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 know what happened," said the unidentified neighbor. Boynton: Can you please dispatch a unit out to my location, in reference to my wife? Inside the closet they also discover Jessica's red "divorce diary." RE-open the case Georgia!!!!!! Her head wound has soaked into the green and white pillow her head is resting onher blood is contained to that one stain and a few nearby drops. "He never re-entered the apartment after that point," said Sheila. Matthew Boynton along with Lee Boynton, Josh Guthrie and Courtney Callaway moved all of my personal belongings from the residence. Despite Jessica Boynton's fiery allegations, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation closed her case, clearing Matthew to return to work. How did Jessica react when she saw those messages? "Police department!" The next action noted in the case occurred nearly two months later. I was looking for a job and I finally found one. DeMarco pressed Mathews. Stay outside.. 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.. I was at Atlanta Medical Center for a month. "That's the way we're gonna play this game, Sheila. Jessica Boynton's husband says he gets a suicidal text from his estranged wife, so he rushes home, only to hear two gunshots. It was actually from him. Matthew Boynton is the grandson of Sheriff Beam. She found a photo on Snapchat of another woman wearing nothing but a towel, with the caption: Shower time.. While Trammel's body cam is out of juice tonight, Jones's bodycam spots Trammel as the other officers enter the apartment. 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.. "According to my interview with Griffin police chief, that second shot had to have been fired while the gun was either on the floor or almost on the floor very close to that wall.". That's the bottom line for me. She's breathing, but unresponsive. But he's also texting her before he called 911," said Sanders. I'll be back there in about two minutes. Mass shooters. It appears she's been shot in the head. I said 'Is she still alive?' 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. "He said 'What's wrong? Matthew begins calling his brothers in blue, telling them Jessica is physically abusing him -- not a standard way of reporting domestic abuse. GBI agents, however, have closed her case. It sounded like a gunshot. "He does report an incident that would be considered domestic violence, that she was poking him in the chest with her finger," said Sheila Mathews. A DISGRACE! When asked if Boynton had explained why he allegedly kept his ex-wifes belongings, Yates said, No. Yancy also requested that Boynton write a statement pertaining to the allegation. Jessica Boynton, once declared dead, is alive and talking. 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. Both Jessica and Matthew reportedly want a divorce. "I don't really know what happened in the closet, I just know that I did not try to kill myself," said Jessica Boynton. Jessica Boynton says she's free as a bird'. Jessica was still in a coma with a traumatic brain injurytubes stemming from her brain to alleviate pressure and fluid. 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. 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. 11Alive reached out to Officer Matthew Boynton, however, phone calls were not returned. She's still breathing. He has been charged with false statements and writings and violating his oath of office. Here's where things get blurry. The dispatch operator notified Matthew on Facebook, Browning says. It appears it was self-inflicted. That was the best physical evidence that we had, Yates said. 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. Privacy Policy | Two-year-old Tollin is sleeping soundly in his bed as cops try not to wake him in the chaos. Thats what we had to establish, Yates confirmed. I don't think he meant to do it, or at least that's what I like to think.". Somewhere in proximity to his arrest. The air is thick with mystery, as the officers approach the locked closet. The dining room table along with other items were picked up by Cathy Zellner for Jessica. "Police department!" I would have said, 'suicidal' not 'suicide thoughts.'. Jessica, on a few occasions, hit and slapped him, he tells the GBI. A bunch of CLOWNS!! GRIFFIN, Ga. Standing inside her closet, wearing tan slippers adorned with fur, black yoga pants and a red T-shirt, Jessica Boynton contemplates what to wear. I can't even get it out of its case, she replied. She's moaning.. He calls out for Jessica, but no answer. 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. Despite what many think is a smoking gun, the GBI agent asking questions proceeds as if Jessica shot herself. 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.". 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 devil is in the details. "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. EMTs start carrying Jessica down the stairs on a backboard and click her into a gurney and swing open the ambulance doors. Everybody clear out, says Jones, who has Keys call for an EMT. Sanders says there are a few things that really stand out: The red sweatshirt Matthew offered police to test for gunshot residue. "I think it was in the heat of the moment, he was angry with me. 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. | Examine the evidence yourself. I didn't know if I was dealing with a possible active active scenario where she still had the gun and she had shot Tyler, he replies. The chain of custody on that stuff is messed up. 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. At about 10:45 p.m., he continues, he thought he heard a gunshot while they were lying in bed. We're going to be doing that to do touch DNA on the gun, and um, and why we're doing that is obviously one to corroborate everything that's what believed happened, and that way it also, it also eliminates the possibility of her family saying, you had something involved in this, or whatever, the GBI agent said to him. Matthew and Jessica's two sons are still inside. Officer Boynton hung up and did not respond to multiple messages, while the GBI refused to talk about the closed case. They investigate further and find a gun underneath Jessica's limp body. 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. After just six months of marriage, the Boyntons' one-time neighbor says she saw their young love grow toxic. Jessica's husband and high school sweetheart is Griffin Police Officer Matthew Boynton. 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. Does Jessica know whether the cops ever swabbed her hands? And now Jessica is telling a completely different story. When they finally shove their way in, tragic heartbreak is lying in front of them. The officer says he left it in the kitchen and ran outside. I mean, I'm sure there's a plausible explanation to it without trying to come up with some sort of, you know, theory that, 'Oh, he has to be here in the kitchen answering these text messages.'". And they said yes," the neighbor said. Which is very off that this happened, because I never, ever had any thoughts like this before. 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. "They did not. Jessica was a blushing bride, excited to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved. I hadn't really put much thought into it, Jessica told him. That was the subject of his charges his statements and writings that we were able to prove were false, Yates said. "No they did not because they assumed I was shot, because that's what Matthew said," Jessica 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. "And I talked to the guy and was like, 'Look man, you know, can you just be honest with me? Having previously learned of the new evidence that was turned in to the Griffin Police Department May 11 and the Internal Affairs investigation that resulted, The GRIP on July 7 submitted an Open Records request for information in the case. Crime Watch Daily reached out to Officer Matthew Boynton and got no response. They're forced to kick it in. I told him, 'You're going to have to go get it, because I can't get it out of the case. One, investigators said penetrated Jessica's head and the other the wall. Armed with bodycams attached to their uniforms, the officers burst through the door, quickly passing Matthew's phone, a black and grey Verizon LG smartphone, on the kitchen counter. A text messages is sent to his phone from Jessica's phone. Matthew's hands were not tested for gunpowder either. Ashamed the FBI hasnt picked up on this yet . After three weeks, she woke up. She's having suicidal thoughts," he says calmly to the dispatcher. "Well, how do you come to that conclusion?" It was retrieved from the kitchen counter in front of the microwave oven," she probed further. But where's the second round? Jessica's alive, but barely. in the head..in hospital for a month..just an FYI. I have been suffering for a while now and no one has noticed. "Be advised I smell gunsmoke, and I can't get an answer to the door," Boynton says on the call. Statements from Jessica Boynton and Matthew Boynton are logged into evidence, said a statement written by Yancy March 13. But as luck would have it, suddenly he's right across the street on police business. That piece of evidence was a photo showing Matthew's cell phone next to the microwave inside the apartment. Griffin Police Capt. If you play with it a little bit, it's not hard.. Still inside, some of the officers look closer and find two bullet holes inside the closet. Terms of Use | Listen. "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. He cautiously went into the residence to try to make sure that the children were OK. Boynton in January denied being in possession of any of Lesters personal property. WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE FBI???????? Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . 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. When facts are wrong, evidence altered to fit theories and threats made, how does theGBI remain the last word on the Jessica Boynton case? nd police notify Jessica's family that she has died. 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. It was sitting out in the open, caught on police body-camera when cops kicked in the closet door. So Crime Watch Daily went out and got one of the best in the business. He changed clothes yet lied and said he did not. Matthew claims they returned home just after 11 p.m. His proof? But it was used after Matthew had said he left the apartment in fear of his life, and did not return. For the next three and a half weeks, Jessica remains in a coma with a traumatic brain injurytubes protruding from her brain to alleviate pressure and fluid. This chilling police body camera footage shows the moment a cop's wife was found barely alive suffering from a gunshot wound to her head. Show the world how smart you are and uncover what the Wannabe investigative reporters couldn't figure out. And I could have been the next target.. She had a job interview and it was going to be her first step to freedom. 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. 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. Shortly afterward, Matthew begins texting Jessica about going to Walmart to pick up baby formula. Get him downstairs, one of the officers whispers to another. "Next thing I remember was I wake up and I'm in a hospital.". In fact, 68 text messages are exchanged between him and his mistress. Especially because of my children. 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? Her head shaved. But, Jessica said regardless of her knowledge of guns, she had every reason to live. Strangely, they never test her hands for gunshot residue. Honestly, I have no idea. 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. If I just would have left my f**king duty belt in the car.. Who does the neighbor think sent that text message to Matthew's phone from Jessica's? It's possible, but I mean it's very doubtful, because he's never hurt me before. "I would say broken, distraught, damaged," the neighbor says. 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. Dispatch notifies Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam, who is also Matthew's grandfather and police notify Jessica's family that she has died. Earlier that night Jessica's husband Matthew headed to Waffle House for a late-night bite with a fellow officer, leaving his service. 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. She would never have done this. "Recently she did confirm that the second baby is not mine," Matthew tells the GBI investigator. Above Jessica, pinned to the wall, is a large black letter B for Boynton. He assigns another officer to standby at the door until the rest of the apartment is cleared. He assigns another officer to standby at the door until the rest of the apartment is cleared. A message to Matthews phone is received and marked as read, from his girlfriend--from inside the evidence bag.