Nearly four years later, questions persist about what happened to the young. 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. The odd thing is a few pages have been ripped out. Griffin Police officer Matthew Boynton was arrested and taken to the Spalding County Jail on multiple charges. 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. "I don't really know what happened in the closet, I just know that I did not try to kill myself," said Jessica Boynton. 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. "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. 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.. 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. A grandson of the county sheriff, a career in law enforcement was in his genes. 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. "He felt that perhaps it was maybe an anxiety attack. Boynton was released from the Spalding County Jail Friday night on a $4,806 cash bond. She's like a sister to me, Browning says, her voice quivering. In it, she logs Matthew Boynton's every move, including his unexplained disappearances with their two boys. But they have no idea what's waiting for them behind a locked closet door. They were calling me the miracle child Because what I went through, not a lot of people survive through it, she told 11Alive's Brendan Keefe, nearly six months after the incidenther golden blonde hair now growing back. "I think it was in the heat of the moment, he was angry with me. Her complaint, which she checked on, was never filed. 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. Do you know what she used? asks one of the emergency responders in the room. I didn't try to wash my hands, anything, because I knew GSR and all that would be involved.. The conversation bounces from officer to officer. Police investigate further and find a gun underneath Jessicas limp body. I finally had the evidence that I needed that Matthew was cheating on me. Unfortunately Matthew Boynton didn't have anything to say. "Police department!" Here lately I have not been able to recognize the person I see in the mirror. 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. He changed clothes yet lied and said he did not. Interrogation - Matthew Boynton - Regarding The Shooting Of His Wife He calls out for Jessica, but no answer. During my stay is when my personal belongings were taken and Matthew Boynton (3842) refuses to give them back, Lester stated. "That's the way we're gonna play this game, Sheila. They discover two shell casings and two bullet holes in the closet wall. 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. A family of Marines is divided after father shoots ailing wife The police department should be ashamed of themselves for trying to cover this up!!! When he's not driving a truck, Sanders studies police records looking for things investigators missed -- or possibly covered up. He reads another text from his girlfriend, while driving 90 mph. "He didn't know if her intent was to kill their child, kill him and then commit suicide," said Sheila. But Yates told 11Alive, Matthew was not the shooter and trusts the investigation's outcome. 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. That's fine. Since both sides have their theories of what happened that night, Crime Watch Daily brought in an independent investigator to give us his unbiased opinion. He hears a baby crying as he carefully steps into the bedroom where a dark brown crib is situated. His flashlight's beam reveals a smiling family of four. Matthew sends another text to his girlfriend, a Spalding County dispatcher, Give me a few. Cops do find Jessica's DNA on the gun. No. Matthew says that he told Jessica, I'm not happy anymore and I can't. Is that what you're saying?" What Happened to Jessica Boynton? Grisly Truth Could Have Been Covered "He stated that he heard two shots fired, 'pop pop,' rapid succession," said Sheila Mathews. And its assigned to Matthew. Crime Watch Daily investigates what really happened to Jessica Boynton, something even Jessica herself wants to know. Lester recovered from the shooting but doesn't remember any of it. I can't even get it out of its case, she replied. 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. I said 'Is she still alive?' 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. Her head shaved. Griffin cop cleared in wife's shooting charged with making false On May 11, Will Sanders met withYancy and Sgt. Especially because of my children. Just one minute later, Matthewcalls 911, reaching Spalding County dispatch. 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 investigators look for a blunt object? 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. Uh, just my service weapon, he responds. "He stated that he was too frightened. said Sheila Mathews. 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. He's asked me to go get it out before. Everything, he says, led to him wanting out of the marriage. He later tells investigators that he heard Tyler crying, and then, POP-POP!, Jones advises Matthew over the radio, Stay outside. 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. Still inside, some of the officers look closer and find two bullet holes inside the closet. 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? At the time of the shooting Jessica was looking to make a new start for herself and two young sons. They did not swab me or Matthew, nor did they take his clothes," said Jessica. The officer says he left it in the kitchen and ran outside. Am I recording it? His phone is pretty active tonight. With his gun raised and arms poised, he holds his weapon out in front of him with both hands. ! his girlfriend texts him. The glowing yellow and black, blocked letter sign illuminates his truck driving past. The devil is in the details. What! She tells the Georgia Bureau of Investigation the Matthew Boynton is cheating on Jessica with another woman. No it wasn't. "I have occasional headaches, but other than that everything's good," Jessica Boynton said. 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. "There was no testing done on his clothing," said Sheila Mathews. Jessica has given Will every piece of evidence in her case, including that divorce diary. The paramedic begins accessing her head wound, but they're having a hard time finding it through her hair and thick blood. One of her aunts is all over Facebook., GBI agent said, The bullet didn't even enter the skull. His phone was left inside their apt, yet he says he never entered it.. so many lies the grandfather called Jessicas family and informed them she was DEAD! It's like I tell them, they make it twice as bad because I'm a cop, Matthew 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. After getting Matthew's phone records, Sanders discovers during that same time Matthew was making calls to 911, he was texting his mistress. "To help cover his tracks.". Do you think Matthew did something? he asked her bluntly. Boynton: Can you please dispatch a unit out to my location, in reference to my wife? Just days after running into Officer Boynton, I received a threatening email that reads in part: "Are You An Intelligent Enough Investigative Journalist To Know When You Are Being Conned or Do You Have To Be Spoon Fed? Matthew's hands were not tested for gunpowder either. [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. Matthew interviews with the GBI early that morning. Updated: 11:14 PM EDT July 28, 2017. 478-993-3053. He's meeting his buddy at the local Waffle House. Sanders wants to know how Matthew was texting his mistress from this very phone if he never reentered the apartment. I know eventually the chief would eventually like to get his officer back as well as his service weapon back as well, so we're going to try to expedite this as fast as possible, and when I mean expedite you know, within the next few weeks to a month, the agent said. On Dec. 19, 2016, Lester met with GPD Investigator Dexter McCune regarding property she alleged Boynton had stolen. "In looking at this, this does not have the appearance of a suicide to me. | Examine the evidence yourself. Any weapons inside the house? the dispatcher inquires. Jessica Boynton, once declared dead, is alive and talking. 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. I mean he might have grabbed my arm before, but I don't think he would intentionally do anything to hurt mebut like I said, he's changed so much here, lately, she said. But Griffin Police are treating this as a suicide attempt. The dispatch operator notified Matthew on Facebook, Browning says. 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. 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 hadn't really put much thought into it, Jessica told him. Jessica believes her suicide attempt was staged. the GBI agent posed a return question. There were two bullets, on different walls inside the closet. 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. HLN's 'Real Life Nightmare' episode focuses on Georgia cop, ex-wife Making his way outside, he calls for assistance over his radio. 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.. She had a job interview and it was going to be her first step to freedom. "My wound was on the top of my head. 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,. He's a truck driver. Did he cause his estranged spouse's injury? Police Interrogation and Confession of Matthew Boynton, Wife - YouTube She's having suicidal thoughts," he says calmly to the dispatcher. Who does the neighbor think sent that text message to Matthew's phone from Jessica's? nd police notify Jessicas family that she has died. He has been charged with false statements and writings and violating his oath of office. "I know for a fact that Jessica was not suicidal," said the neighbor. Jessica's husband and high school sweetheart is Griffin Police Officer Matthew Boynton. 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. 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. I havent listened to the actual investigation, but I dont believe so, that he gave any explanation that made any sense.. That's the last thing the 19-year-old remembers. Meet at the Visitor Center. I do not have any other items of Jessicas.. The first bullet went upward at 54-degree angle. "Nobody would shoot themselves like this," said retired homicide detective Tim Miley. Stay out, Matt, one the officers advises his fellow officer. They're forced to kick it in. They're saying it was self-inflicted, she said. So just one?" A bunch of CLOWNS!! "It doesn't sound like anything I would say," said Jessica Boynton. Trammel records the 10:53 p.m., incident report from April 14. Her ex-husband and former Griffin police officer Matthew Boynton was investigated in the case, but was only charged with making . I never wanted to hurt myself before, she said, going on to say that shes never handled a gun, nor shot one. According to a press release issued by the Griffin Police Department, Boynton was on Friday arrested without incident and transported to the Spalding County Jail. The gun then landed underneath," said Tim Miley. Until recently, Matthew's grandfather, Wendell Beam, reigned as Spalding County sheriff. Woman shot in head says cop husband staged her 'suicide' The air is thick with mystery, as the officers approach the locked closet. "I believe I just heard a shot fired coming from my residence. Excessive force. I was at Atlanta Medical Center for a month. What he finds turns this case of a suicide upside down. Did Someone Try to Kill Jessica Boynton? - Active Fugitives It's locked. However, she was NOT shot. "I was scared to death that she would shoot me and then kill herself," Matthew tells investigators. It seems both Matthew and Jessica were secretly stockpiling ammunition for a bitter custody fight. Because she owned the retainer prior to her marriage, it would not be considered community property. 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. At that exact point the interviewing officer detected something fishy, forced him to stop giving himself away and ended the interview and therefore night of investigation. There are a lot of questions that I would love to have answered. 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. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. Fast forward to May 11, the day numerous items that reportedly belonged to Lester were turned in to the Griffin Police Department. The doctor said the second most striking observation while assessing Jessica was that neither of her hands had any evidence of gunpowder. It's like some of my family they hear all these people say, 'Oh I think he did it and it was planned.' Show the world how smart you are and uncover what the Wannabe investigative reporters couldn't figure out. The one seen in the police body-cam is not the same gray sweatshirt he was wearing at Walmart earlier that night. Matthew makes it back to the apartment before help arrives and hears baby Tyler crying -- and then heartbreak. Bring the little ones for a story every Saturday morning at 11 a.m. to hear Sam's favorite tales. Crime Watch Daily reached out to Officer Matthew Boynton and got no response. Matthew and Jessica's two sons are still inside. Her bright blues eyes glisten as they well with emotion. The shocking discovery comes when he shaves her head looking for bullet holes. What are my kids going to do? he pleaded, his voice cracking with emotion. Earlier that night Jessica's husband Matthew headed to Waffle House for a late-night bite with a fellow officer, leaving his service. His tone changes. She grabs his arm with her left hand, while her other arm falls to the ground. The glowing yellow and black, blocked-letter Waffle House sign illuminates his truck as he drives by, turning around to head back home. 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. I'm sure as you've heard, I'm getting a divorce. A lot," said the neighbor. Its so obvious a coverup. Those properties obtained during the marriage would be considered community property.. Somewhere in proximity to his arrest. But it was used after Matthew had said he left the apartment in fear of his life, and did not return. Jones eyes a small child sleeping on a bottom bunk bed in the back bedroom. 11Alive reached out to Officer Matthew Boynton, however, phone calls were not returned. The quiet is broken when the baby begins to mumble from the other room. And its inside that closet, where police found her seemingly shot in the head, laying on top of her husbands service weapon. "I can't do this anymore," the message read. Reliving his steps inside the apartment after he heard gunshots fired, he said, My whole upper body went numb. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. My kids are at home with her, so I'm trying to hurry up and get back there., I'm driving. What Sanders found most alarming was the time frame Matthew Boynton says he heard those two gunshots. Their neighbor says Jessica wasn't suicidal at all. She's even fighting with EMS, dude, the fellow officer tells Matthew. "She was actually happy, she was thrilled because she finally got that closure that she needed," says the neighbor. Who shot Jessica Boynton? A new podcast investigates | wbir.com Jessica's two boys, Tollin, 2, and baby Tyler, are sound asleep in their rooms. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. Making his way outside, seconds later, he calls for assistance over his radio. she asked. Published: 7/28/2017 6:16:14 PM. Well I couldn't get it for him because I couldn't get it out of his gun holster, she said. I'll be back there in about two minutes. "Police department!" And, unfortunately it appears those questions will never be answered," Mathews said. And I could have been the next target.. Her condition.. Jessica Boynton was initially . Officer Robert Brian Jones is also dispatched to the Ashford Way apartment building. His flashlights beam reveals a smiling family of four. It's the second infidelity in their relationshipJessica admitted to cheating on him before they were married. Jessica Boynton was just 19 years old when she was found inside a locked closet with a gunshot wound to her head. Did he cause his estranged spouses injury? While Jessica believes someone tried taking her life from her, she refuses to allow anyone to take her kids away from her. Georgia cop charged with making false statements - ajc 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.. He's asked me to go get it out before. That question lingers--but not for Georgia Bureau of Investigations, who said the case is closed--repeatedly stating that they are satisfied with their findings. She made a full recovery, but doesn't remember a thing. 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. Family and friends believe, in fact, they were married far too young. And their "War of the Roses" was about to explode. When asked to confirm that a July 26 appointment with Lesters orthodontist was pivotal in the Internal Affairs case, Yates said it was. They are 50% more likely to commit police brutality. Warner Bros. Entertainment | Cops find 8-month-old Tyler visibly upset but thankfully uninjured. Jessica's husband and high school sweetheart is Griffin Police Officer Matthew Boynton. She made a full recovery, but doesnt remember a thing. He drove back to the apartment, he tells Jones, but it was too late. He bangs on the locked closet door. 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. When facts are wrong, evidence altered to fit theories and threats made, how does theGBI remain the last word on the Jessica Boynton case?