Jones removes the gun, which has a tactical flashlight attached to the bottom of its barrel, and places it on the kitchen counter and heads outside. I'll be back there in about two minutes. "It was determined that he knowingly provided a false statement relating to the property in question and his possession of (it)," Natale said in a release .l Center. Do you think Matthew did something? he asked her bluntly. Matthew Boynton along with Lee Boynton, Josh Guthrie and Courtney Callaway moved all of my personal belongings from the residence. Did he cause his estranged spouses injury? Griffin Police officer Matthew Boynton was cleared in his wife's shooting, but his interrogation still cost him his job. Jessica's alive, but barely. Because she owned the retainer prior to her marriage, it would not be considered community property. The way our charter is structured, termination takes two or three days. And it's assigned to Matthew, her husband, the cop. Emergency-responders finally arrive and carry Jessica to a waiting ambulance. "Very explicit conversation," said the neighbor. "It's just inconvenient. Then he drops a shocker, claiming he wasn't the only one cheating, "She finally told me, she said 'Yeah, I had an affair,'" Matthew Boynton says in the GBI interview. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. Did investigators look for a blunt object? Dispatcher: Any weapons inside the house? He assigns another officer to standby at the door until the rest of the apartment is cleared. The subsequent investigation was short-lived, with it having been deemed a "civil matter." Matthew Boynton allegedly deprived ex-wife Jessica Lester of her belongings and lied to the authorities about doing so, Griffin police Lt. Michael Natale said in a statement. He's a truck driver. What! Just one minute later, Matthewcalls 911, reaching Spalding County dispatch. 'We're not going to do this in Georgia anymore' | Prosecutor fighting to stop animal abuse, NASCAR star Chase Elliott hurts leg in snowboarding accident, Forecast | Cooler air moving in for the weekend, Metro Atlanta, north Georgia hit with widespread damage after storms produce powerful winds, Who shot the officer's wife? Just have a soul here please please please. His tone changes. She's moaning.. They're forced to kick it in. Ashamed the FBI hasnt picked up on this yet . Ad Choices, Griffin police Lt. Michael Natale said in a statement. Her neighbor, who asked us to protect her identity, says she knows the motive: Jessica had uncovered Matthew's dark secret. Yes, for an article, just to make sure I get quotes proper.". Chris DeMarco, GBIs assistant special agent in charge, arrives on the scene and meets with Griffin Police Chief Michael Yates for a briefing. She loved me. Keyword: Admitted. Who shot Jessica Boynton? A new podcast investigates | 11alive.com But the report and follow-up interviews with the lead investigator make the case as clear as mud to one reporter in the small town where it happened. But Griffin Police Chief Michael Yates said, Officer Boynton was not the shooter and trusts the investigations outcome. This is who he's sleeping with, points to the Facebook post that she says she was holding for Jessica for her divorce. Especially because of my children. Before he leaves, Matthew says Jessica makes a bizarre request: She asks him to call an ambulance. Did Someone Try to Kill Jessica Boynton? - Active Fugitives I was, he says to the GBI agent. Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam behind false death notification in They were calling me the miracle child Because what I went through, not a lot of people survive through it, she told 11Alive's Brendan Keefe, nearly six months after the incidenther golden blonde hair now growing back. He says she started poking him in the chest with her finger, telling him that he had to admit there was another woman. I'm sure as you've heard, I'm getting a divorce. "I would not have said that to him," said Jessica. She grabs his arm with her left hand, while her other arm falls to the ground. On May 11, Will Sanders met withYancy and Sgt. With the suicidal text message and Jessica's DNA found on her husband's gun, less than a month after her hospital bed interview, Matthew was verbally cleared by the GBI, according to the chief, and as of June 6, Matthew returned to full duty with a new service weapon on his hip. in the head..in hospital for a month..just an FYI. An officer tries to console his grieving coworker. Man, look, she's still breathing. So I'm trying to hurry and get back home just to make sure that nothing's going to happen to them.. Armed with body camera attached to their uniforms, the officers burst through the door, quickly passing Matthews phone, a black and grey Verizon LG smartphone, on the kitchen counter. "Another reasonable explanation is that there was a fight over the gun and during the course of that she was injured, Matthew thought she was dead and put the gun underneath.". "She suspected Matthew was cheating on her and so she dug for information, and we found it," the neighbor said. Less than a month after her hospital-bed interview, Matthew was verbally cleared by the GBI, according to his chief. This is not the first time I have had suicide thoughts. I havent listened to the actual investigation, but I dont believe so, that he gave any explanation that made any sense.. She says under the helm of Wendell Beam, the sheriff's department had a reputation for protecting its own. Still peering down at his phone, Matthew sends a text to his mistress. She alleged that many of Lesters belongings remained in Boyntons residence. That's the last thing the 19-year-old remembers. I was at Atlanta Medical Center for a month. "He stated that he heard two shots fired, 'pop pop,' rapid succession," said Sheila Mathews. "That was when approximately 24 minutes into the conversation, his demeanor changed and everything flipped," she recalled. Minutes later, at around 10:45 p.m., Jessica storms out. "What you're saying to me, that's not, you know, I don't see anything he did wrong by saying that," Fred Mays told Mathews. As she continues to tinker with clothes, she notices that her red and black composition notebook, which is usually carefully tucked under a pile of clothes inside her closet, has been left on top of the clothes. What did Matthew do that he needed covering up? No one may have ever done anything to question this case again if not for Will Sanders. She just said that she's been experiencing suicidal thoughts right now, she told me to take care of the boys. That question lingers--but not for Georgia Bureau of Investigations, who said the case is closed--repeatedly stating that they are satisfied with their findings. She wants to give her new employers the right impression, since tomorrow is her first day at a chiropractor's office. Of course the Grandfather could not be reached for a comment, he had it covered up. She tells the Georgia Bureau of Investigation the Matthew Boynton is cheating on Jessica with another woman. "That's the way we're gonna play this game, Sheila. She spoke to the GBI, from her hospital bed. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't try to brush off anything. I was looking for a job and I finally found one. Statements from Jessica Boynton and Matthew Boynton are logged into evidence, said a statement written by Yancy March 13. Since the original publication of this story, 11Alive's Brendan Keefe and Jessica Noll have taken another look at the evidence in this story, and talk to one reporter who said she was threatened when she had questions about the investigation. At about 10:45 p.m., he continues, he thought he heard a gunshot while they were lying in bed. Matthew makes it home and races to the breezeway of his apartment and enters, checks the master bedroom and bangs on the locked closet door. There's so many useless words thrown in there, then there's so many words left out, she said. The neighbor says Jessica came over to her apartment with the kids, clearly upset about the fight. Who shot Jessica Boynton? A new podcast investigates | wusa9.com I don't know, he said. VIDEO: Did a police officer stage his wife's suicide attempt? It's the journal where she's been keeping detailed notes about divorcing Matthew. Once he arrives on the scene, Trammel makes contact with Matthew, who tells him that he and his wife got into an argument. Meet at the Visitor Center. One of her aunts is all over Facebook., GBI agent said, The bullet didn't even enter the skull. Get him downstairs. They wanted me to come back Friday for orientation for the job, she said. And that's all I needed, so I was on cloud nine.". That's what Jessica and Matthew Boynton thought would happen when they said "I do.". "I didn't know if I was dealing with a possible active scenario where she still had the gun, and she had shot Tyler, and then I could have been the next target," Matthew says in the interview. She told me to take care of the boys, so I'm trying to hurry up and get back home just to make sure nothing is going to happen to them. Her shoulder-length, blonde hair is saturated in red. After just six months of marriage, the Boyntons' one-time neighbor says she saw their young love grow toxic. Griffin, Georgia is the kind of small Southern town where high school sweethearts stay married forever. Her head wound has soaked into the green and white pillow her head is resting onher blood is contained to that one stain and a few nearby drops. Then, a moment of hope from the 19-year-old mother: She's still breathing. If I could have been there 10 minutes earlier I could have jumped in front of the gun and try to get it from her man., Where did she shoot herself at? He was able to confirm that they were all right.. With dark, latex gloves on, an officer kneels down and touches her neck with his fingers. UPDATE: This story was originally published in November 2016. "No they did not because they assumed I was shot, because that's what Matthew said," Jessica said. After you got on the radio and you were outside communicating on the radio, you never went back in to actually check, check on the kids, the agent questioned Matthew about once he removed himself from the apartment. Photos | Jessica and Matthew Boynton wedding. Shame shame. I told him, You're going to have to go get it, because I cant get it out of the case., Do you know how it was that you got shot?, Have you ever had any type of thoughts about hurting yourself?. On something like this, does it usually take a while?, Right now it depends on what happens with Jessica, too. After you got on the radio and you were outside communicating on the radio, you never went back in to actually check, check on the kids, the agent questions Matthew about once he's out of the apartment. His phone was given to someone else at Griffin PD, they put the phone in the thing because they knew GBI wanted it, and that's where we're gonna be while he was taken to the police department. It was actually from him. If you play with it a little bit, it's not hard.. Still lodged in Jessica's skull? But this wasn't the end of Jessica's story, rather a new beginningbut not the one she was hoping for. Officer Robert Brian Jones is also dispatched to the Ashford Way apartment building. Hahaha you about have me a heart attack freak!! That's the bottom line for me. "I would say broken, distraught, damaged," the neighbor says. In it, she logs Matthew Boynton's every move, including his unexplained disappearances with their two boys. I had a friend who was a girl, or is a girl, he answers, further admitting that the relationship had become sexual. "I'm guessing Matthew," said Jessica. Jessica advised me that around 4.15.2016, when she and her ex-husband, Matthew Boynton, separated, he took several things that belongs to her without her permission, McCune reported. They discover two shell casings and two bullet holes in the closet wall. The glowing yellow and black, blocked letter sign illuminates his truck driving past. "I believe it's both, it's sloppy and a cover-up," said Jessica. Griffin police officer wife Jessica Boynton shot | 11alive.com He tells Trammel that he was in the shower, using his cell phone, when Jessica walked into the bathroom, pulled the shower curtain back and snatched his cell phone. He tells Trammel he left Walmart without Jessica. He later tells investigators that he heard Tyler crying, and then, POP-POP!. But they have no idea what's waiting for them behind a locked closet door. Haha I'm sorry I didn't think about that lol, he sends to her after receiving a text from her after his text from Jessica. I mean you can't prove that," DeMarco. Everybody clear out, says Jones, who has Keys call for an EMT. He changed clothes yet lied and said he did not. Jessica Lester-Boyntons property has already previously been returned to her by my step dad (Charles McDaniel Jr.) shortly after Jessica got out of the hospital. It's the second infidelity in their relationshipJessica admitted to cheating on him before they were married. He reads another text from his girlfriend, while driving 90 mph. The babys muffled cry echoes, getting louder as the officers sweep their guns back and forth, searching for the shooter. Video shot outside in the parking lot shows Jessica getting in a black truck with Matthew and the kids, then leaving. The only person who truly knows what happened behind that closet door was jessica -- and she's now out of her coma. I was excited I wasn't going to have to put up with him anymore because honestly I felt like his maid, and that's all I felt like.. He's asked me to go get it out before. She's like 'I got you where I want you and you're gonna go down for this,' and he pulls his gun out and she runs into the closet to hide, and instead of shooting her, he hits her on the head with a baton," said the neighbor. Officer Adam Trammel reports to a non-emergency call from the Boynton residence at Ashford Place on Ashford Way, in Griffin, Ga. "She logged on to his Facebook, we got his Facebook messages and printed them out and started reading the messages between him and the lady from the dispatch," said the unidentified neighbor. On Dec. 19, 2016, Lester met with GPD Investigator Dexter McCune regarding property she alleged Boynton had stolen. No it wasn't. Her condition.. Who shot Jessica Boynton? A new podcast investigates | 13wmaz.com Join our naturalist on a short walk and learn about the history of the once-prosperous town of High Falls. When facts are wrong, evidence altered to fit theories and threats made, how does theGBI remain the last word on the Jessica Boynton case? I don't know why. Show the world how smart you are and uncover what the Wannabe investigative reporters couldn't figure out. It could have been simply that um, all his, he left his stuff there. He drove back to the apartment, he tells Jones, but it was too late. But what about that 911 call Matthew made just minutes before the shooting, claiming he got a text from Jessica saying she was going to kill herself? Matthew loved being part of the brotherhood. However, she was NOT shot. They turn her over from her stomach to her back. Which is very off that this happened, because I never, ever had any thoughts like this before. Matthew calls another officer and reports Jessica is refusing to leave with him. 2023 Telepictures Productions Inc. "Be advised I smell gunsmoke, and I can't get an answer to the door," Boynton says on the call. Jessica Boynton says she's free as a bird'. When asked to confirm that a July 26 appointment with Lesters orthodontist was pivotal in the Internal Affairs case, Yates said it was. She had always kept it hidden, but now, there it is for everyone to see. "Next thing I remember was I wake up and I'm in a hospital.". Her shoulder-length, blonde hair was saturated in crimson. Still peering down at his phone, Matthew also sends a text to his girlfriend, a Spalding County dispatcher. "There was no testing done on his clothing," said Sheila Mathews. When facts are wrong, evidence altered to fit theories and threats made, how does the GBI remain the last word on the case? Sanders wants to know how Matthew was texting his mistress from this very phone if he never reentered the apartment. Matthew's attorney, however, told the court that Jessica was the one who shot the gun and that initially, Matthew believed that she was shooting at him. Matthew Boynton allegedly deprived ex-wife Jessica Lester of her belongings and lied to the authorities about doing so, Griffin police Lt. Michael Natale said in a statement. Thats what took so long to get it sorted out.. The police department should be ashamed of themselves for trying to cover this up!!! Her head wound soaked into the green and white pillow, where her head rested. At that exact point the interviewing officer detected something fishy, forced him to stop giving himself away and ended the interview and therefore night of investigation. Their neighbor says Jessica wasn't suicidal at all. HLN's 'Real Life Nightmare' episode focuses on Georgia cop, ex-wife When he's not driving a truck, Sanders studies police records looking for things investigators missed -- or possibly covered up. "She was actually happy, she was thrilled because she finally got that closure that she needed," says the neighbor. The shocking discovery comes when he shaves her head looking for bullet holes. Jessica's husband and high school sweetheart is Griffin Police Officer Matthew Boynton. No bullet fragments were recovered from her head. "I know what happened," said the unidentified neighbor. She had a job interview and it was going to be her first step to freedom. In any case GPD/GBI are an absolute embarrassment to the state of GA! Emphasis on evidence. "Her hands appeared to be pristine, but also he noted that she had no gunpowder burns.". Moments later Matthew's fellow officers from the Griffin, Georgia Police Department arrive on scene with body-cameras recording. GBI/Griffin Police Dept. Reliving his steps inside the apartment after he heard gunshots fired, he says, My whole upper body went numb. (South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS) The glowing yellow and black, blocked-letter Waffle House sign illuminates his truck as he drives by, turning around to head back home. The July 29 arrest of former Griffin Police Department Officer Matthew Boynton stemmed from a theft report filed Dec. 19, 2016, by his former wife, Jessica Lester. Interrogation - Matthew Boynton - Regarding The Shooting Of His Wife No. "If they put out a report I spend a lot of time fact-checking it and making sure what they're telling is the truth," said Sanders. With his gun raised, holding it out and in front of him with both hands, Jones passes by a framed portrait hung on the wall. And I could have been the next target.. And would a dad leave his kids inside with a suicidal woman and a loaded gun? Did he cause his estranged spouse's injury? Please wear sturdy shoes. Cops do find Jessica's DNA on the gun. But according to Mathews, that was not the last number dialed, so it could not have just been a redial accidently called through the evidence bag. There's no way I could have shot myself in the top of the head and not kill myself. She just said that she's been experiencing suicidal thoughts right now, she told me to take care of the boys. And that's all I needed, so I was on cloud nine.". Officer Robert Brian Jones shouts, as he travels deeper inside the two-bedroom apartmenthis weapon drawn. Who shot Jessica Boynton? A new podcast investigates | 13newsnow.com And its inside that closet, where police found her seemingly shot in the head, laying on top of her husbands service weapon. Does Jessica know whether the cops ever swabbed her hands? Making his way outside, he calls for assistance over his radio. It doesn't sound like anything I would say. I dont have the authority under our charter to hire or fire; it has to go to the city manager, so when you move toward a termination, it has to go through a process. But DeMarco insisted to Mathews during their phone conversation, that the timeline was not relevant. Around midnight Matthew says he leaves Jessica and the kids to meet fellow Officer Joshua Guthrie for a late-night snack at Waffle House. "The Walmart surveillance camera shows that they did exit the building together, and it does show her re-entering and, it shows her leaving again later," said Sheila Mathews. Her mouth covered with a breathing apparatus and several machines attached to her monitoring her condition. "If he would have just been a regular person he would have been taken to jail," said Jessica. Officer Boynton was responding to an accident, and when he returned to his cruiser, we were waiting, armed with questions. Armed with bodycams attached to their uniforms, the officers burst through the door, quickly passing Matthew's phone, a black and grey Verizon LG smartphone, on the kitchen counter. ", "There are two theories in this case, the first is that she shot herself and on the way to the ground she accidentally fired the gun a second time. They're my everything. Security camera captures the family walking in around 10:15 p.m. [I miss] getting to see them every day and getting to watch them grow more and more into the boys and men that they're going to be someday, Jessica said sobbing. And he called the girlfriend, so Mays said to Mathews. As part of that case, Lt. Karen Yancy, who leads the GPD Criminal Investigation Division, spoke with Boynton and on Jan. 5, reported, On Dec. 19, 2016, I spoke with Matthew Boynton about these items. Jessica's hair is so matted with blood no one can find the actual gunshot wound to stop the bleeding. "When the GBI concluded their case they gave it back to Jessica, and I got it from Jessica," Sanders said. And, unfortunately it appears those questions will never be answered," Mathews said. He says, he got out of the shower and asked her for his phone back several times, but she refused, he says, until he admitted to her that he was cheating on her. Jessica believes her suicide attempt was staged. From her hospital bed, she spoke to the GBI. Just days after running into Officer Boynton, I received a threatening email that reads in part: "Are You An Intelligent Enough Investigative Journalist To Know When You Are Being Conned or Do You Have To Be Spoon Fed? She's having suicidal thoughts," he calmly says about Jessica to the dispatcher. Im not sure if it was slightly before or slightly after. an officer questions the others. That's not what the surveillance tape shows. However, Yates said, that's not that uncommon. Barely clinging to life, Jessica spent three weeks in a coma before waking up, according to 11alive. Once established as her personal belonging, this one piece of physical evidence contradicted Boyntons January written civil statement in which he denied possessing any of Lesters property. Then-Griffin Police Department officer Matthew Boynton was arrested on July 28, 2017, for giving a false statement to his own department stating he was not i. Earlier that night Jessica's husband Matthew headed to Waffle House for a late-night bite with a fellow officer, leaving his service. He's meeting his buddy at the local Waffle House. Reliving his steps inside the apartment after he heard gunshots fired, he said, My whole upper body went numb. I f***ing love her. Click here for "Trigger: The Last Word" | And we talk to Jessica Boynton again here: "Trigger: Free as a Bird" | Anda story when the officer was arrested and kicked offthe force (but not for shooting his wife ). Yates said, Yes, but that doesnt overcome the civil side of it whether it was or was not marital property, and even if it was, it would have been a misdemeanor as opposed to the two felonies.. The subsequent investigation was short-lived, with it having been deemed a civil matter. However, with the later discovery of previously-unknown evidence, it evolved into an Internal Affairs investigation resulting in two felony charges against the former law enforcement officer. GRIFFIN, Ga. - Matthew Boynton was arrested by his fellow Griffin Police officers and taken to the Spalding County Jail on . What are my kids going to do? he pleaded, his voice cracking with emotion. "He believed that the shots he heard fired were fired from his duty weapon," said Sheila Mathews, publisher of The Grip. I'm prior military so to me it sounded like a gunshot, he tells DeMarco. "She's like, 'This is exactly what I need to get my divorce from him.'". It sounded like a gunshot. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . But Yates told 11Alive, Matthew was not the shooter and trusts the investigation's outcome. But it's what those body cameras don't record that's raising eyebrows. Jones checks on a locked closet door between the master bedroom and hallway, across from the bathroom. Dispatch notifies Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam, Matthews grandfather,and police notify Jessicas family that she has died. GBI didn't report finding any blood spatter on the closet wall. Guthrie calls Matthew and they chat for two minutes. The air is thick with mystery, as the officers approach the locked closet. Jones passes by a framed portrait hung on the wall. Who shot Jessica Boynton? A new podcast investigates | wwltv.com Henderson said in the letter, that he did not believe that Jessica's head injury was the result of a gunshot wound, and furthermore, questioned how she got the injury at all. SHE WAS NOT SHOT.and do they really think that she would have hit herself hard enough with any object to cause the damage that was done? He advised that he does not have any of the items listed in this report.. I would have said, 'suicidal' not 'suicide thoughts.'. My kids are at home with her, so I'm trying to hurry up and get back there., I'm driving. After establishing her retainer was not community property, Boynton was arrested on two felonies false statements and writings and violation of his oath of office. The air is thick with the trepidation, as officers approach the locked closet. The doctor believes Jessica's injuries may have been caused by blunt-force trauma. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . Uh, just my service weapon, he responds, ending the call just a minute later. Boynton was released from the Spalding County Jail Friday night on a $4,806 cash bond. One of those bullets went through the roof, the other lodged into the baby's bedroom wall. "He felt that perhaps it was maybe an anxiety attack. Collectively, they examine the bullets' trajectory from the closet, into the bedroom wall and ceiling.