September 30, 2019. Matthew Boynton, 21, had just started work as a Griffin police officer. Matthews childhood dream was to work in law enforcementa career inspired by his grandfather, who had helped bring him up following his parents divorce. And, unfortunately it appears those questions will never be answered," Mathews said. It doesn't sound like anything I would say. They have won. They decided to get married. Jessica was found with a gunshot wound in the closet of the couple's bedroom. Jessica Boynton was married to Matthew Boynton, a local police officer and grandson of the county sheriff. The police were notified of said "shooting" by Jessica's then husband Matthew Boynton. Furthermore, she said, there were too many errors and discrepancies for her to have sent a text like that. Jessica Boynton was married to Matthew Boynton, a local police officer and grandson of the county sheriff. A key piece of evidence was photographed inside the kitchen after officers arrived on the scene. Never, she said. 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. But Griffin Police Chief Michael Yates said, Officer Boynton was not the shooter and trusts the investigations outcome. She did not want to have anything to do with it.. When facts are wrong, evidence altered to fit theories and threats made, how does theGBI remain the last word on the Jessica Boynton case? Her neurosurgeon, Paul King, told me, It seemed most likely that someone else shot her., Jessica had an intracranial-pressure monitor inserted into her brain, to measure swelling, and she was put in a medically induced coma. She loved those kids more than anything, and she knows how it feels to grow up without a mom, she said. That's the bottom line for me. "That's the way we're gonna play this game, Sheila. Chris DeMarco, GBIs assistant special agent in charge, arrives on the scene and meets with Griffin Police Chief Michael Yates for a briefing. Something had happened to the mama lions cubs, Kathy said. We will not be swayed by hearsay, false rhetoric or sensationalism in a manner that would cause harm to the innocent, he wrote. 11alive.com. But there are almost no empirical studies examining the prevalence of this sort of abuse today. Just one minute later, Matthewcalls 911, reaching Spalding County dispatch. 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. Sanders said, I think the city thought this would be business as usual, until a local reporter and a loser truck driver got involved.. You do whatever you want to do. The lead teacher at the day care where Jessica worked had also found her unnecessarily deferential. I figured she was going to retract her statement, he said later. To text back long story I'll tell you later.. No. She said that all she could remember about that night was that shed gone to Walmart. Matthew, who had been restored to patrol duty, carried a new service gun and wore his uniform, and was accompanied by Beam. Is that what you're saying?" In December, 2016, Jessica filed a report with the Griffin Police Department, saying that Matthew hadnt returned her belongings. If you dont want to be with me anymore, Jessica texted him, Im not going to stay here and play house. Matthew, who had begun spending his free days with Callaway, told her, Its not gonna work for us. 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. Can a new approach curb domestic homicide? No. Like a car accident? she asked. They say she tried to commit suicide but, there is more to the story. Dusty asked him where Jessica was, and he said that she had been taken by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center. Twice, Matthew called the police on Jessica, for yelling or cursing or poking his chest. We believe he is a danger to her, she told the judge, Tommy Hankinson. If you do wear makeup and fix your hair, youre a whore., Beam asked Whitehouse to meet him at a park on the outskirts of Griffin. Matthew makes it home, jumps out of his truck, races through the breezeway of his apartment building and bolts up the stairs. They're saying it was self-inflicted, she said. 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.". 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. 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. Jessica and Jacob have a son together, and their living room and kitchen are arranged like a nursery school, with a poster displaying the ABCs, a whiteboard, and wooden coat hangers shaped like trucks. It should not be surprising that domestic abuse appears to predict excessive use of forcea link that scholars have suggested should alter the way that departments respond to both kinds of aggression. Ashley Dunn, the lead teacher in Jessicas classroom, said, We were all, like, You can do an awesome job working with ten two-year-olds but you cant see your own kids? On weekends, Dunn sometimes asked Jessica to babysit for her own children. In the past thirty years, the criminal-justice system has become more responsive to domestic violence, but family courts have been largely insulated from this cultural change. 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. 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.. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . And its inside that closet, where police found her seemingly shot in the head, laying on top of her husbands service weapon. 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. At the judges recommendation, they also arranged for a psychological evaluation. Four months later, he was hired as a reserve officer in Braswell, Georgia, a community of four hundred people. 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.. But a psychiatrist who assessed her for depression apparently saw no need to give her a diagnosis or refer her for treatment. 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. Her marriage had been crumbling, and she and her husband of six months Matthew Boynton, 20 . Its always different. I hold up the white flag., Jessicas older son often cried and clung to her when Matthew picked him up on Fridays, and in the summer of 2018 he complained that his father had hurt him. Matthew sends another text to his girlfriend, a Spalding County dispatcher, Give me a few. I was wondering why, but then it came to pass that her husband was a police officer and his granddaddy was the sheriff, so I understood.. She felt she needed men in power on her side if she were to challenge a culture in which men let other men get away with what they please. Her head shaved. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. The older boy was asleep in his bedroom, and the baby was in his own room, crying in his crib. During the investigation, Jessicas sons were permitted to stay with her full time. Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us. 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. 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. Somebody that shoots themself in the head means business. She had a job interview and it was going to be her first step to freedom. Matthew signed a sworn statement promising that he no longer had anything of Jessicas. Jessica Lester started dating Matthew Boynton when she was fifteen. Earlier that night Jessica's husband Matthew headed to Waffle House for a late-night bite with a fellow officer, leaving his service weapon . 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. At the time of the shooting Jessica was looking to make a new start for herself and two young sons. Now for a pleasant, modest entry into retirement in Toronto.". I hope those stories went too far, he said, referring to the notorious Wood Chipper. Here lately I have not been able to recognize the person I see in the mirror. Two deputies woke Jessicas grandparents and told them that Jessica had committed suicide, using Matthews gun. In the nineteen-nineties, researchers found that forty-one per cent of male officers admitted that, in the previous year, theyd been physically aggressive toward their spouses, and nearly ten per cent acknowledged choking, strangling, or usingor threatening to usea knife or a gun. I'll be back there in about two minutes. Hardheaded. Officers rush to the scene to find Jessica Boynton inside a locked closet, with an apparent gunshot wound to her head. 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. Her mouth covered with a breathing apparatus and several machines attached to her, in an effort to monitor her condition. 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. The psychologist wrote, of the older son, I asked him if he has been happy or sad. Like, he talks about her as if shes nothing., As Willey was moving out of Matthews house, she again came across the gym bag of Jessicas clothes. He didnt find any, and dismissed the protective order. Eleven Griffin police officers arrived at the apartment complex. Wouldnt listen to anybody.. One of about 70 messages they exchange throughout the night. The fact that they dont believe that she did this to herselfI think theyre not taking it seriously, Owen said. The boys expressed fear of having any potential contact with their biological father, the psychologist wrote. 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.. Please tell them I love them everyday. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Then he called E.M.S. Matthew and Callaway broke up a few weeks later. Matthew wore a titanium wedding ring with a blue stripe, to signify that he was in law enforcement. She believes that she and Matthew must have fought in the closet, and she never made it outside. Two shots had been fired. His flashlights beam reveals a smiling family of four. There's so many useless words thrown in there, then there's so many words left out, she said. Sanders offered Willey a hundred and twenty dollars to sneak into Matthews utility closet and get Jessicas bag. Marc, we hope to see you at Reunion. Statements from Jessica Boynton and Matthew Boynton are logged into evidence," said a statement written by Yancy March 13. Updated: 11:14 PM EDT July 28, 2017. Jessica and Matthew left their wedding reception, which her family hosted, after less than an hour. The next door neighbor interview was conducted after Matthew returned to full duty. 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. Jessica was the kind of intuitive mother who predicts a babys dangera fall, a spilled drink, a choking hazarda few seconds before it happens. Jessica was still missing her orthodontic retainer. Contact Justice for Jessica on Messenger. The neighbor saw Matthew leaving the apartment for dinner with a coworker. Jessica is placid and effortlessly polite, warm without being intimate. The glowing yellow and black, blocked-letter Waffle House sign illuminates his truck as he drives by, turning around to head back home. Twice, she later testified, Gibson choked her. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. And he called the girlfriend, so Mays said to Mathews. 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.. 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. 9,226 people follow this. He enters, checking the master bedroom. She has a tendency to brush over painful experiences. In isolated, poor regions of South Carolina, coming from an lite familyoffereda feeling of impunity. But asking those questions resulted in a threat. Early that morning, Matthew was interviewed by Chris DeMarco, a G.B.I. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. Do you think Matthew did something? he asked her bluntly. She concluded that shed chosen the wrong tactic. Ive never, ever wanted to hurt myself before., Do you think Matthew was incapable of doing this?, Honestly, I dont know, she said. So there was really no need for me to leave. Sheila Mathews publishes The Grip, an independent . By June 6, Matthew returned to full duty with a new service weapon in his holster. You find plenty of reasons to leave nowI know that, Jacob teased her. She became dead seriousId never seen her so serious, Denise said. 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. On his way, at 12:54 a.m., he said, he received a text from Jessica: I cant do this anymore. She said we needed to know what kind of kid he was. reports, Matthew said. That is where her memory ends. The shooting occurred on the evening of April 14, 2016. The agents who wrote the report seemed indifferent to the dynamics of Jessica and Matthews marriage, as if the subject were a private matter that didnt merit discussion in an official investigation. The county sheriff ruled her dead at the scene. You cant force her into the truck. (Matthew refused to comment for this story.). Shes offended by the idea that she would have composed something as syntactically messy as the suicide text she is alleged to have written. Jessica could never quite explain whythere was no proposal, just an understanding that there was too much momentum to break up. to say that he had the original document. Ad Choices. 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. Jessicas grandparents live on two hundred acres of farmland in Pike County, a twenty-five-minute drive from her apartment. This blows my mind.. 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. I hugged her and said, Its going to be O.K. And she said, No, and looked at her husband. (Amy did not want to comment for this article, explaining in an e-mail, I have tried to remain neutral in this very serious situation.). provided images. Uh, just my service weapon, he responds. When Jessica graduated from high school, her grandparents held a party for her and projected a movie on the side of their barn. Once the investigation was closed, reporter and publisher, Sheila Mathews, investigated the shooting for her newspaper, The Grip. After getting home around 10:45 PM, a neighbor heard a gunshot from the Boynton home. Ha! 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. One witnessJessicas neighbor Megan Browningwould like to speak to you anonymously in chambers, because she is afraid., Judge Hankinson seemed to find the idea so novel as to be humorous. Community. Jessicas grandparents, who are Baptist, were willing to help her bring up the child, but Jessica decided to settle down with Matthew, her first boyfriend. After Gibson left, citizens came forward to say that they, too, were terrified of him. A fence separates their house from an open field, where nine cows and two donkeys graze. She could now recall that after she returned from Walmart she went to her closet to put her shoes on, because she needed to walk the dog. Jones checks on a locked closet door between the master bedroom and hallway, across from the bathroom. A different metaphor.. In an interview with the police, she said that she found him intimidating. Im not well connected with anyone. She decided to resign instead. When the roles were reversed, fathers lost custody in only twelve per cent of cases. Credit: GBI/Griffin Police Dept. 13 talking about this. Jessica Boynton was initially . According to a police report, Jessica was very reserved and appeared to be upset. She said that the officers recommended that she not yell at Matthew. Martha worried that Jessica had lost her feistiness. Ive always been such a firm believer in our justice system, she said. 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. A message to Matthews phone is received and marked as read, from his girlfriend--from inside the evidence bag. Jessica, who still has no memory of what happened that day, states that Matthew is the only one who knows the truth. Am I recording it? And if shes capable of attempting to take her own life, theres a chance that she might do something to these children.. 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. For a while, he put clear tape on the doors of his house and car, so he would know if anyone had sneaked inside. Its one of their owna police-issued .40-caliber Glock. Griffin Police officer Matthew Boynton was cleared in his wife's shooting, but his interrogation still cost him his job. ). She and the boys planned to move into her sister Dustys house on Friday, April 15th, and the next week she would begin working at a chiropractors office. Amy fell to pieces, Denise said. I didnt try to wash my handsnothing. He sounded like an eager student. I love you and the boys., A minute later, Matthew responded to a joke from Callaway. He had filed nearly a hundred Open Records Act requests about Jessicas shooting, and he shared what he learned with Jessicas family, as well as with The Grip. Thats the game here, he said. 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. Jessica didnt have her own credit card or car, so if she needed something from the supermarket she texted Matthew, who either took her to the store himself or asked Beam or his wife to deliver the item. Jones eyes a small child sleeping on a bottom bunk bed in the back bedroom. The air is thick with the trepidation, as officers approach the locked closet. Have you spoken to her doctors about what they believe is the cause of her head injuries? Jessicas lawyer, Bree Lowry, asked. I made sure that I had another party with me, to insure the accusations wouldnt be made, Matthew said later. Any weapons inside the house? the dispatcher inquires. 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. After the visit, Matthew, who had been placed on administrative leave, was interviewed again by DeMarco. Hahaha you about have me a heart attack freak!! Sheriff Beam can carry a weapon, he said. 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. In 2012, Piper complained to Beam, and he said hed look into the accusations, if she put them in writing. Jessicas grandmother made an appointment with a lawyer who could help her file for divorce. Leigh Goodmark, the director of the Gender Violence Clinic, at the University of Marylands Carey School of Law, speculates that one reason for the dearth of research is a reluctance to fund a study that will bring attention to an uncomfortable dilemma: that, as Goodmark says, those policing the crime and those committing it are often the same person.. Was the investigation a mess up or a cover up? Willey wanted to help Jessica because she was scared of Matthew, too. I didnt know if it was an active scenario, he later told investigators.
Fowler Lake Village Condos For Sale, Articles M