Its one of their owna police-issued .40-caliber Glock. His phone is pretty active tonight. Haha I'm sorry I didn't think about that lol he sends to her after receiving a text from her--moments following his text from his wife. She made a full recovery, but doesnt remember a thing. 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. Im not sure if it was slightly before or slightly after. Jessica and Matthew's neighbor, who wishes to remain anonymous for her own safety, sees the lights from her apartment and runs outside. We put it on the counter to take a picture of it," he confirmed to Mathews. They turn her over from her stomach to her back. Griffin, Georgia is the kind of small Southern town where high school sweethearts stay married forever. I do not have any other items of Jessicas.. said Sheila Mathews. BREAKING | Matthew Boynton, who was under investigation and cleared by the GBI last year for his wife's shooting, was charged with one felony count of false statements and writings, and one felony count of violation of oath of office. Then he hits investigators with a jaw-dropper. provided images. After getting Matthew's phone records, Sanders discovers during that same time Matthew was making calls to 911, he was texting his mistress. He's a truck driver. I don't know why. We asked retired homicide detective Tim Miley to review Jessica's entire case file and every crime scene photo. Still peering down at his phone, Matthew sends a text to his mistress. Still lodged in Jessica's skull? "No they did not because they assumed I was shot, because that's what Matthew said," Jessica said. 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. "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. What he finds turns this case of a suicide upside down. Yancy also requested that Boynton write a statement pertaining to the allegation. nd police notify Jessicas family that she has died. But did something else happen that spring night in 2016? That was the subject of his charges his statements and writings that we were able to prove were false, Yates said. Matthew Boynton is clearly hysterical. A Griffin Police Officer's wife herself, the reporter called DeMarco, on Sept. 28, the investigator who was in charge of the investigation for the GBI, to question him about the case and the photo that nagged her, and that for her, called into question how anything they investigated was trustworthy. Here lately I have not been able to recognize the person I see in the mirror. "I believe it's both, it's sloppy and a cover-up," said Jessica. Eventually, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded what they believe happened inside that closet; Matthew Boynton was never charged with any connection in harming his wife. Dr. Vernon Henderson, chief of Trauma and Critical Care at Atlanta Medical Center was on-call the morning Jessica came in and treated her for the next month while she was in the hospital. She told the agent, they were at home when they argued about his mistress and the photo that Jessica found on his phone that night. Her bright blues eyes glisten as they well with emotion. Published: 7/28/2017 6:16:14 PM. Which I knew that.. "To help cover his tracks.". It's the second infidelity in their relationshipJessica admitted to cheating on him before they were married. Jessica was still in a coma with a traumatic brain injurytubes stemming from her brain to alleviate pressure and fluid. "I saw a lot of things change after time. Earlier that night Jessica's husband Matthew headed to Waffle House for a late-night bite with a fellow officer, leaving his service weapon . They're forced to kick it in. "That's the way we're gonna play this game, Sheila. Credit: GBI/Griffin Police Dept. Yeah, if we've got to get the clothes, obviously we'll bring you back up to the apartment for you to get some clothes obviously, says the agent. Video shot outside in the parking lot shows Jessica getting in a black truck with Matthew and the kids, then leaving. Matthew, 20, quickly called 911 and said he had received an alarming text message from his wife, claiming she was going to commit suicide, cops said. Jones approaches Matthew to find out what happened. He's meeting his buddy at the local Waffle House. And, unfortunately it appears those questions will never be answered," Mathews said. Her shoulder-length, blonde hair was saturated in crimson. "The Officer's Wife" is a new podcast that will examine the evidence in the 2016 shooting of a 19-year-old mother and ask: Who pulled the trigger? 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. He's hoping if the case gets reopened, any possible clues will be preserved. They're re slit open while her head flops from side to side on the beige carpet, as one female EMS works on her. the GBI agent posed a return question. A lot of times, what happens, especially if theyre involved in something very serious, they throw in the towel before it can go through the citys process of termination.. She also stated that she just wanted her things back, so I informed her that I would do a report on the incident.. That's what they're all assuming, Matthew said. So if there is no gunshot wound, what really happened inside that closet? That's fine. He says she started poking him in the chest with her finger, telling him that he had to admit there was another woman. The good old boys and his grandfather police chief should also get some time for covering up this crime. The devil is in the details. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . The purpose of it, is when you're fighting with somebody to keep the weapon from coming out of your holster, but it's certainly easy to take it out under most cases. The dining room table along with other items were picked up by Cathy Zellner for Jessica. I'm prior military so to me it sounded like a gunshot, he tells DeMarco. "He believes that her injuries were consistent with blunt-force trauma," said Sheila Mathews. Shortly afterward, Matthew begins texting Jessica about going to Walmart to pick up baby formula. After three weeks, she woke up. She says there were pages missing. I can't keep doing this.. Moments later Matthew's fellow officers from the Griffin, Georgia Police Department arrive on scene with body-cameras recording. I just came up the stairs, two rounds be advised I smell gun smoke, and I can't get an answer at the door, he says out of breath and panicked. By the time Jessica was twenty, she'd had enough of Matthew, and their crumbling marriage had driven her to a dark place. This is who he's sleeping with, points to the Facebook post that she says she was holding for Jessica for her divorce. 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. The next action noted in the case occurred nearly two months later. But he's also texting her before he called 911," said Sanders. That was the best physical evidence that we had, Yates said. The doctor said the second most striking observation while assessing Jessica was that neither of her hands had any evidence of gunpowder. She rebukes the text message that was sent from her phone to Matthews that night and said she didnt have a lock on her phone, so anyone couldve sent it. "There was no testing done on his clothing," said Sheila Mathews. She was hit over the head. Her husband, Matthew Boynton, was at a nearby restaurant when he got a text from Jessica that read like a suicide note. "I have occasional headaches, but other than that everything's good," Jessica Boynton said. The crying officer tells Jones that he left the apartment and was meeting Guthrie at Waffle House, when he received a text from Jessica that indicated she was going to kill herself. This screams cover up. Jessica's alive, but barely. That's the bottom line for me. It entered at an upward leftward trajectory angle," said Sheila Mathews. 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. The agent had that phone, I think DeMarco, Chris DeMarco had the phone and they was [sic] trying to get in the gate, and, uh, he accidentally hit, I guess, the last number dialed, called or whatever. A message to Matthew's phone is received and marked as read, from his mistress. A lot, she said, doesn't add up. They are 50% more likely to commit police brutality. In fact she claims Jessica was blissfully stockpiling ammunition to get full custody of their two little boys. That is not a reaction that I can relate to.". Jessica's theory of what happened centers around her "dirty divorce diary." The air is thick with mystery, as the officers approach the locked closet. I mean that just doesn't happen," said Jessica. She told the agent, they were at home when they argued about his girlfriend and the photo that Jessica found on his phone that night. And with that Matthew Boyton's questioning was over. A text message is sent to his phone from Jessicas phone. She wants to give her new employers the right impression, since tomorrow is her first day at a chiropractor's office. Man, look, she's still breathing. "Happy," said the neighbor. Chris DeMarco, GBI's assistant special agent in charge, arrives on the scene and meets with Griffin Police Chief Michael Yates for a briefing. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't try to brush off anything. Hahaha you about have me a heart attack freak!! This x cop needs to be tried for attempted murder. Statements from Jessica Boynton and Matthew Boynton are logged into evidence, said a statement written by Yancy March 13. But asking those questions resulted in a threat. He hears a baby crying as he carefully steps into the bedroom where a dark brown crib is situated. 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. Who does the neighbor think sent that text message to Matthew's phone from Jessica's? Less than a month after her hospital-bed interview, Matthew was verbally cleared by the GBI, according to his chief. Officer Boynton was responding to an accident, and when he returned to his cruiser, we were waiting, armed with questions. If that's what you want to do. "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. He advised that he does not have any of the items listed in this report.. Get him downstairs. Officer Robert Brian Jones is also dispatched to the Ashford Way apartment building. She says under the helm of Wendell Beam, the sheriff's department had a reputation for protecting its own. Is there a loaded pistol with a hair-trigger on the other side? Unfortunately Matthew Boynton didn't have anything to say. Jones shouts as he travels deeper insidehis weapon drawn. It sounded like a gunshot. Two-year-old Tollin is sleeping soundly in his bed as cops try not to wake him in the chaos. The neighbor believes Matthew Boynton discovered the divorce diary and simply snapped. Her head shaved. He bangs on the locked closet door. However, the GBIs own photographs, search warrant and evidence log all corroborate that the officers phone was on the kitchen counter after Matthew had already left the apartment. Jessica, then-19, had just put her two young sons to bed and was getting her clothes ready in the closet for the next day. What you have from a close range press contact wound is high-velocity blood spatter, which is very small, and it might not be very visible with the naked eye, or easily visible from photographs. And based on the totality of circumstances, all the facts and circumstances, all the forensics, and the conclusion of the case, as well as the GBI's and the district attorney's recommendation, is no, he did not cause her injuries, Yates concluded. Jessica Boynton was just 19 years old when she was found inside a locked closet with a gunshot wound to her head. The GBI needs an overhaulclean house. Everything, he says, led to him wanting out of the marriage. God damn it, man! Hewrote a letter to Jessica's attorneyJune 10, in which he questioned the finding that Jessica's head injury was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, saying there was no investigation at the hospital. They did not swab me or Matthew, nor did they take his clothes," said Jessica. How did Jessica react when she saw those messages? Maybe Jessica would remember why and when the door knob was swapped because it happened before that night. My kids are at home with her, so I'm trying to hurry up and get back there., I'm driving. I would have said, 'I can't do this anymore, comma, take care of Tolin and Tyler, period.' Collectively, they examine the bullets' trajectory from the closet, into the bedroom wall and ceiling. It's a question 11Alive investigators asked a few months ago, when Griffin Police Officer Matthew Boynton's wife, Jessica, allegedly shot herself in the head with his service weapon,. Jessica Boynton was found shot in the closet with her. A grandson of the county sheriff, a career in law enforcement was in his genes. As he drove he received a text message from Jessica's phone. Once the investigation was closed, reporter and publisher, Sheila Mathews, investigated the shooting for her newspaper, The Grip. I f***ing love her. He said that she was so distraught that she was doubled over, and he said that she stood, closed the door in his face and then at that point he went ahead and left.". Griffin Police Department Officer Matthew Boynton has been arrested and charged with two felonies. So just one?" What! He drove back to the apartment, he tells Jones, but it was too late. Sheila Mathews publishes The Grip, an independent newspaper in Griffin. Excessive force. I was, he says to the GBI agent. Which is very off that this happened, because I never, ever had any thoughts like this before. Jessica Boynton, once declared dead, is alive and talking. We're going to be doing that to do touch DNA on the gun, and um, and why we're doing that is obviously one to corroborate everything that's what believed happened, and that way it also, it also eliminates the possibility of her family saying, you had something involved in this, or whatever, the GBI agent said to him. Based on that acknowledgement, The GRIP asked if it would not alleviate legal concerns pertaining to the chain of custody, and furthermore, why Boynton was not also charged with theft. He reads another text from mistress, while driving home at nearly 90 mph. By June 6, Matthew returned to full duty with a new service weapon in his holster. The next door neighbor interview was conducted after Matthew returned to full duty. He was there to tell the court that he wanted to keep Jessica away from him and their two sons, because he said, he feared for their safetybecause she allegedly fired his gun in the house while their boys were home. Those properties obtained during the marriage would be considered community property.. Griffin Police officer Matthew Boynton was cleared in his wife's shooting, but his interrogation still cost him his job. Bring the little ones for a story every Saturday morning at 11 a.m. to hear Sam's favorite tales. Waiting for your permission to load facebook comments. "Nobody would shoot themselves like this," said retired homicide detective Tim Miley. And that's all I needed, so I was on cloud nine.". That phone never got back into the officer's hand. Do you think Matthew did something? he asked her bluntly. There's so many useless words thrown in there, then there's so many words left out, she said. Inside the closet they also discover Jessica's red "divorce diary." Matthew makes it back to the apartment before help arrives and hears baby Tyler crying -- and then heartbreak. She found a photo on Snapchat of another woman wearing nothing but a towel, with the caption: Shower time.. 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. And the second bullet went up at 25-degree upward angle 1'10 off the floor. Still inside, some of the officers look closer and find two bullet holes inside the closet. A text messages is sent to his phone from Jessica's phone. A Griffin cop finally arrives to take Matthew's formal domestic violence complaint. Strangely, they never test her hands for gunshot residue. UPDATE: This story was originally published in November 2016. In partnership with "It was. Dr. Vernon Henderson, chief of Trauma and Critical Care at Atlanta Medical Center was on-call the morning Jessica came in and treated her for the next month while she was in the hospital. But what started as a mutual, friendly divorce soon turned nasty. There was a question of what was and was not community marital property, so that took some doing to sort that out, also, Yates said, adding that many of the items reported as stolen including the clothing, computer and household items had been cited as community property during the couples divorce. 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. He later tells investigators that he heard Tyler crying, and then, POP-POP!, Jones advises Matthew over the radio, Stay outside. DeMarco pressed Mathews. And, the first officer on scene, as recorded by body cam footage, was not interviewed by the GBI for months after the incident. "Matthew," said Jessica. Jessica has given Will every piece of evidence in her case, including that divorce diary. Warner Bros. Entertainment | I said 'Is she still alive?' With his gun raised and arms poised, he holds his weapon out in front of him with both hands. [I'm] gonna have to kick that door in Jones relays to the other officers standing on the other side of the closet, barreling through it in just two swift and deliberate kicks. HERE IS THE NEWS STORY OF THE SHOOTING.. https://www.11alive.com/article/news/investigations/trigger-over-and-out/85-8ab82530-da07-492b-9a3c-c20d5e7f50b3. The officer says he left it in the kitchen and ran outside. RELATED: Who shot the officer's wife? Did he cause his estranged spouse's injury? Matthew met Jessica during her sophomore year of high school at open house in 2012. That's what Jessica and Matthew Boynton thought would happen when they said "I do.". At about 10:45 p.m., he continues, he thought he heard a gunshot while they were lying in bed. 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. This, Matthew says to Trammel, is the precursor to an argument the couple also had at Walmart later that night, just after 10 p.m. Once outside, he tells Trammel Jessica refuses to get into the car to go hometelling him she would find another way home and walked back into Walmart. Above Jessica, pinned to the wall, is a large black letter B for Boynton. 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. 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. I just came up the stairs, two rounds," Boynton says on the recorded call. Jones checks on a locked closet door between the master bedroom and hallway, across from the bathroom. Furthermore, he said, it's his observation that self-inflicted gunshot wounds are very unusual among women. provided images. No, never. "Being in the closet," said Jessica. It doesn't sound like anything I would say. I never wanted to hurt myself before, she said, going on to say that she's never handled a gun, nor shot one. But here's the thing that has everyone shaking their heads: In the bureau's final report, dated months after Jessica was released from the hospital, they still declare Jessica dead. "According to my interview with Griffin police chief, that second shot had to have been fired while the gun was either on the floor or almost on the floor very close to that wall.". Two shots had been fired. "My wound was on the top of my head. It was retrieved from the kitchen counter in front of the microwave oven," she probed further. If his wife, Matthew's attorney continued, was capable of attempting to take her own life, there's a chance that she might do something to their children. Emphasis on evidence. 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. "I would not have said that to him," said Jessica. When he's not driving a truck, Sanders studies police records looking for things investigators missed -- or possibly covered up. But many believe Jessica holds the only key as to what really happened inside that closet. (He resigned) about the time they brought him in. Matthew Boynton, 21, had just started work as a Griffin police officer. A phone that text messages were sent and received to/from following his recollection of hearing,POP-POP! and running out of the apartment. The dispatch operator notified Matthew on Facebook, Browning says. Matthew Boynton, 20, discovered his wife Jessica, 19, lying in a pool of blood in a closet. If I could have been here sooner, maybe I could have stopped her Matthew says, spiraling. "He never re-entered the apartment after that point," said Sheila. Aft. But Jessica still can't remember what happened that terrible night in the closet, and she's says there is only one person with the answers. A bunch of CLOWNS!! Am I recording it? There were two bullets, on different walls inside the closet. I had a friend who was a girl, or is a girl, he answers, further admitting that the relationship had become sexual. Listen. She's got good pulse. Matthew begins calling his brothers in blue, telling them Jessica is physically abusing him -- not a standard way of reporting domestic abuse. It appears it was self-inflicted. Thank God she fought and he was in there with her. The remaining items such as a hope chest, clothing and other miscellaneous items were returned to Jessica. I didn't know if I was dealing with a possible active active scenario where she still had the gun and she had shot Tyler, he replies. But she doesn't buy it, especially since her head was perfectly laid on a pillow, she said after watching the bodycam footage. The neighbor says Jessica started documenting all the sordid details of the affair in her secret red "divorce diary." Around midnight Matthew says he leaves Jessica and the kids to meet fellow Officer Joshua Guthrie for a late-night snack at Waffle House. Investigators confirmed at least some of this evidence did belong to Lester, but along with questions regarding the chain of custody was the issue of whether the belongings were personal or community property. "He tried to kill her.". Chris DeMarco, GBIs assistant special agent in charge, arrives on the scene and meets with Griffin Police Chief Michael Yates for a briefing. $5 plus $5 parking. But it's what those body cameras don't record that's raising eyebrows. Her shoulder-length, blonde hair is saturated in red. I would have said, I can't do this anymore, comma, take care of Tolin and Tyler, period. I would have said, suicidal not suicide thoughts.. Jessica believes her suicide attempt was staged. Well I couldn't get it for him because I couldn't get it out of his gun holster, she said. It could have been simply that um, all his, he left his stuff there. Updated: 11:14 PM EDT July 28, 2017. They had Tollin soon after, and were married on Oct. 24, 2015. If the phone was found by the GBI in the kitchenif the phone is on police body camera footage sitting on the counter by the microwave, and he was outside never returning insidehow is it possible for Matthew to text his girlfriend, while he's calling in shots fired while outside of the apartment? A Griffin police officer who was investigated in his ex-wife's shooting was charged Friday, July 28, 2017, with making false statements and violating oath after officials say he took her belongings, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. 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. she asked. "During that time I investigated hundreds of cases with gunshots and many, many suicides.". At the time of the shooting Jessica was looking to make a new start for herself and two young sons. And its assigned to Matthew. Matthew, a police officer in a small town called Griffin, in Georgia, rushed home. While she places a blood pressure sleeve around her arm, an officer stands over her, shining a flashlight on Jessica's face, revealing that it's covered in blood. And its inside that closet, where police found her seemingly shot in the head, laying on top of her husbands service weapon. In April 2016, the wife of a Griffin, Ga. police officer is found inside a locked closet. They hit the top of the stairs knowing somebody's got a gun. GRIFFIN, Ga. Standing inside her closet, wearing tan slippers adorned with fur, black yoga pants and a red T-shirt, Jessica Boynton contemplates what to wear. WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE FBI???????? I love you and the boys.". That's right. A body-cam captures her inconsolable baby boy in the arms of an officer. On something like this, does it usually take a while?, Right now it depends on what happens with Jessica, too. "I don't really know what happened in the closet, I just know that I did not try to kill myself," said Jessica Boynton. ", Following that phone call, Mathews, perceiving that she was threatened, called the GBIs director of professional standards to file a formal complaint and to gain clarity about what he meant by, Were gonna have a problem.. How did his phone get in there and how was there activity on his phone if he was not in the kitchen with his phone?" And that's all I needed, so I was on cloud nine.". Jessica Boynton, 19, was a stay-at-home mom to 8-month-old Tyler and 2-year-year old Tollin. That bullet ends up toward the top left of the closet. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. And they said yes," the neighbor said. [Im] gonna have to kick that door in Jones relays to the other officers standing on the other side of the closet, barreling through it in just two swift and deliberate kicks. If you play with it a little bit, it's not hard.. 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. Jessica Boynton's head is perfectly positioned on a blood-soaked pillow. I didn't bring any other ones with me. She just said that she's been experiencing suicidal thoughts right now, she told me to take care of the boys.
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