I mean, I walk past it. She was told that, to prove that a crime had been committed, the district attorney needed to establish that the oath of office had been administered to Matthew. 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. Jessica Lester started dating Matthew Boynton when she was fifteen. In the spring of 2019, child-protective services closed the case and recommended, based on reports submitted by the childrens psychologist, who had seen the boys for twenty-five sessions, that they no longer spend time with Matthew. Earlier that night Jessica's husband Matthew headed to Waffle House for a late-night bite with a fellow officer, leaving his service weapon . According to the report, GBI investigators never conducted a re-canvass of the apartment complex, and did not talk with the immediate next door neighbor for four and a half months, despite reports from other residents that they heard a single gunshot hours earlier than the officers call claiming shots had been fired. Now itsa twenty-two-billion-dollar industry plagued by exploitation. So there was really no need for me to leave. Before being elected sheriff, in 2011, Beam had worked in the sheriffs office for thirty-seven years. Willey wanted to help Jessica because she was scared of Matthew, too. 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. One, investigators said penetrated Jessica's head and the other the wall. Please tell them I love them everyday. The next day, Yates texted the D.A. Her mouth covered with a breathing apparatus and several machines attached to her, in an effort to monitor her condition. Beam dropped the matter. provided images. Difference between non-contested & adultery divorce? she wrote. A nurse told her shed been in an accident. A deputy named Misty Piper said that, after Gibson repeatedly pressured her to have sex with him, she acquiesced, because she felt that, if she defied Gibson, she would meet a similar fate. Jessicas grandparents wrote letters to the G.B.I., the governor, the city manager, and the district attorney to request that the investigation into Jessicas shooting be reopened. I never wanted to hurt myself before, she said, going on to say that shes never handled a gun, nor shot one. Any weapons inside the house? the dispatcher inquires. DeMarco told Matthew that his clothes might need to be collected as evidence. Immediately following that flip, Mathews said, DeMarco asked if she was recording their conversation. The psychologist wrote, of the older son, I asked him if he has been happy or sad. I dont doubt the findings of the G.B.I., he told me. Now for a pleasant, modest entry into retirement in Toronto.". Three days after she left the hospital, a deputy from the Pike County sheriffs office delivered a Family Violence Protective Order. The next door neighbor interview was conducted after Matthew returned to full duty. Never, she said. But DeMarco insisted to Mathews during their phone conversation, that the timeline was not relevant. That piece of evidence was a photo showing Matthew's cell phone next to the microwave inside the apartment. Her DNA had been found on the gun, which was to be expectedshe had been lying on it. In isolated, poor regions of South Carolina, coming from an lite familyoffereda feeling of impunity. Jessica was found with a gunshot wound in the closet of the couple's bedroom. Running across the parking lot and up the stairs, responding officers head toward the apartment. In December, 2016, Jessica filed a report with the Griffin Police Department, saying that Matthew hadnt returned her belongings. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. SHEILA A. MATHEWS ::: 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. She made a full recovery, but doesnt remember a thing. Police departments have become more attentive to officers use of excessive force on the job, but that concern rarely extends to the home. Jessica had to wean her baby before starting the job, so on Thursday night she and Matthew drove to Walmart, to buy formula. Jessicas grandmother, Martha, said that initially she had trusted Wendell Beam, whom her husband had known for years, and the G.B.I.s investigative process. But, he said, there are a lot of questions out thereboth in favor of Jessica and in favor of Matthewthat could be answered, but I just dont think the G.B.I. Its always more exaggerated every time. She felt uncomfortable that Matthew told Beam every detail of his life, but that the conversations were all confidential.. Jessica thought that Matthew, who was baby-faced but muscular, looked rich; he wore Ralph Lauren boots and collared shirts from Hollister. Her aunt Kathy, who lives on the farm, said, With Jessicas family background, there was probably just a feeling of Oh, Ive finally found someone who loves me.. The first officer she saw in the parking lot was Beam. 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. When she asked Matthew about the shooting, nothing adds up, she wrote to another friend on Facebook. Police investigate further and find a gun underneath Jessicas limp body. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. Jones eyes a small child sleeping on a bottom bunk bed in the back bedroom. 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 later tells investigators that he heard Tyler crying, and then, POP-POP!. The boys expressed fear of having any potential contact with their biological father, the psychologist wrote. Jones checks on a locked closet door between the master bedroom and hallway, across from the bathroom. She spoke to the GBI, from her hospital bed. You are your own person. John Padget, MS '59, writes from Key West, FL, reporting, "My Cornell roommate, Bruce Whilton, of Gloucester, MA, and Punta Gorda, FL, passed away peacefully in June 2022 in Punta Gorda after a long and well-lived life. provided images. Griffin Police officer Matthew Boynton was cleared in his wife's shooting, but his interrogation still cost him his job. She has a tendency to brush over painful experiences. At the time of the shooting Jessica was looking to make a new start for herself and two young sons. In an analysis of more than two thousand family-court opinions from the past decade, Joan S.Meier, a professor at George Washington University Law School, found that, in sixty-four per cent of cases, courts did not accept the story of a mother who said she or her children had been abused by her husband, even when evidence corroborated the claim. the GBI agent posed a return question. This year, an independent panel found that the typical penalty for New York City police officers found guilty of domestic violencesome had punched, kicked, choked, or threatened their victims with gunswas thirty lost vacation days. He did not explain why hed earlier sent word that Jessica was dead. Her parents had abandoned her when she was three, along with her sister and brother, and she grew up on a farm with her mothers adoptive parents. When facts are wrong, evidence altered to fit theories and threats made, how does the GBI remain the last word on the case? Is Jessica Boynton still alive? There is no public record of the proceeding, but the grand jury chose not to indict Matthew either for making false statements or for violating his oath. agents asked if she had ever handled Matthews gun. Less than a week after Jessica emerged from her coma, DeMarco and another G.B.I. 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. And if shes capable of attempting to take her own life, theres a chance that she might do something to these children.. Jessica Boynton, 19, was a stay-at-home mom to 8-month-old Tyler and 2-year-year old Tollin. And that's all I needed, so I was on cloud nine.". Only eight were fired. Making his way outside, seconds later, he calls for assistance over his radio. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . With his gun raised and arms poised, he holds his weapon out in front of him with both hands. So were going to try to expedite this as fast as possible, and, when I say expedite, I mean the next few weeks. DeMarco assured Matthew that his phone, which had been seized during the investigation, would be returned. But otherwise, he said, Im doneIm out. FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE FOR YOURSELF, CLICK HERE. Custody (full? . She was sure that if she didnt comply he would arrest her. If the phone was found by the GBI in the kitchenif the phone is on police body camera footage sitting on the counter by the microwave, and he was outside never returning insidehow is it possible for Matthew to text his girlfriend, while he's calling in shots fired while outside of the apartment? Philip Stinson, a professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University and one of the few scholars who has studied the issue, reached a similar finding: one in five officers arrested for domestic violence nationwide had also been the subject of a federal lawsuit for violating peoples civil rights. 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. We have an individual that is a parent that attempted to take her own life, his lawyer, Lance Owen, told the judge. Then he would handcuff me and put me on the hood of his patrol car and have oral sex with me, she wrote in a statement. The fact that they dont believe that she did this to herselfI think theyre not taking it seriously, Owen said. 9,226 people follow this. Jessica could never quite explain whythere was no proposal, just an understanding that there was too much momentum to break up. In an audio-recorded conversation, an agent expressed disbelief that Beam had let Gibsons behavior continue for so long. reports, Matthew said. Matthew wore a titanium wedding ring with a blue stripe, to signify that he was in law enforcement. Nothing will happen to the kid.. GRIFFIN, Ga. - Matthew Boynton was arrested by his fellow Griffin Police officers and taken to the Spalding County Jail on felony charges. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. She has found that courts are rarely willing to hear evidence about a form of abuse called coercive controla crime in Englandwhich describes the process by which people are dominated, sometimes to the point that they are no longer free agents and cannot make decisions without a partners permission. Jessica could see her children for only four hours on Sunday afternoons. You want to start recording me, and started quoting me, you'd better let me know ahead of time, or we're gonna have a problem. Two months later, Jessica was hired as an assistant teacher at a child-care center in Griffin. Its one of their owna police-issued .40-caliber Glock. ), In a private Facebook message, Willey complained to a friend that Matthews demeanor was emotionless but very authoritative. She had learned about Jessicas shooting after probing stories were published by Sheila Mathews in The Grip, a free newspaper in Spalding County, and aired on the Atlanta television station 11Alive, reported by Brendan Keefe. Will Sanders, the truck driver, reached a similar conclusion. Take care of the children. That phone never got back into the officer's hand. Occasionally, Jessica still reflexively asked Jacob for permission to do things like visit her grandparents or go to the store. In July, 2018, he criticized Yates on the departments Facebook page for denying Sheila Mathews, The Grips publisher, access to public informationbehavior that, Sanders said, was part of a pattern of intimidating female reporters. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. She wasnt sure how to unlock the safety lever on the holster. I dont know what she is capable of, Judge., Jessicas family agreed to pay a hundred dollars every Sunday so that her visits could be observed by another armed law-enforcement agent. Updated: 11:14 PM EDT July 28, 2017. Is she gonna wear a mask or. The men would sit down, and the women would stand behind their men. Less than a month after her hospital-bed interview, Matthew was verbally cleared by the GBI, according to his chief. But a Griffin city official said that the document couldnt be found. There was a pool there, too.. She's having suicidal thoughts," he calmly says about Jessica to the dispatcher. Officers rush to the scene to find Jessica Boynton inside a locked closet, with an apparent gunshot wound to her head. I would have written suicidal thoughts, not suicide thoughts., She told me that she couldnt imagine using a clich such as I have not been able to recognize the person I see in the mirror., I dont generally even look in the mirror, she said. After she came out of her coma, Denise had had to buy her new clothes. In an interview with the police, she said that she found him intimidating. Jessica, at home with her three boys, still has occasional migraines, weakness in her left foot, and lingering amnesia about the night of her shooting. They decided to get married. He assigns another officer to standby at the door until the rest of the apartment is cleared. Have you ever had any thoughts about hurting yourself? Coleman asked. "Well I don't know. Boynton, who was . You know you cant give a sworn statement and lie on it. Crying, Matthew set his body armor, badge, and police radio on the table in front of him, and agreed to resign from the department. Sanders offered Willey a hundred and twenty dollars to sneak into Matthews utility closet and get Jessicas bag. After you got on the radio and you were outside communicating on the radio, you never went back in to actually check, check on the kids, the agent questioned Matthew about once he removed himself from the apartment. But he granted full custody to Matthew. Community See All. He's asked me to go get it out before. No, never. Matthew claims he received a text from Jessica stating she was going to commit suicide. It was actually from him. Shortly after the movie started, Matthew said that it was time to go. Im glad to know theres still advocacy in the practice in the courts of the Griffin Judicial Circuit. No one ended up testifying about Jessica and Matthews marriage. Two shots had been fired. Ill go ahead and tell you that the boys deserve more structure and more care and love which Im almost positive YOU have. By then, the boys were spending half their time with each parent, switching houses on Fridays. They moved in together in January, 2017, and as they were packing Willey discovered that Matthew had a large gym bag full of womens clothes, along with a retainer with Jessica printed on its case. Matthews father and stepmother visited the next week. In all my years in law enforcement, when someone shoots himself in the head its one and done, Jessica Whitehouse, a deputy there at the time, told me. Gradually, though, her concerns dissipated. She suspected that there had been a physical altercation leading up to the gunshots. The nurse didnt answer. After he serves a three-year sentence and finishes his probation, his record will be wiped clean. After they were married, her grandmother said, it was almost like her personality got squished out of her., Photograph by Danna Singer for The New Yorker. To obtain the search warrant, a lieutenant submitted a sworn statement explaining that there was probable cause that Sanders had been involved in two commercial burglaries; later, the lieutenant said that this was the result of a cut-and-paste error.). In April 2016, hours after an argument with his wife Jessica, Griffin, Georgia police officer Matthew Boynton radios for assistance and reports hearing two gunshots coming from inside his home. she asked. Within three hours, she received a copy of Matthews official oath, which the D.A.s office had been trying to find for six months. Dusty asked him where Jessica was, and he said that she had been taken by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center. 8,897 people like this. At the store, they got into a fight, and when they left Jessica said she didnt want to get into the car. Thats something that yall would have to figure out., The G.B.I.s theory of Jessicas shooting depended on her being suicidal, but she gave no indication of being depressed. On a shelf by her head was the notebook documenting Matthews infidelity. A text message is sent to his phone from Jessicas phone. My dream is that, one day, the Feds show up and say, We want the notebook, he said. You cant force her into the truck. (Matthew refused to comment for this story.). In the spring of 2016, less than six months after the wedding, Jessica discovered that Matthew was having an affair with Courtney Callaway, a dispatcher at the Spalding County sheriffs office, a mile away from the Griffin Police Department. He's meeting his buddy at the local Waffle House. Jessicas recovery was so swift that people at the hospital called her the miracle child. Although her skull had been fractured, neither bullet had penetrated it. Jail trustiesmodel inmates who did menial jobs at the sheriffs officetold him that theyd spent two weeks destroying paperwork, at the previous administrations instruction. After getting home around 10:45 PM, a neighbor heard a gunshot from the Boynton home. 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. He said, Sad. When asked, how come, he stated, because daddy scares me. He went on to say, Daddy was up the hill and hurt me in his house., The sheriffs department in Pike County, where Matthew was living, investigated whether there had been abuse, but Matthew denied the allegation and the department did not find any concrete evidence. I was going to report this, but, like he said, who will they believe? Another woman, who used methamphetamine, said that sometimes Gibson followed her as she drove. But did something else happen that spring night in 2016? Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . I love you and the boys., A minute later, Matthew responded to a joke from Callaway. Lowry wanted to put witnesses on the stand who would testify that Matthew had been psychologically abusive. Matthew sends another text to his girlfriend, a Spalding County dispatcher, Give me a few. I have been suffering for a while now and no one has noticed. Like many docile, self-effacing women, Jessica has some hidden pockets of pride, and one of them is her skills as a writer. Matthews wedding ring had a blue stripe, to signify he was in law enforcement. Although its possible that Jessicas head hit the wall after she shot herself, there was no blood on the wall or on the clothes in the closet. ), After several months, a male officer told a captain in Internal Affairs that he didnt understand why Whitehouses complaint had been ignored. I was scared to death, because I couldnt find him, that she would shoot me, shoot him, and then kill herself.. In the spring of 2013, when she was sixteen and had dated Matthew for a year, she took her grandparents into the kitchen, closed the door, and told them, apologizing, that she was pregnant. Few states mandate that custody evaluators have domestic-violence training; judges often characterize the allegations as mudslinging and focus not on their veracity but on which party appears to be the better parent. Have you spoken to her doctors about what they believe is the cause of her head injuries? Jessicas lawyer, Bree Lowry, asked. Eleanor Attwood, a lawyer representing six women who filed civil suits against Gibson, warned me to do all my reporting when the sun was out. agents canvassed the apartment complex and discovered that Megan Browning and her fianc and a couple that lived next door to Jessica were the only neighbors who had heard gunshots. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . Jessica gave him her old cell phone and notebook, and he keeps them in a safe at a location that he wont disclose, along with a shrink-wrapped box containing all the documents he collected. The older boy was asleep in his bedroom, and the baby was in his own room, crying in his crib. And, unfortunately it appears those questions will never be answered," Mathews said. The agent asked her if she had ever held her husbands service weapon. She said that all she could remember about that night was that shed gone to Walmart. Just one minute later, Matthewcalls 911, reaching Spalding County dispatch. Owen proposed that Beam supervise the visits. 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. 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. GBI/Griffin Police Dept. They recorded interviews with eight Griffin police officers, some of whom Matthew considered good friends; one informed the agents that Matthew was telling me how she kind of acts crazy sometimes when she dont get her way. The G.B.I. Although police departments have become more attentive to officers use of excessive force against civilians, the same scrutiny has not been applied to their potential for violent behavior at home. 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. Somebody that shoots themself in the head means business. Im, like, You dont have to ask me, he said. They say she tried to commit suicide but, there is more to the story. Jessica Boynton says she's free as a bird'. There is another problem now. He bangs on the locked closet door. Unnerved, she went out to the porch, where she heard another. It was Im going to lock people up. Amy fell to pieces, Denise said. (She and Callaway, Matthews ex-girlfriend, couldnt be reached for this story. Contact Justice for Jessica on Messenger. The idea that domestic violence is bad for kids still has not sunk init sometimes barely makes a dent in a case, she said. Like Piper, Whitehouse was afraid to follow through. At the time of the shooting Jessica was looking to make a new start for herself and two young sons. In early May, after three weeks in a coma, Jessica began to regain consciousness. Jessicas grandparents hoped that this development would help their case. Matthews service gun was under her stomach.