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. Cops find 8-month-old Tyler visibly upset but thankfully uninjured. But many believe Jessica holds the only key as to what really happened inside that closet. Ultimately, it came down to orthodontia Lesters retainer. Example video title will go here for this video. "Recently she did confirm that the second baby is not mine," Matthew tells the GBI investigator. The conversation bounces from officer to officer. Matthew begins calling his brothers in blue, telling them Jessica is physically abusing him -- not a standard way of reporting domestic abuse. 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. Crime Watch Daily's security team tracked the email address, only to find it was from an anonymous server. And, the first officer on scene, as recorded by body cam footage, was not interviewed by the GBI for months after the incident. BROTHERHOOD does not mean coverup or being above the law. Matthew's mistress worked as a dispatch officer, reporting to Sheriff Wendell Beam, who just happens to be Matthew Boynton's grandfather. When he's not driving a truck, Sanders studies police records looking for things investigators missed -- or possibly covered up. Stephen Kruspe, 65, appears at his first appearance before a judge after the March 27, 2017, shooting of his wife, Pamela, at a Boynton Beach assisted living facility. 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.. On something like this, does it usually take a while?, Right now it depends on what happens with Jessica, too. At the time of the shooting Jessica was looking to make a new start for herself and two young sons. 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. She says there were pages missing. I don't know, he said. 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. 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. 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. Yates also said Boynton had provided a statement during the subsequent Internal Affairs investigation, acknowledging the items Sanders turned in were Lesters belongings. While Jessica believes someone tried taking her life from her, she refuses to allow anyone to take her kids away from her. A lot, she said, doesnt add up, especially since, she said, she had reason to live. She found a photo on Snapchat of another woman wearing nothing but a towel, with the caption: Shower time.. "I think I was hit over the head with something.". They'd met in high school when Jessica was 15 and Matthew was 16. Matthew Boynton, 21, had just started work as a Griffin police officer. "He said 'What's wrong? Earlier that night Jessica's husband Matthew headed to Waffle House for a late-night bite with a fellow officer, leaving his service weapon . 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.. "Being in the closet," said Jessica. 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. "They did not. It doesn't sound like anything I would say. "I think it was in the heat of the moment, he was angry with me. giving him custody, and granting Jessica once-weekly. And now Jessica is telling a completely different story. They're saying it was self-inflicted, she said. The chain of custody on that stuff is messed up. 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. They're saying it was self-inflicted, she said. She's breathing, but unresponsive. It's just one piece of the brand new beginning the young mother and wife has been putting together for her and her sons. Cops now know what was behind that closet door -- but the true mystery is just about to begin. It could, but it wont necessarily do it, Yates said. But they have no idea what's waiting for them behind a locked closet door. One of about 70 messages they exchange throughout the night. Domestic violence has always been a precursor to violence in other areas. "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. The glowing yellow and black, blocked letter sign illuminates his truck driving past. I don't think he meant to do it, or at least that's what I like to think.". 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. Two shots had been fired. The agent then probes Matthew, asking if he has a girlfriend. I had a friend who was a girl, or is a girl, he answers, further admitting that the relationship had become sexual. Geez, im no cop , no investigator and know absolutely nothing on how investigations are even done but if the doctors say she wasnt shot what more do they need..that little punk got away with it.please tell me im missing a story and he has been arrested for the attempted murder of his wife.please.and please tell me that every stupid ass cop that had any involvement with this case is no longer a cop..oh and his Grandpa, well i think he needs a little jail rehabilitation as well..i could go on and on, but obviously they wouldnt understand anyway..what a disgrace to all REAL POLICE OFFICERS, https://the-grip.net/2016/10/18/gbi-completes-boynton-investigation-requested-by-gpd/ this says she was SHOT!!! Two shots have been fired from her husbands service weapon. Just minutes after Jessica is airlifted to an Atlanta trauma center, Sheriff Beam asks deputies to deliver the devastating news to Jessica's family that she's dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Her ex-husband and former Griffin police officer Matthew Boynton was investigated in the case, but was only charged with making . 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. It's one of their owna police-issued .40-caliber Glock. Did he cause his estranged spouses injury? Her condition.. Jessica Boynton, once declared dead, is alive and talking. Waiting for your permission to load facebook comments. No bullet entered her body anywhere. an officer questions the others. "If he would have just been a regular person he would have been taken to jail," said Jessica. RELATED: Who shot the officer's wife? [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. Jessica's hair is so matted with blood no one can find the actual gunshot wound to stop the bleeding. Take care of Tollin and Tyler, please tell them I love them every day. 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. 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. nd police notify Jessicas family that she has died. Jessica Boynton was found shot in the closet with her. "I have occasional headaches, but other than that everything's good," Jessica Boynton said. Yancy also requested that Boynton write a statement pertaining to the allegation. "To help cover his tracks.". "Most people would not view it as such, I don't believe," said Sheila Mathews. 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 just came up the stairs, two rounds be advised I smell gun smoke, and I cant get an answer at the door, he says out of breath and panicked. To stage a suicide," said the neighbor. We put it on the counter to take a picture of it," he confirmed to Mathews. "When the GBI concluded their case they gave it back to Jessica, and I got it from Jessica," Sanders said. "That's the way we're gonna play this game, Sheila. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. She told me she loved me right before she did it," Matthew says, sobbing, as the paramedics roll her gurney into the ambulance and slam the doors shut. 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. 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. 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. Matthew Boynton is the grandson of Sheriff Beam. Example video title will go here for this video. "I would not have said that to him," said Jessica. But where's the second round? Everybody clear out, says Jones, who has Keys call for an EMT. Before he leaves, Matthew says Jessica makes a bizarre request: She asks him to call an ambulance. Still peering down at his phone, Matthew sends a text to his mistress. 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,. Until recently, Matthew's grandfather, Wendell Beam, reigned as Spalding County sheriff. What! God damn it, man! That's what Jessica and Matthew Boynton thought would happen when they said "I do.". The dispatch operator notified Matthew on Facebook, Browning says. "Nobody ever asked him about why he changed clothes," said Sanders. Sanders wants to know how Matthew was texting his mistress from this very phone if he never reentered the apartment. 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. Which I knew that.. But as luck would have it, suddenly he's right across the street on police business. Nearly four years later, questions persist about what happened to the young. Published: 7/28/2017 6:16:14 PM. If you play with it a little bit, it's not hard.. He later tells investigators that he heard Tyler crying, and then, POP-POP!, Jones advises Matthew over the radio, Stay outside. "I was with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for 33 years," said Tim Miley. "He believes that her injuries were consistent with blunt-force trauma," said Sheila Mathews. They hit the top of the stairs knowing somebody's got a gun. GBI/Griffin Police Dept. Matthew Boynton along with Lee Boynton, Josh Guthrie and Courtney Callaway moved all of my personal belongings from the residence. Of course the Grandfather could not be reached for a comment, he had it covered up. 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. Yes, for an article, just to make sure I get quotes proper.". 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. 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. Matthew admits to having an affair. Maybe Jessica would remember why and when the door knob was swapped because it happened before that night. Her mouth covered with a breathing apparatus and several machines attached to her monitoring her condition. Matthew runs inside to the closet where he keeps his service gun. It entered at an upward leftward trajectory angle," said Sheila Mathews. 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. The second bullet hole is more of a mystery. Her blond hair is now red from what cops assume is a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ad Choices, Griffin police Lt. Michael Natale said in a statement. I was at Atlanta Medical Center for a month. "Police department!" "The neighbors [said] somewhere around 11 p.m., and he is the only one who hears the gunshots at 1 a.m., and he calls it in," said Sanders. It's like some of my family they hear all these people say, 'Oh I think he did it and it was planned.' UPDATE: This story was originally published in November 2016. 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. Am I recording it? 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? It's the journal where she's been keeping detailed notes about divorcing Matthew. That's the bottom line for me. She agreed to provide those items to Sanders, who then turned them in to the Griffin Police Department. Aft. There were two bullets, on different walls inside the closet. 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? Now she lives in terror every day because she can't remember who attacked her. Boynton was placed on administrative leave Thursday, July 28, and the Chief said his intent was to terminate the officer, but Boynton resigned before that process could be completed. A DISGRACE! They're my everything. No one may have ever done anything to question this case again if not for Will Sanders. He reads another text from mistress, while driving home at nearly 90 mph. [] 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 []. It appears it was self-inflicted. Its one of their owna police-issued .40-caliber Glock. She made a full recovery, but doesnt remember a thing. This screams cover up. But someone else did. He then said the GBI has not indicated to him that the investigation will be reopened. "It's believed that Jessica entered the closet, closed the door, locked it, turned with her back to the door facing the back wall of the closet, that she held the gun to her head, pulled the trigger," said Sheila. Credit: GBI/Griffin Police Dept. Her shoulder-length, blonde hair is saturated in red. Family and friends believe, in fact, they were married far too young. "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. Thats what took so long to get it sorted out.. Since his bodycam wasn't charged, it doesn't record this call. Jessica Boynton was just 19 years old when she was found inside a locked closet with a gunshot wound to her head. OR OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. "Nobody would shoot themselves like this," said retired homicide detective Tim Miley. "I believe it's both, it's sloppy and a cover-up," said Jessica. Reliving his steps inside the apartment after he heard gunshots fired, he said, My whole upper body went numb. 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. Unfortunately, the only person who may be able to answer that question is Jessica, and she was in a coma. An officer tries to console his grieving coworker. Uh, just my service weapon, he responds. Which is very off that this happened, because I never, ever had any thoughts like this before. 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!!!!! Around 9 o'clock on the night of Thursday, April 14, 2016, Matthew Boynton calls a lieutenant on duty and reports Jessica is hitting him again. I mean you can't prove that," DeMarco. McCune also had Lester write a victims statement. I don't know if it's just his job or what, but like I said I don't think he would intentionally hurt me.. "Next thing I remember was I wake up and I'm in a hospital.". I do not have any other items of Jessicas.. "I don't want to put all the blame on him but he's the only person that could have done it," said Jessica Boynton. "The only thing that I can tell you is that Matthew Boynton's account of events are not correct.". She loved me. GBI begins interviewing neighbors and Matthew interviews with the GBI later that morning. Boyntons statement, dated Jan. 9, said, I was advised to complete a statement on a previous date by Lt. Yancey. Officer Robert Brian Jones shouts, as he travels deeper inside the two-bedroom apartmenthis weapon drawn. That's not what the surveillance tape shows. Strangely, they never test her hands for gunshot residue. The doctor believes Jessica's injuries may have been caused by blunt-force trauma. Inside the closet they also discover Jessica's red "divorce diary." Show the world how smart you are and uncover what the Wannabe investigative reporters couldn't figure out. He says she started poking him in the chest with her finger, telling him that he had to admit there was another woman. DeMarco pressed Mathews. They wanted me to come back Friday for orientation for the job, she said. I can't even get it out of its case, she replied. Police investigate further and find a gun underneath Jessicas limp body. 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. 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 ). That piece of evidence was a photo showing Matthew's cell phone next to the microwave inside the apartment. "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? . There was most likely a struggle with the gun and he assumed she was dead. 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.. The GBI needs an overhaulclean house. Dispatcher: Any weapons inside the house? Photos | Jessica and Matthew Boynton wedding. 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. They investigate further and find a gun underneath Jessica's limp body. I attempted to contact Jessica Boynton via telephone to advise her that this is a civil matter. This stinks, and the fact remains, it appears he tried to kill his wife, so what are you guys going to do?? This case stinks to hi-heaven of a cover-up..if not, its a group of the most incompetent people ever to wear a Law enforcement uniform. Running across the parking lot and up the stairs, responding officers, Keys, Jones and Gresham head toward the apartment. It sounded like a gunshot. Emergency-responders finally arrive and carry Jessica to a waiting ambulance. Jones passes by a framed portrait hung on the wall. | Examine the evidence yourself. Mass shooters. It's back in the headlines with the "Mystery in the Closet" story on the HLN network s well as "The Officer's Wife" podcast from Vault Studios.. What he finds turns this case of a suicide upside down. He asked her what she thought could've happened. '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? I finally had the evidence that I needed that Matthew was cheating on me. Reliving his steps inside the apartment after he heard gunshots fired, he says, My whole upper body went numb. 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. 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. And its inside that closet, where police found her seemingly shot in the head, laying on top of her husbands service weapon. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. If I could have been here sooner, maybe I could have stopped her Matthew says, spiraling. I didn't try to wash my hands, anything, because I knew GSR and all that would be involved.. I was looking for a job and I finally found one. She says under the helm of Wendell Beam, the sheriff's department had a reputation for protecting its own. "She was actually happy, she was thrilled because she finally got that closure that she needed," says the neighbor. And it's assigned to Matthew, her husband, the cop. "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. In partnership with 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. She grabs his arm with her left hand, while her other arm falls to the ground. It was sitting out in the open, caught on police body-camera when cops kicked in the closet door. 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. By the time Jessica was twenty, she'd had enough of Matthew, and their crumbling marriage had driven her to a dark place. Her head wound soaked into the green and white pillow, where her head rested. There's little if any visible blood spatter inside the closet. 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. "She's like, 'This is exactly what I need to get my divorce from him.'". He was going to clean his gun and he asked me to go get it for him. 11Alive reached out to the GBI and Officer Matthew Boynton, however, neither returned our phone calls. And that's all I needed, so I was on cloud nine.". Its a question 11Alive investigators asked a few months ago, when Griffin Police Officer Matthew Boyntons wife, Jessica, allegedly shot herself in the head with his service weapon, inside the master bedroom closetlocked from the inside. "He tried to kill her.". He calls out for Jessica, but no answer. He was able to confirm that they were all right.. And that's all I needed, so I was on cloud nine.".