything seriously,” he added.
Mattson is survived by her children, Kyle and Emily Onderko, and her husband, Ryan Onderko. The couple also shared a late daughter, Kayla Onderko.
Her grieving daughter paid tribute to her mother on Tuesday, sharing a photo of the two of them and writing, “The most beautiful person I know, inside and out.”
Mattson was last on the air Friday in a show that continued as usual.
Erie County Coroner Lyall Cook said Tuesday that the evidence pointing to suicide was “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“It is with a very heavy heart that we learned of the passing of our beloved Erie News Now anchor Emily Mattson,” said Scott McDowell, the station’s news director.
“Emily has been a shining light in our newsroom, delivering news with passion and love for the Erie and Northwestern Pennsylvania community.
“We loved Emily very much and our hearts go out to the Mattsons and her husband Ryan at this time.”
