nd police notify Jessicas family that she has died. Her head shaved. Jessica has given Will every piece of evidence in her case, including that divorce diary. Jessica was a blushing bride, excited to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved. There were two bullets, on different walls inside the closet. Everybody clear out, says Jones, who has Keys call for an EMT. 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. 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. One of her aunts is all over Facebook., GBI agent said, The bullet didn't even enter the skull. I love you and the boys.". I know that we got into an argument, but that's about all," she said, not remembering much of what had happened on April 15. That's fine. I never wanted to hurt myself before, she said, going on to say that shes never handled a gun, nor shot one. I had a friend who was a girl, or is a girl, he answers, further admitting that the relationship had become sexual. '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? 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. I can't even get it out of its case, she replied. They're re slit open while her head flops from side to side on the beige carpet, as one female EMS works on her. 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. "He tried to kill her.". "He believed that the shots he heard fired were fired from his duty weapon," said Sheila Mathews, publisher of The Grip. Even though doctors were able to save her life, they couldn't save her from what was about to happen to her familylosing custody of her children. 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. 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. I hadn't really put much thought into it, Jessica told him. The gun then landed underneath," said Tim Miley. Jessica and Matthew's neighbor, who wishes to remain anonymous for her own safety, sees the lights from her apartment and runs outside. While Trammel's body cam is out of juice tonight, Jones's bodycam spots Trammel as the other officers enter the apartment. They did not swab me or Matthew, nor did they take his clothes," said Jessica. Cops finally reach that locked closet door. I believe I just heard a shot fired coming from my residence. Jessica Boynton, once declared dead, is alive and talking. But asking those questions resulted in a threat. One of those bullets went through the roof, the other lodged into the baby's bedroom wall. "She's like, 'This is exactly what I need to get my divorce from him.'". Officer Boynton was responding to an accident, and when he returned to his cruiser, we were waiting, armed with questions. GBI conducts canvas and begins interviewing neighbors. While GPD Chief Mike Yates said he is unable to release specific information due to the criminal nature of the case, he did confirm information The GRIP provided during a July 31 interview. Since his bodycam wasn't charged, it doesn't record this call. This is not the first time I have had suicide thoughts. What! UPDATE: This story was originally published in November 2016. GSW, possible to the head. When facts are wrong, evidence altered to fit theories and threats made, how does theGBI remain the last word on the Jessica Boynton case? They're forced to kick it in. They turn her over from her stomach to her back. "The second shot that was fired, it entered the back wall of the closet approximately a foot, no more than a foot off the ground. an officer questions the others. Griffin Police Capt. 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. A text message is sent to his phone from Jessicas phone. A message to Matthews phone is received and marked as read, from his girlfriend--from inside the evidence bag. Jones passes by a framed portrait hung on the wall. Man that young girl deserves justice, it really smells like the cop snapped and tried to kill her, especially during the night of interview when he starts talking fast and over explaining his actions like I didnt even wash my hands. Did he cause his estranged spouse's injury? That piece of evidence was a photo showing Matthew's cell phone next to the microwave inside the apartment. Boyntons statement, dated Jan. 9, said, I was advised to complete a statement on a previous date by Lt. Yancey. John Hayesto turn in many articles of womens clothing and other personal property including an orthodontic retainer. GBI director Vernon Keenan wrote a letter indicating the gunshot wound was self-inflicted by Jessica, closing the case. Cops do find Jessica's DNA on the gun. The GBI needs an overhaulclean house. Matthew, grandson of then-sheriff of Spalding County, texts a fellow Griffin Police officer. And their "War of the Roses" was about to explode. Two shots had been fired. Then-Griffin Police officer Matthew Boynton was arrested on July 28, 2017 for giving a false statement to his own department about having possession of a gym bag full of clothes, underwear. They had Tollin soon after, and were married on Oct. 24, 2015. What Sanders found most alarming was the time frame Matthew Boynton says he heard those two gunshots. Officer Matthew Boynton has never been charged with anything in connection with this case, but the Georgia Bureau of Investigation did question him. 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. December 20022 so heartless to show this right before Xmas. Was the investigation a mess up or a cover up? Ad Choices, Griffin police Lt. Michael Natale said in a statement. He drove back to the apartment, he tells Jones, but it was too late. And the doctor in the emergency room didn't find any bullet holes. Matthew sends another text to his mistress, a Spalding County dispatcher, Give me a few. 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. Aft. At about 10:45 p.m., he continues, he thought he heard a gunshot while they were lying in bed. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. But it's what those body cameras don't record that's raising eyebrows. The air is thick with mystery, as the officers approach the locked closet. A woman who lived across from the couple, who works with law enforcement, agreed to a Crime Watch Daily interview if we protect her identity. "I believe it's both, it's sloppy and a cover-up," said Jessica. Especially because of my children. I didn't wash may hands, nothing like that either, that way for GSR., There's a possibility that we might collect your clothes, OK. Because if you go to the photographs that are part of your investigative case file, there's a photograph after the evidence report for his cell phone" she said. 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. Still inside, some of the officers look closer and find two bullet holes inside the closet. Does she believe that this was just sloppy work or does she believe that this is a cover-up? That phone never got back into the officer's hand. Despite Jessica Boynton's fiery allegations, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation closed her case, clearing Matthew to return to work. In fact she claims Jessica was blissfully stockpiling ammunition to get full custody of their two little boys. Jones eyes a small child sleeping on a bottom bunk bed in the back bedroom. "That's the way we're gonna play this game, Sheila. To stage a suicide," said the neighbor. Or was it? They are 50% more likely to commit police brutality. 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. 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. Jessica Boynton was just 19 years old when she was found inside a locked closet with a gunshot wound to her head. 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. 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. 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. "Be advised I smell gunsmoke, and I can't get an answer to the door," Boynton says on the call. 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. He reads another text from mistress, while driving home at nearly 90 mph. A grandson of the county sheriff, a career in law enforcement was in his genes. Just have a soul here please please please. I don't know why. Then he hits investigators with a jaw-dropper. OR OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. One, investigators said penetrated Jessica's head and the other the wall. I havent listened to the actual investigation, but I dont believe so, that he gave any explanation that made any sense.. 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 is also slinging allegations at Matthew's brothers in blue at the Griffin Police Department, and Matthew's grandfather Sheriff Wendell Beam. Then, a moment of hope from the 19-year-old mother: She's still breathing. My kids are at home with her, so I'm trying to hurry up and get back there., I'm driving. That was the best physical evidence that we had, Yates said. 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. Did she try to kill herself or shoot herself in the head? But Griffin Police Chief Michael Yates said, Officer Boynton was not the shooter and trusts the investigations outcome. I was scared to death, because I couldnt find [Tyler]that she would shoot me, I mean shoot him, shoot me, and then kill herself.. "I hope she didn't shoot my kids," he says to one officer. At the time of the shooting Jessica was looking to make a new start for herself and two young sons. 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. Listen. When he's not driving a truck, Sanders studies police records looking for things investigators missed -- or possibly covered up. 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. My kids are at home with her, so I'm trying to hurry up and get back there., I'm driving. So I'm trying to hurry and get back home just to make sure that nothing's going to happen to them.. Cops find 8-month-old Tyler visibly upset but thankfully uninjured. She thinks he found it before the incident. He assigns another officer to standby at the door until the rest of the apartment is cleared. There's little if any visible blood spatter inside the closet. From her hospital bed, she spoke to the GBI. Terms of Use | (South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS) Matthew met Jessica during her sophomore year of high school at open house in 2012. That's right. She's having suicidal thoughts. Until recently, Matthew's grandfather, Wendell Beam, reigned as Spalding County sheriff. A lot," said the neighbor. Now she lives in terror every day because she can't remember who attacked her. I think it just kind of happened. Furthermore, he said, it's his observation that self-inflicted gunshot wounds are very unusual among women. Earlier that night Jessica's husband Matthew headed to Waffle House for a late-night bite with a fellow officer, leaving his service. Lester recovered from the shooting but doesn't remember any of it. On May 11, Will Sanders met withYancy and Sgt. The 20-year-old says he's heading to Waffle House for a late night food run with on-duty cop and best. Like, how hours after the shooting, the phone was put into an evidence bag, sealed and logged into GBI evidence, it was still calling Matthew's girlfriend. And it's assigned to Matthew, her husband, the cop. He bangs on the locked closet door. . Inside the closet they also discover Jessica's red "divorce diary." "I left the location, I'm back en route, I'm on Carver Road right now. She's like a sister to me, Browning says, her voice quivering. 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. He cautiously went into the residence to try to make sure that the children were OK. "I was scared to death that she would shoot me and then kill herself," Matthew tells investigators. 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. He tells Trammel he left Walmart without Jessica. 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. Her complaint, which she checked on, was never filed. Her shoulder-length, blonde hair is saturated in red. Matthew, who's wearing a gray sweatshirt, says he called Lt. Curtis Keys and asked him what he should do. Nearly four years later, questions persist about what happened to the young. Listen. Yancy also requested that Boynton write a statement pertaining to the allegation. A paramedic frantically fights to save Jessica's life. They hit the top of the stairs knowing somebody's got a gun. 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. 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 believes her suicide attempt was staged. If you play with it a little bit, it's not hard.. 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. Privacy Policy | After Jessica was shot, Matthew, then-20, was back on duty with his gun on his hip, before key interviews were conducted and the GBI director wrote an official letter about the cases conclusion, stating that the shooting was ruled a suicide.. With his gun raised and arms poised, he holds his weapon out in front of him with both hands. But as luck would have it, suddenly he's right across the street on police business. 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. 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. 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. 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.". It's possible, but I mean it's very doubtful, because he's never hurt me before. Blood pressure.. The glowing yellow and black, blocked-letter Waffle House sign illuminates his truck as he drives by, turning around to head back home. 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 in an interview with 11Alive for"Trigger: Who shot the officer's wife.". God damn it, man! If that's what you want to do. I believe I just heard a shot fired coming from my residence. She would never have done this. 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. An officer tries to console his grieving coworker. "If he would have just been a regular person he would have been taken to jail," said Jessica. ", 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.. Jessica Boynton was found shot in the closet with her. I mean you can't prove that," DeMarco. The court ruled in his favor, giving him custody, and granting Jessica once-weeklysupervised visitation. Jones checks on a locked closet door between the master bedroom and hallway, across from the bathroom. Please wear sturdy shoes. Officer Robert Brian Jones is also dispatched to the Ashford Way apartment building. Unfortunately Matthew Boynton didn't have anything to say. In any case GPD/GBI are an absolute embarrassment to the state of GA! And the second bullet went up at 25-degree upward angle 1'10 off the floor. Jessica Boynton, 19, was found lying in a pool of her own . Matthew Boynton interrogation video with Griffin Police Department. "Very explicit conversation," said the neighbor. A text messages is sent to his phone from Jessica's phone. Trammel records the 10:53 p.m., incident report from April 14. Still peering down at his phone, Matthew sends a text to his mistress. Both Jessica and Matthew reportedly want a divorce. Matthew Boynton, 21, had just started work as a Griffin police officer. Matthew runs inside to the closet where he keeps his service gun. And he said 'Yeah, we did.'". No, never. I don't know, he said. "I don't really know what happened in the closet, I just know that I did not try to kill myself," said Jessica Boynton.