"I would want to know how he did it and how does he live with himself every day knowing that he did something like this," said Jessica. Around midnight Matthew says he leaves Jessica and the kids to meet fellow Officer Joshua Guthrie for a late-night snack at Waffle House. He bangs on the locked closet door. But Yates told 11Alive, Matthew was not the shooter and trusts the investigation's outcome. That's what they're all assuming, Matthew said. The conversation bounces from officer to officer. He's asked me to go get it out before. Minutes later, just as Matthew pulls into the Waffle House parking lot, he says he receives a chilling message from Jessica, what he calls a "suicide text," that says: "I can't do this anymore. Earlier that night Jessica's husband Matthew headed to Waffle House for a late-night bite with a fellow officer, leaving his service weapon, Jessica and his sleeping sons at home. The specific items Lester alleged Boynton had stolen included a Toshiba laptop valued at $500; clothes valued at $300; jewelry valued at $50; kitchen items valued at $500; and a retainer valued at $150. 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. Jessica, on a few occasions, hit and slapped him, he tells the GBI. It's one of their owna police-issued .40-caliber Glock. Jones checks on a locked closet door between the master bedroom and hallway, across from the bathroom. Inside the closet they also discover Jessica's red "divorce diary." I hadn't really put much thought into it, Jessica told him. Matthew makes it home, jumps out of his truck, races through the breezeway of his apartment building and bolts up the stairs. 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. Her body is on the floor, just behind the door. And he called the girlfriend, so Mays said to Mathews. No, never. "She's like, 'This is exactly what I need to get my divorce from him.'". Despite what many think is a smoking gun, the GBI agent asking questions proceeds as if Jessica shot herself. Absolutely, Matthew assures the agent. "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.". If someone from the GBI does not reopen this.. well, I have to get my ducks in a row before I open another huge can of worms.. "I would not have said that to him," said Jessica. But DeMarco insisted to Mathews during their phone conversation, that the timeline was not relevant. It was sitting out in the open, caught on police body-camera when cops kicked in the closet door. GBI director Vernon Keenan wrote a letter indicating the gunshot wound was self-inflicted by Jessica, closing the case. "I have occasional headaches, but other than that everything's good," Jessica Boynton said. She also thinks Matthew read her diary and realized she was documenting his extramarital affair and secretly plotting to get full custody of their little boys. A body-cam captures her inconsolable baby boy in the arms of an officer. We put it on the counter to take a picture of it," he confirmed to Mathews. The officer says he left it in the kitchen and ran outside. 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. And that's all I needed, so I was on cloud nine.". So I'm trying to hurry and get back home just to make sure that nothing's going to happen to them.. I said 'Is she still alive?' I was at Atlanta Medical Center for a month. Cops now know what was behind that closet door -- but the true mystery is just about to begin. She was leaving her husband of just six months. Making his way outside, seconds later, he calls for assistance over his radio. A text messages is sent to his phone from Jessica's phone. He grabs his police radio, stationed and charging on top of the white microwave in the kitchen, and leaves his phone on the counter. Keyword: Admitted. There are a lot of questions that I would love to have answered. He's a truck driver. And, the first officer on scene, as recorded by body cam footage, was not interviewed by the GBI for months after the incident. They're my everything. Please wear sturdy shoes. BROTHERHOOD does not mean coverup or being above the law. 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,. "Her hands appeared to be pristine, but also he noted that she had no gunpowder burns.". Matthew met Jessica during her sophomore year of high school at open house in 2012. She wants to give her new employers the right impression, since tomorrow is her first day at a chiropractor's office. She loved me. Emphasis on evidence. That's the bottom line for me. The odd thing is a few pages have been ripped out. 478-993-3053. The glowing yellow and black, blocked letter sign illuminates his truck driving past. However, he did not confirm that sequence. It could, but it wont necessarily do it, Yates said. When he's not driving a truck, Sanders studies police records looking for things investigators missed -- or possibly covered up. nd police notify Jessica's family that she has died. 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. (He resigned) about the time they brought him in. Matthew admits to having an affair. I mean that just doesn't happen," said Jessica. It was actually from him. When the officers pull Jessica's body out of the closet, they find Matthew's gun right underneath her, a .40-caliber Glock. They hoist her inside. Show the world how smart you are and uncover what the Wannabe investigative reporters couldn't figure out. For the wife of a Georgia police officer, answering that question is unfortunately turning out not to be so simple. And Sanders was beyond fascinated by this one. Furthermore, he said, it's his observation that self-inflicted gunshot wounds are very unusual among women. ", 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.. 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. That's not what the surveillance tape shows. One of her aunts is all over Facebook., GBI agent said, The bullet didn't even enter the skull. 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. Yes, I didn't have time, you know with everything going on, I didn't think anything about getting any other clothes, so I didn't know if y'all would want these or not. Griffin Police Department Officer Matthew Boynton has been arrested and charged with two felonies. If he's willing to cheat on his wife, he's willing to cheat the law., She wanted to file for divorce, says Kshywonis. The GRIP has reported extensively on seeming inconsistencies and irregularities in that GBI investigation. But where's the second round? She's even fighting with EMS, dude, the fellow officer tells Matthew. He hears a baby crying as he carefully steps into the bedroom where a dark brown crib is situated. Despite their problems, Matthew tells investigators he still loved Jessica and the boys, and he offers an explanation for why he didn't run in the apartment that terrible night to save them. They hit the top of the stairs knowing somebody's got a gun. The remaining items such as a hope chest, clothing and other miscellaneous items were returned to Jessica. Matthew, who's wearing a gray sweatshirt, says he called Lt. Curtis Keys and asked him what he should do. Reliving his steps inside the apartment after he heard gunshots fired, he says, My whole upper body went numb. I do not have any other items of Jessicas.. Her shoulder-length, blonde hair is saturated in red. Or was it? The ceiling fan's light shines down on Jessica's eyes. Here recently she did confirm that the second baby's not mine. She had a job interview and it was going to be her first step to freedom. It's possible, but I mean it's very doubtful, because he's never hurt me before. Excessive force. Less than a month after her hospital-bed interview, Matthew was verbally cleared by the GBI, according to his chief. And its inside that closet, where police found her seemingly shot in the head, laying on top of her husbands service weapon. EMTs start carrying Jessica down the stairs on a backboard and click her into a gurney and swing open the ambulance doors. Her neighbor, who asked us to protect her identity, says she knows the motive: Jessica had uncovered Matthew's dark secret. | Examine the evidence yourself. I'm prior military so to me it sounded like a gunshot, he tells DeMarco. GRIFFIN, Georgia, April 15, 2016: Police are breathlessly racing to save a life. "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? Jessica Boynton's husband says he gets a suicidal text from his estranged wife, so he rushes home, only to hear two gunshots. When facts are wrong, evidence altered to fit theories and threats made, how does the GBI remain the last word on the case? 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. 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. My understanding of the laws of physics is that one person cannot be in two places at the same time," Mathews said in an interview with 11Alive. Because she owned the retainer prior to her marriage, it would not be considered community property. He then said the GBI has not indicated to him that the investigation will be reopened. Matthew sends another text to his mistress, a Spalding County dispatcher, Give me a few. He checks the closet where he keeps his police-issued firearm, but the door is locked. Which I knew that.. The GBI needs an overhaulclean house. 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.. "They did not. There's no way I could have shot myself in the top of the head and not kill myself. Get him downstairs. One of about 70 messages they exchange throughout the night. He reads another text from mistress, while driving home at nearly 90 mph. Any weapons inside the house? the dispatcher inquires. The good old boys and his grandfather police chief should also get some time for covering up this crime. I didn't bring any other ones with me. December 20022 so heartless to show this right before Xmas. However, Yates said, that's not that uncommon. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't try to brush off anything. The air is thick with the trepidation, as officers approach the locked closet. An officer tries to console his grieving coworker. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. I would have said, 'I can't do this anymore, comma, take care of Tolin and Tyler, period.' "I don't really know what happened in the closet, I just know that I did not try to kill myself," said Jessica Boynton. McCune also had Lester write a victims statement. A tactical sweep finds an 8-month-old baby screaming. Domestic violence has always been a precursor to violence in other areas. Matthew Boynton interrogation video with Griffin Police Department. He was able to confirm that they were all right.. That's the last thing the 19-year-old remembers. Photos | Jessica and Matthew Boynton wedding. Just one minute later, Matthewcalls 911, reaching Spalding County dispatch. If I just would have left my f**king duty belt in the car.. This activity on his cell phone had to have taken place inside the kitchen inside his apartment," Mathews said to DeMarco in a recorded phone conversation. Lt. Curtis Keys is dispatched to the scene. But the story is far from over: Jessica now claims the April 15 incident was a staged suicideconstructed by her husband. I wouldn't trade them for anything no matter the situation. Matthew begins calling his brothers in blue, telling them Jessica is physically abusing him -- not a standard way of reporting domestic abuse. This couldn't happen man. $5 plus $5 parking. Am I recording it? To stage a suicide," said the neighbor. She rebukes the text message that came from her phone to Matthew's that night and said she didn't have a lock on her phone, so anyone could've sent it. Her head shaved. "Very explicit conversation," said the neighbor. A previous study found 41% of police admitted to being abusive to their spouses. "Next thing I remember was I wake up and I'm in a hospital.". [] of this document: BREAKING NEWS: GPD Officer Matthew Boynton arrested, charged with two feloniesM Matthew Boynton: The evidence and investigation that led to his arrest Matthew Boynton criminal []. In any case GPD/GBI are an absolute embarrassment to the state of GA! She had always kept it hidden, but now, there it is for everyone to see. No. Maybe Jessica would remember why and when the door knob was swapped because it happened before that night. Example video title will go here for this video. Their neighbor says Jessica wasn't suicidal at all. Its so obvious a coverup. Everybody clear out, says Jones, who has Keys call for an EMT. [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. I can't even get it out of its case, she replied. She also stated that she just wanted her things back, so I informed her that I would do a report on the incident.. While Jessica believes someone tried taking her life from her, she refuses to allow anyone to take her kids away from her. "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. She spoke to the GBI, from her hospital bed. "Well listen, if you're going to start quoting, you gonna start recording these things, you need to let me know ahead of time before you do, before I'm starting answering questions," DeMarco ordered the reporter. Is that what you're saying?" And, unfortunately it appears those questions will never be answered," Mathews said. That piece of evidence was a photo showing Matthew's cell phone next to the microwave inside the apartment. Nearly four years later, questions persist about what happened to the young. RE-open the case Georgia!!!!!! I was, he says to the GBI agent. 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. Now she lives in terror every day because she can't remember who attacked her. On something like this, does it usually take a while?, Right now it depends on what happens with Jessica, too. In response to 11Alives questions about the case, the GBI said, We are confident in the investigation that was conducted., RELATED: Jessica Boynton says she's free as a bird', MORE | Watch the Facebook Live with Brendan Keefe. I didnt know if I was dealing with a possible active active scenario where she still had the gun and she had shot Tyler, he replied. The agent who told Mathews, Were gonna have a problem, apologized to the reporter and told her that he was answering questions about a case file that he had not reviewed for months. There's so many useless words thrown in there, then there's so many words left out, she said. "He stated that he heard two shots fired, 'pop pop,' rapid succession," said Sheila Mathews. She's breathing, but unresponsive. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . Jessica Boynton's head is perfectly positioned on a blood-soaked pillow. "Be advised I smell gunsmoke, and I can't get an answer to the door," Boynton says on the call. They turn her over from her stomach to her back. It's locked. In 2016, something terrible happened to Jessica Boynton, a 19-year-old mother of two. I'll be back there in about two minutes. "I'm guessing Matthew," said Jessica. ', Do you know how it was that you got shot?, Have you ever had any type of thoughts about hurting yourself?. Thats what we had to establish, Yates confirmed. Who does the neighbor think sent that text message to Matthew's phone from Jessica's? Earlier that night Jessica's husband Matthew headed to Waffle House for a late-night bite with a fellow officer, leaving his service weapon . But as luck would have it, suddenly he's right across the street on police business. The chain of custody on that stuff is messed up. She said there were too many errors and discrepancies for her to have sent it. Still peering down at his phone, Matthew also sends a text to his girlfriend, a Spalding County dispatcher. Jessica's husband and high school sweetheart is Griffin Police Officer Matthew Boynton. 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 ). Still inside, some of the officers look closer and find two bullet holes inside the closet. This screams cover up. Courthouse Annex, Solomon Street, Griffin, Six-year-old fire victim will give life to others through organ donation, Cause of fatal Saturday morning fire determined, https://the-grip.net/2016/10/18/gbi-completes-boynton-investigation-requested-by-gpd/, https://www.11alive.com/article/news/investigations/trigger-over-and-out/85-8ab82530-da07-492b-9a3c-c20d5e7f50b3, GPD Chief fabricated, released record identifying Will Sanders as Matthew Boyntons father The Grip. By the time Jessica was twenty, she'd had enough of Matthew, and their crumbling marriage had driven her to a dark place. He said the description of a self-inflicted gunshot wound didn't fit, noting her pristine and unmarked hands and calling it a very unusual direction in which to point the gun at one's self with the intention of committing suicide., First of all, the wound that she suffered was toward the vertex of her skull on the right side of her head; this would imply that she shot herself with a gun pointed downward near the top of her skull., The second most striking observation he said he made while assessing Jessica was neither of her hands had any evidence of any gunpowder stippling from gunpowder blowback.. Meet at the Visitor Center. At the time of the shooting Jessica was looking to make a new start for herself and two young sons. They're forced to kick it in. OMG this is a total disgrace to the Uniform.I have looked over several different articles and maybe im missing something here but, in all that i had seen it states that he was questioned in his wifes shooting what the hell folks.SHE WAS NOT SHOT!!!!! The dining room table along with other items were picked up by Cathy Zellner for Jessica. That bastard is so guilty every time they show the door knob and any badge that doesnt know that shouldnt have one. 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. We heard something and said 'what was that', recalls Browning. 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's not a cop or even a private investigator. In fact she claims Jessica was blissfully stockpiling ammunition to get full custody of their two little boys. Man, look, she's still breathing. In it, she logs Matthew Boynton's every move, including his unexplained disappearances with their two boys. Officer Robert Brian Jones is also dispatched to the Ashford Way apartment building. The neighbor claims she had been with Jessica just hours beforehand, and says her friend would never have tried to take her own life. I finally had the evidence that I needed that Matthew was cheating on me. He assigns another officer to standby at the door until the rest of the apartment is cleared. Womens clothing items and an orthodontic retainer turned in to the Griffin Police Department by Will Sanders has been established to have belonged to Jessica Lester, the former wife of Matthew Boynton. The ceiling fan circles on high speed. Id be afraid to luve in that town until that poluce brotherhood is abolished. He tells Trammel he left Walmart without Jessica. The neighbor believes Matthew Boynton discovered the divorce diary and simply snapped. Jessica believes her suicide attempt was staged. I f***ing love her. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . Why did no one ask about the comment Matthew made about the kids being in the closet too? I thought he hadnt gone inside the apartment until backup arrived, so how would he know Jessica was in the closet unless he put her there? The next action noted in the case occurred nearly two months later. GRIFFIN, Ga. - Matthew Boynton was arrested by his fellow Griffin Police officers and taken to the Spalding County Jail on . The doctor was not contacted by the GBI until July 20. Dispatcher: Any weapons inside the house? She found a photo on Snapchat of another woman wearing nothing but a towel, with the caption: Shower time.. But Yates said the holster is designed to have some retention capability. The second bullet hole is more of a mystery. Once he arrives on the scene, Trammel makes contact with Matthew, who tells him that he and his wife got into an argument. I don't think he meant to do it, or at least that's what I like to think.". 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? No one may have ever done anything to question this case again if not for Will Sanders. They wanted me to come back Friday for orientation for the job, she said. It's like some of my family they hear all these people say, 'Oh I think he did it and it was planned.' It's possible, but I mean it's very doubtful, because he's never hurt me before. Nearly four years later, questions persist about what happened to the young. Agent DeMarco approaches Meagan Browning, who's joined by Eric Kshywonis, at 61 Ashford Waythe apartment just downstairs from Jessica and Matthew. "You know, you're trying to match up times of where he is getting these text messages or how he's responding to them, that he has to be in the kitchen. 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. I mean you can't prove that," DeMarco. After just six months of marriage, the Boyntons' one-time neighbor says she saw their young love grow toxic. GSW, possible to the head. From her hospital bed, she spoke to the GBI. Jessica's alive, but barely. Matthew's mistress worked as a dispatch officer, reporting to Sheriff Wendell Beam, who just happens to be Matthew Boynton's grandfather. an officer questions the others. 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? 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. But what started as a mutual, friendly divorce soon turned nasty. I have been suffering for a while now and no one has noticed. Just have a soul here please please please. [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. Matthew Boynton along with Lee Boynton, Josh Guthrie and Courtney Callaway moved all of my personal belongings from the residence. Running across the parking lot and up the stairs, responding officers, Keys, Jones and Gresham head toward the apartment. No bullet entered her body anywhere. I didn't try to wash my hands, anything, because I knew GSR and all that would be involved.. 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. Jessica and Matthew's neighbor, who wishes to remain anonymous for her own safety, sees the lights from her apartment and runs outside. That was the subject of his charges his statements and writings that we were able to prove were false, Yates said. At that time, the city of Griffin reported the investigation was ongoing and was not expected to be completed for another month to six weeks. If America is really a first-world country, it will enact legislation that takes this issue seriously, and fund more studies and programs to preventing domestic violence and identifying and protecting victims. I left a message with the lady that answered for her to call me. Since his bodycam wasn't charged, it doesn't record this call. He calls out for Jessica, but no answer. 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. Once the scene is secure, investigator Misty Gresham checks on Tollin, who's sleeping, and Tyler, who is awake and still crying in his cribboth unharmed. A text message is sent to his phone from Jessicas phone. | Examine the evidence yourself, calls 911, reaching Spalding County dispatch. "When the GBI concluded their case they gave it back to Jessica, and I got it from Jessica," Sanders said. I was looking for a job and I finally found one. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. And the doctor in the emergency room didn't find any bullet holes. On Dec. 19, 2016, Lester met with GPD Investigator Dexter McCune regarding property she alleged Boynton had stolen. Matthew's fellow officers try to shield him from the sight of his gravely injured wife. It was retrieved from the kitchen counter in front of the microwave oven," she probed further. in the head..in hospital for a month..just an FYI. The other problem: she said she didn't know how to get his gun out of his holsternor has she ever held or shot a gun. Guthrie calls Matthew and they chat for two minutes. 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. Griffin, Georgia is the kind of small Southern town where high school sweethearts stay married forever. giving him custody, and granting Jessica once-weekly. And Jessicas trauma surgeon was not interviewed by the GBI until July 20. Matthew Boynton, 20, discovered his wife Jessica, 19, lying in a pool of blood in a closet. nd police notify Jessicas family that she has died. Jones shouts as he travels deeper insidehis weapon drawn. In partnership with 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. It can be inferred that approximately half or more cops are abusive husbands/wifebeaters. 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. The agent then probes Matthew, asking if he has a girlfriend. If I could have been here sooner, maybe I could have stopped her Matthew says, spiraling. Get him downstairs, one of the officers whispers to another. Is there a loaded pistol with a hair-trigger on the other side? Thats what took so long to get it sorted out.. This is not the first time I have had suicide thoughts. Officer Matthew Boynton has never been charged with anything in connection with this case, but the Georgia Bureau of Investigation did question him. Jessica has given Will every piece of evidence in her case, including that divorce diary. Jones approaches Matthew to find out what happened. He changed clothes yet lied and said he did not. "Well I don't know.