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. So I'm trying to hurry and get back home just to make sure that nothing's going to happen to them.. "That was when approximately 24 minutes into the conversation, his demeanor changed and everything flipped," she recalled. Boynton: Can you please dispatch a unit out to my location, in reference to my wife? Did investigators look for a blunt object? Emergency-responders finally arrive and carry Jessica to a waiting ambulance. Matthew sends another text to his mistress, a Spalding County dispatcher, Give me a few. Based on that acknowledgement, The GRIP asked if it would not alleviate legal concerns pertaining to the chain of custody, and furthermore, why Boynton was not also charged with theft. "I left the location, I'm back en route, I'm on Carver Road right now. Get him downstairs, one of the officers whispers to another. 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. And its assigned to Matthew. A DISGRACE! "I think I was hit over the head with something.". He reads another text from mistress, while driving home at nearly 90 mph. The agent asked her if she had ever held her husband's service weapon. 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. And, she said, she wouldn't have told him that she loved him. Jessica is also slinging allegations at Matthew's brothers in blue at the Griffin Police Department, and Matthew's grandfather Sheriff Wendell Beam. Matthew reads a text from Lt. Curtis Keys, look for police car.. Officer Adam Trammel reports to a non-emergency call from the Boynton residence at Ashford Place on Ashford Way, in Griffin, Ga. "They did not. But where's the second round? 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,. "I would say broken, distraught, damaged," the neighbor says. There's little if any visible blood spatter inside the closet. Armed with body camera attached to their uniforms, the officers burst through the door, quickly passing Matthews phone, a black and grey Verizon LG smartphone, on the kitchen counter. They're saying it was self-inflicted, she said. The police department should be ashamed of themselves for trying to cover this up!!! He grabs his police radio, stationed and charging on top of the white microwave in the kitchen, and leaves his phone on the counter. I just came up the stairs, two rounds," Boynton says on the recorded call. It appears to be either an assault or maybe something accidental," said Miley. The air is thick with the trepidation, as officers approach the locked closet. Lt. Curtis Keys is dispatched to the scene. It's possible, but I mean it's very doubtful, because he's never hurt me before. Uh, just my service weapon, he responds, ending the call just a minute later. I believe I just heard a shot fired coming from my residence. But according to Mathews, that was not the last number dialed, so it could not have just been a redial accidently called through the evidence bag. She found a photo on Snapchat of another woman wearing nothing but a towel, with the caption: Shower time.. He's asked me to go get it out before. One, investigators said penetrated Jessica's head and the other the wall. 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? The devil is in the details. His phone is pretty active tonight. What he finds turns this case of a suicide upside down. 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. Her limp body is on the floor, just behind the door. God damn it, man! She was leaving her husband of just six months. 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.". They turn her over from her stomach to her back. Her neighbor, who asked us to protect her identity, says she knows the motive: Jessica had uncovered Matthew's dark secret. The good old boys and his grandfather police chief should also get some time for covering up this crime. '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, calls 911, reaching Spalding County dispatch. She told the agent, they were at home when they argued about his girlfriend and the photo that Jessica found on his phone that night. Sanders wants to know how Matthew was texting his mistress from this very phone if he never reentered the apartment. The neighbor says Jessica came over to her apartment with the kids, clearly upset about the fight. It doesn't sound like anything I would say. At the time of the shooting Jessica was looking to make a new start for herself and two young sons. Thats what we had to establish, Yates confirmed. 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. Once the investigation was closed, reporter and publisher, Sheila Mathews, investigated the shooting for her newspaper, The Grip. [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. And they said yes. Thank God she fought and he was in there with her. 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. 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. Jessica's two boys, Tollin, 2, and baby Tyler, are sound asleep in their rooms. 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? Jessica's hair is so matted with blood no one can find the actual gunshot wound to stop the bleeding. Jessica's husband and high school sweetheart is Griffin Police Officer Matthew Boynton. 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. Dispatch notifies Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam, who is also Matthew's grandfather and police notify Jessica's family that she has died. Minutes later, at around 10:45 p.m., Jessica storms out. When asked to confirm that a July 26 appointment with Lesters orthodontist was pivotal in the Internal Affairs case, Yates said it was. He was there to tell the court that he wanted to keep Jessica away from him and their two sons, because he said, he feared for their safetybecause she allegedly fired his gun in the house while their boys were home. 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. But he's also texting her before he called 911," said Sanders. Both Jessica and Matthew reportedly want a divorce. 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. Id be afraid to luve in that town until that poluce brotherhood is abolished. GBI/Griffin Police Dept. But another heated argument goes down in the baby food aisle. The odd thing is a few pages have been ripped out. Did he cause his estranged spouse's injury? She also says she couldn't have written the text because it said "I love you.". "I think it was in the heat of the moment, he was angry with me. In it, she logs Matthew Boynton's every move, including his unexplained disappearances with their two boys. I think it just kind of happened. Blood pressure.. Cops finally reach that locked closet door. Jessica was a blushing bride, excited to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved. He cautiously went into the residence to try to make sure that the children were OK. Clearly we touched a nerve in Griffin, but we're not about to be scared off. provided images. Jessica's theory of what happened centers around her "dirty divorce diary." She tells the Georgia Bureau of Investigation the Matthew Boynton is cheating on Jessica with another woman. Jones passes by a framed portrait hung on the wall. It's locked. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . So just one?" GBI agents, however, have closed her case. I don't know why. Will Sanders also has questions about a crime scene photo showing Matthew's cellphone. To text back long story I'll tell you later.. 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. 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. Chris DeMarco, GBIs assistant special agent in charge, arrives on the scene and meets with Griffin Police Chief Michael Yates for a briefing. She had always kept it hidden, but now, there it is for everyone to see. 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. 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. SHE WAS NOT SHOT.and do they really think that she would have hit herself hard enough with any object to cause the damage that was done? He lied about the lock then he says he kept his gun in there hmmm. He later tells investigators that he heard Tyler crying, and then, POP-POP!. Shame shame. Did you all have sex?' Their neighbor says Jessica wasn't suicidal at all. This all follows a Georgia Bureau of Investigation case that ultimately ruled Lester had attempted suicide in April 2016. Jessica Boynton, once declared dead, is alive and talking. The second bullet hole is more of a mystery. To text back long story I'll tell you later.. "Happy," said the neighbor. Nearly four years later, questions persist about what happened to the young. 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. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . 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. Jessica Boynton was found shot in the closet with her. The neighbor claims she had been with Jessica just hours beforehand, and says her friend would never have tried to take her own life. (whit his baton I would guess) ..is every person in the police department total idiots? "I have occasional headaches, but other than that everything's good," Jessica Boynton said. Sanders says there are a few things that really stand out: The red sweatshirt Matthew offered police to test for gunshot residue. giving him custody, and granting Jessica once-weekly. He was able to confirm that they were all right.. "I believe it's both, it's sloppy and a cover-up," said Jessica. I don't think he meant to do it, or at least that's what I like to think.". On something like this, does it usually take a while?, Right now it depends on what happens with Jessica, too. 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. By the time Jessica was twenty, she'd had enough of Matthew, and their crumbling marriage had driven her to a dark place. Its so obvious a coverup. And neither is Will Sanders, the truck driver spearheading the drive to get justice for Jessica. "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. And they said yes," the neighbor said. "That's the way we're gonna play this game, Sheila. "I was with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for 33 years," said Tim Miley. Boynton in January denied being in possession of any of Lesters personal property. Officer Robert Brian Jones shouts, as he travels deeper inside the two-bedroom apartmenthis weapon drawn. RELATED: Who shot the officer's wife? It doesn't sound like anything I would say. "Matthew," said Jessica. Keyword: Admitted. And it's assigned to Matthew, her husband, the cop. "During that time I investigated hundreds of cases with gunshots and many, many suicides.". 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.. He calls out for Jessica, but no answer. A paramedic frantically fights to save Jessica's life. Just one minute later, Matthewcalls 911, reaching Spalding County dispatch. Jessica believes her suicide attempt was staged. A lot of times its two or three or more days, Yates said. However, she was NOT shot. Making his way outside, seconds later, he calls for assistance over his radio. He then said the GBI has not indicated to him that the investigation will be reopened. "He said 'What's wrong? "Well I don't know. I finally had the evidence that I needed that Matthew was cheating on me. My kids are at home with her, so I'm trying to hurry up and get back there., I'm driving. What are my kids going to do? he pleaded, his voice cracking with emotion. I do not have any other items of Jessicas.. Griffin Police officer Matthew Boynton was arrested and taken to the Spalding County Jail on multiple charges. The subsequent investigation was short-lived, with it having been deemed a "civil matter." It sounded like a gunshot. Boynton was released from the Spalding County Jail Friday night on a $4,806 cash bond. Her blond hair is now red from what cops assume is a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He bangs on the locked closet door. She made a full recovery, but doesn't remember a thing. "No they did not because they assumed I was shot, because that's what Matthew said," Jessica said. If that's what you want to do. This x cop needs to be tried for attempted murder. 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. The neighbor says Jessica started documenting all the sordid details of the affair in her secret red "divorce diary." 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. Matthew Boynton interrogation video with Griffin Police Department. "He believed that the shots he heard fired were fired from his duty weapon," said Sheila Mathews, publisher of The Grip. 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. She's having suicidal thoughts," he calmly says about Jessica to the dispatcher. The panicked cop grabs his police radio and runs outside to make the frantic call to dispatch. Yates also said Boynton had provided a statement during the subsequent Internal Affairs investigation, acknowledging the items Sanders turned in were Lesters belongings. But she doesn't buy it, especially since her head was perfectly laid on a pillow, she said after watching the bodycam footage. So if there is no gunshot wound, what really happened inside that closet? I have been suffering for a while now and no one has noticed. DeMarco pressed Mathews. Her condition.. "The stuff that he was texting her was, you know, 'LOL's," said Sanders. But what started as a mutual, friendly divorce soon turned nasty. Lester recovered from the shooting but doesn't remember any of it. Does Jessica know whether the cops ever swabbed her hands? They're forced to kick it in. And he said 'Yeah, we did.'". He grabs his police radio, stationed on top of the white microwave in the kitchen charging, and puts his phone on the counter. [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 think what happened after they come home from Walmart, Jessica and Matthew got into an argument. She thinks he found it before the incident. When the officers pull Jessica's body out of the closet, they find Matthew's gun right underneath her, a .40-caliber Glock. 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. The next door neighbor interview was conducted after Matthew returned to full duty. The way our charter is structured, termination takes two or three days. "I said 'It's Jessica isn't it?' "Nobody would shoot themselves like this," said retired homicide detective Tim Miley. "Most people would not view it as such, I don't believe," said Sheila Mathews. They call in Spalding County Sheriff Wendell Beam, who happens to be Matthew's grandfather, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He drove back to the apartment, he tells Jones, but it was too late. "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? Domestic violence has always been a precursor to violence in other areas. After Jones pushes the gun away from underneath Jessica's bodyplacing it inside the bedroom, he and Officer Josh Howell move Jessica from the closet to the bedroom floor next to the foot of her bed so that EMS can begin working on her. The only person who truly knows what happened behind that closet door was jessica -- and she's now out of her coma. "She suspected Matthew was cheating on her and so she dug for information, and we found it," the neighbor said. Jones eyes a small child sleeping on a bottom bunk bed in the back bedroom. 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. 11Alive reached out to the GBI and Officer Matthew Boynton, however, neither returned our phone calls. By June 6, Matthew returned to full duty with a new service weapon in his holster. She's having suicidal thoughts. He changed clothes yet lied and said he did not. They wanted me to come back Friday for orientation for the job, she said. She made a full recovery, but doesnt remember a thing. John Hayesto turn in many articles of womens clothing and other personal property including an orthodontic retainer. Officer Robert Brian Jones is also dispatched to the Ashford Way apartment building. And her lawyer was useless I wrote to her years ago. 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. Matthew calls another officer and reports Jessica is refusing to leave with him. Well I couldn't get it for him because I couldn't get it out of his gun holster, she said. GBI/Griffin Police Dept. 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. She says there were pages missing. Everybody clear out, says Jones, who has Keys call for an EMT. GBI conducts canvas and begins interviewing neighbors. Fast forward to May 11, the day numerous items that reportedly belonged to Lester were turned in to the Griffin Police Department. 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. Do you think Matthew did something? he asked her bluntly. The dining room table along with other items were picked up by Cathy Zellner for Jessica. I can't keep doing this.. Uh, just my service weapon, he responds. nd police notify Jessica's family that she has died. There are a lot of questions that I would love to have answered. Did he cause his estranged spouses injury? 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 ceiling fan circles on high speed. A message to Matthew's phone is received and marked as read, from his mistress. Her mouth covered with a breathing apparatus and several machines attached to her, in an effort to monitor her condition. We asked retired homicide detective Tim Miley to review Jessica's entire case file and every crime scene photo. Jessica has given Will every piece of evidence in her case, including that divorce diary. Matthew interviews with the GBI early that morning. Matthew claims they returned home just after 11 p.m. His proof? Cops do find Jessica's DNA on the gun.