48 Hours - The Blackout Murder of Livye Lewis

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

A woman is discovered shot dead in her car with a blood covered man alive on the ground. The man says he has no memory of how he got there. Investigators unravel the strange scene. ...Peter Van Sant reports.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:01:06 with iGaming Ontario. ["The Last Post"] Hey, who shot my kid? Where's my kid? I don't get, where's my kid? It's a blur. Will y'all tell me something? Where is my kid?
Starting point is 00:01:32 Where is she at? I didn't know anything. I just wanted her to be OK. She's alive? Huh? Come here. She's not alive. I'm going to see my child.
Starting point is 00:01:45 I just needed to know, is she alive or is she dead? Livy Lewis, where is she? Where is she at? You don't want to sound cliche, but Livy was a perfect child. She was kind and loving. That's why she went into nursing. She obviously had something about her that she loved to take care of people.
Starting point is 00:02:10 She was selfless. Where is my child? In this car. What car? I didn't know if I wanted to believe that she was in that car. I didn't want her to be. Because if she wasn't, she was, then it was real and she was gone. How y'all doing?
Starting point is 00:02:39 Who was the one that actually drove by? You saw it first? So I pulled over and I seen throughout my passenger seat I was like, she must be just slumped over. Maybe she's just drinking. The door was already open. I was like, hey, it's like I shook her. And that's when I called 911.
Starting point is 00:02:55 911. 911. 911. It's a lady looking like she's out there. It's a ghost out there. 6 o'clock in the morning. I'm at home when my telephone rings. Sheriff wanted me to come in sit with Matthew at the hospital.
Starting point is 00:03:20 Matthew Edgar, right? Yep. And while I was there I interviewed him. I have no clue why. No right? Yep. And while I was there, I interviewed him. I had no clue why I was there. No clue? No. You have a girlfriend? Yeah. Kind of. I don't know, his girlfriend named Levy.
Starting point is 00:03:34 He was found in the fetal position behind the vehicle that Levy was found in. When was the last time you saw Levy? Tonight. He remembered drinking on his porch. And the next thing he remembered, he was waking up in the back of an ambulance. You don't know how you ended up on the ground behind the car?
Starting point is 00:03:48 No sir. With the dead girl in it? I don't know, I don't know. There was a rifle, some shoes, and a hat also on the ground. That's his bed, he was laying there beside me. How'd you get all the blood all over your face? Because the hospital said you don't have any injuries. What are you thinking?
Starting point is 00:04:12 I'm thinking that he's not telling me the truth. He's just basically telling you a Texas fairy tale, right? Correct. I'm going to be flat out honest with you, but unfortunately there is a deceased female in that vehicle that's in front of yours. And my job is to find out why she's dead. Who is the dead girl? Did they tell you her name? Maybe.
Starting point is 00:04:32 I informed him that Ms. Lewis had passed. He started with this, what I would describe as forced crime. Did you see any tears? Not a single one. The world seems to think that Matthew Edgar is a murderer. Do you believe that? I do not. Do you believe that someone else pulled that trigger?
Starting point is 00:04:52 I do. I believe it was someone that was close to Matthew, someone that was involved in events of that evening. We got all the DNA results back. There were some holes in the case. There were no fingerprints taken. Our DNA lifted off the gun. There were DNA samples from Livy that showed there was another man.
Starting point is 00:05:12 I have no doubt, and I'm gonna make this perfectly clear, Matthew Eger killed Ms. Lewis. And you put your reputation on that. Absolutely. Peter Van Sant reports the blackout murder of Libby Lewis. In the early morning hours of Halloween 2020, a day when the boundaries between the living and the dead become blurred, Livy Lewis was discovered draped over the steering wheel of her car, dead from a rifle shot to the neck.
Starting point is 00:05:54 Here's her ID. Livy had just turned 19. I don't know if dispatch has notified her next to kin or not. It happened in Hemphill, a tiny town in Texas with a population just over 1,000. The kind of place where no one is a stranger and news spreads like wildfire. That is how Livy's mother, Darcy Bass, heard the news when a friend called to say that Livy had been shot. You didn't know if she was dead or alive?
Starting point is 00:06:29 No. I'm going to see my child. The next time I saw her she was in a casket. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. Oh my God. By all accounts, Libby Lewis was a remarkable young woman, a straight-A student and recent high school grad, with a scholarship to a local college.
Starting point is 00:06:59 So I'm Libby Heather Lewis. Just imagining my future and the goals that I will accomplish makes me excited. Her dream was to go on to college, become a nurse, and then become a physician's assistant. Livy was already a certified nursing assistant at a local nursing home. She was loved by all the residents there. That's a tough job, too. Yes, and she loved it. That was her passion.
Starting point is 00:07:26 That's also where she met one of her best friends, fellow nursing assistant Taylor Barnett. We worked together, and then she just started staying with me all the time. Taylor was nearly six years older and had a young daughter, but she says Livy fit right in. If you seen Livy, you seen me. We just clicked, like, automatically. Bailey Williams met Livy in kindergarten.
Starting point is 00:07:49 She was a person that wanted stability and didn't want to play, like, the kid games. She was ready to be grown up. That's probably why Livy fell for an older man, Matthew Edgar, who was 23 when they met. But I was dating a guy who was actually friends with Matthew. So we all just kind of started hanging out. Livia was still a senior in high school when she and Matthew
Starting point is 00:08:16 began a secret relationship. Matthew was married to Montana Boquel, the mother of his two young sons. Phone records indicate that Livia and Matthew began married to Montana Boquell, the mother of his two young sons. Phone records indicate that Livy and Matthew began texting each other in November 2019 when Matthew wrote, You do realize you cannot say a word to anybody that we are even texting lol. Livy responded,
Starting point is 00:08:41 Well, obviously, I'm not going to brag about texting a married man, but thanks for the clarification. It appears that after a very brief affair, Livy quickly and firmly ended things. But Matthew wasn't done. About four months later, he texted to complain about how unhappy he was in his marriage. I cheated again, he said. But Livy held her ground. I'm not really down for being a home wrecker, she wrote.
Starting point is 00:09:13 Nearly two months later, Matthew ended his marriage in this tax exchange with his wife, where he said, ain't you, it's me. Me always cheating on you. Four days later, Montana hired a divorce attorney. Matthew moved out and circled back to Livy. At just 18, Livy was now navigating a relationship with a man who had two young sons and a soon to be ex-wife. At first, they didn't get along. Livy and Montana didn't.
Starting point is 00:09:46 I think that was out of jealousy on Montana's behalf. And then it was kind of just like the flip of a switch. All of a sudden, Montana wanted to be Libby's best friend, and they talked all the time. I think in Libby's eyes, she was definitely thinking she had a friend. And in Montana's eyes, what do you think? I think that she was jealous.
Starting point is 00:10:06 I think that some people get close to people and they have another reasoning behind it. And so do you think in some ways a dangerous love triangle had formed? Yes, definitely a dangerous love triangle, yes. You can call it that, absolutely. Sabine County Sheriff's Investigatorigator J.P. McDonough questioned Matthew about his relationship with Montana and Livy.
Starting point is 00:10:30 What's your relationship like with those two? Awesome. Okay, so it's not a typical, I hate your guts. No, not at all. Okay. It's awesome. Okay. I asked why I couldn't hurt her.
Starting point is 00:10:43 I hate goodies. I just told Livy to just be cautious. You can get along with her for their children, but don't be too close with her. I mean, because that's his ex-wife. But Taylor says that as time went by, it was Matthew's behavior that became the most menacing. He was pretty much abusive in more ways than one. For a little while he
Starting point is 00:11:06 was staying at my house with her and he would just get drunk and crazy and either holler at her and like it got so bad that like I didn't want him there at my house anymore. Phone records show that the relationship was a rollercoaster ride. While at times Matthew sent texts to Livy like, good night baby, I love you. Livy's texts alleged physical abuse. I don't know why you keep putting your hands on me like that. My body hurts today.
Starting point is 00:11:39 I think that she was in love with who Matthew could be, because she knew who he was and knew that what he was doing to her wasn't right, but she still stayed. Livia had been planning on moving to her new college campus, but in the summer of 2020, she stayed on that roller coaster ride, agreeing to move in with Matthew and help take care of him and his sons.
Starting point is 00:12:04 She even redecorated the boys' rooms. Went to baseball, went to football, She moved in with Matthew and helped take care of him and his sons. She even redecorated the boys' rooms. Went to baseball, went to football, went to soccer ball. But things seemed to have quickly turned ugly. In August of 2020, Livy writes to Matthew, I want to be in our home with you, but I can't do the way you act when you drink. I'm scared of you. You've laid your hands on me multiple times.
Starting point is 00:12:33 I deserve better than that. Had she told you at that time that she had been violent? No, she didn't tell me that. Probably figured that I would go do something crazy, and she didn't want me probably getting in trouble. Livia did tell her cousin, Sydney Ebar, what was going on. She sent you a disturbing photograph.
Starting point is 00:12:53 Yes. Evidence of physical abuse, correct? Yes, sir. And do you have that photo? I do. Can you show it to me? Yes, sir. He busted her nose.
Starting point is 00:13:05 It's not clear what caused the altercation, but texts would later show that Matthew was cheating on Livy, with, of all people, Montana. On October 4th, 2020, Livy's birthday, Matthew texted Montana. I didn't cheat on Livy with multiple women. Just you, LOL. He was continuing a relationship on Livy with multiple women, just you, LOL. He was continuing a relationship on with his ex-wife and had my daughter in the middle
Starting point is 00:13:31 of it not knowing that she was being manipulated by all of them. I was in an abusive relationship so I just said, Livy, you know it gets worse. But she said, I know. And I said, okay, I love you. Livy broke up with Matthew. But in a small town like Hemp Hill, you can run, but you can't really hide. In the early morning hours of Halloween 2020, Matthew and Livy would end up together again
Starting point is 00:14:00 on the side of this road. Harvard is the oldest and richest university in America. But when a social media-fueled fight over Harvard and its new president broke out last fall, that was no protection. Claudine Gay is now gone. We've exposed the DEI regime and there's much more to come. This is The Harvard Plan, a special series from the Boston Globe and WNYC's On The Media. To listen, subscribe to On The Media wherever you get your podcasts. He was hip hop's biggest mogul, the man who redefined fame fortune and the music industry. The first male rapper to be honored on the Hollywood walk
Starting point is 00:14:49 of. Did he built an empire and live the life most people only dream about everybody no no party like a did he party so yeah. But just as quickly as his empire rose it came crashing down. They're announcing the unsealing of a 3 count indictment charging Sean combs with racketeering conspiracy sex trafficking interstate transportation for prostitution
Starting point is 00:15:16 I was. I have Rob bottom I made no excuses. Disgusting so sorry. Until you're wearing orange jumpsuit it's not real now it's real. From his meteoric rise to his shocking fall from grace from law and crime this is the rise and fall of getting. Listen to the rise and fall of 80 exclusively with one 3 plus. The morning Livy Lewis was killed on the side of the road, her ex-boyfriend Matthew Edgar found himself in a hospital bed claiming he had no idea how he got there.
Starting point is 00:16:02 Despite the blood on his face, Matthew wasn't injured, but he did admit to Sheriff's investigator J.P. McDonough that he'd been drinking. How much? A bottle, Jim Bean. Jim Bean? Anything else? A few beers earlier in the day. He said he'd been at a party the night before
Starting point is 00:16:21 at his friend Bobby Ozan's house. That's when he claims he last saw Livy. She heard that, that's why I thought it was her. Okay. So you left Bobby's, it went to your house? It went home. It was at my house. Okay.
Starting point is 00:16:37 And that's where Matthew claims he blacked out and simply can't explain how he ended up in a fetal position between a black truck that wasn't his and Livy's car. You don't know how you ended up on the ground behind the car. That's it. With the dead girl in it. I got her too. Madonna took swabs of the blood on Matthew's face for DNA testing.
Starting point is 00:17:03 All right, Matthew, I'm going to do this one on the chin. And Matthew's clothing for DNA testing. All right, Matthew, I'm gonna do this one on the chin. And Matthew's clothing was taken into evidence. I'm gonna go through some of your clothes, okay? Yes, sir. Then, McDonough placed Matthew under arrest. Charge is gonna be homicide. All right? Now, pay attention to me. I want you to understand why, okay?
Starting point is 00:17:24 Yes, sir? Okay. You were found behind the vehicle where the decedent was. There was some kind of relationship between you and her. There is a weapon laying on the ground behind the vehicle close to where you were found, okay? Based on that and a few other things, I'm going to place you in custody right now for homicide, okay? What's his reaction to that?
Starting point is 00:17:55 He had none. But he didn't say, you're going to do what? I didn't do anything. Nothing at all. Nothing at all. With Matthew jailed, McDonald was on a legal deadline. According to Texas law, the district attorney's office now had 90 days to present enough evidence to a grand jury to indict Matthew, or they would have to release him on bond.
Starting point is 00:18:20 So McDonough enlisted the help of the Texas Rangers and began piecing together what happened to Livy. Matthew was just an easy arrest. Sean Dunn is an old friend of Matthew's. Told me, hey, look, you know, I didn't do this. Yes, I was there at the scene, but I, you know, I didn't, I did not do this. I loved her. Sean, a former Texas oil and gas man,
Starting point is 00:18:45 once employed a then 20-year-old Matthew as a supervisor on his pipeline. I know Matthew. I spent a lot of time with him. He was a hard worker. You know, he loved his family. He valued his friendship with people. Sean was also once a deputy sheriff and says in his personal and professional opinion, Matthew is innocent.
Starting point is 00:19:09 When you're in law enforcement and you sit across the table from somebody that has taken someone's life as a cold-blooded killer, there's a certain feel that you get from that person. I've never seen him reach that point. Sean believes Matthew when he says he has no memory of what happened. The cause of death for that girl is not natural. And thinks this moment... Did they tell you her name, Livy? ...was very real. I believe that was genuine,
Starting point is 00:19:39 that that was the first time that he knew that she was deceased. Which raises the obvious question, if Matthew Edgar did not kill Livy, who did? All right, that's kind of still up in the air. In my opinion, there's plenty of other people that could be involved in this. Sean won't name names, but Matthew and his mother, Cindy, have insinuated that someone else killed Livy, Montana.
Starting point is 00:20:04 Listen to this recorded jailhouse call. But I'm saying, Matthew, if it turns out that Montana did this... I don't want to talk about it, please. I mean, it's not going to make you want to hurt her because she killed the woman you loved, are you? I don't know. Sheriff's investigator J.P. McDonough says Montana's unusual friendship with Livy did get his attention.
Starting point is 00:20:27 My husband left me for this woman, but she's my best friend. You know, I have to question that as an investigator. This is one of the last photos ever taken of Livy. She is with Montana and they are at that party Matthew told investigators about at Bobby Ozan's place. I'm going to say there's probably about 20 people there. Including Matthew and Montana's sons. Bobby told investigators Matthew spent the night watching Livy and Montana party with everyone but him. He would try to come over there and talk to them, and they just really wouldn't say much to him.
Starting point is 00:21:05 They were just basically ignoring him. Investigators learned that Livy had broken up with Matthew just weeks earlier, and he had taken up with another young woman in town. I am trying to find out your relationship with Matthew Bedgar. We were having sex. Just, I met him that Monday, and we saw each other every day.
Starting point is 00:21:29 So you were just knowing him all week? Yeah. But it was clear to Bobby that Matthew wasn't over Livy. He was just hurt, and then now she don't want nothing to do with him no more. She's going on with her life just like, you don't exist anymore. Bobby says Matthew was stewing at the party.
Starting point is 00:21:47 He just wasn't himself. He's on edge just drinking beer. And drinking heavily? Yes, sir. Yeah. And the more he drank, the angrier he got. Exactly. What do you think of Matthew Edgar's story?
Starting point is 00:22:02 Chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and X. As the party at Bobby Ozan's was winding down, Matthew Edgar says he called it a night. So you left Bobby's and went to your house. You went home? I was at my house. That's where Matthew's memory goes blank. But his ex-wife, Montana Boquel, remembers much more.
Starting point is 00:22:27 The day is October the 31st. In this audio recording, Montana told investigators Matthew suddenly came back to the party and learned that Livy had decided to stay overnight at Bobby's. You think he heard Livy say she was going to stay the night? Oh, I know he heard her, because that's what made him so mad. During the course of the investigation, and during my interviews with family and friends,
Starting point is 00:22:52 Matthew had intended to ask Miss Lewis to marry him. That's how significant he felt about Miss Lewis. To hear her back at the house say that I'm going to stay with Bobby was just... Meaning sleep with Bobby. Correct. That was'm gonna stay with Bobby, was just- Meaning sleep with Bobby. Correct. That was too much? That was just too much.
Starting point is 00:23:09 According to Montana, Matthew was so angry, he even took it out on her. He tried to choke me, and then that's when I went and got Bobby. So I went outside and he had kicked all the doors in on her car and was punching on the window. At one point, Bobby had to pin Matthew against the car in order for the girls to be able to leave.
Starting point is 00:23:31 The whole time I'm holding him, he's screaming top his lungs. I'm gonna kill y'all, I'm gonna kill y'all. Montana says she and Libby left in separate cars. In search of safety, Montana says she headed toward the home where Matthew's mother and grandparents lived, and that's where Matthew caught up with her. He pulled him behind me. I went to get out, and he started choking me again.
Starting point is 00:23:53 Their children were in the back seat of Matthew's van. I was honking the horn so somebody would come outside. In all the racket, Montana says Matthew left and headed for his own home a short distance away on the same property. A shaken Montana says she asked to stay the night with Matthew's mother and grandparents and then began texting with Matthew. I have a message. What does he say? You took part in it, and you are guilty as she is, wrote Matthew as he angrily accused Montana
Starting point is 00:24:29 of playing a part in Livy's decision to spend the night with Bobby Ozan. Those texts would become damning evidence in the case against Matthew Edgar. He said you knew what was going on. A decision that appears to have enraged him. He said, I will take your life, our life, and his life. Mark my words.
Starting point is 00:24:51 At 322 a.m., Matthew texts, I'm leaving. Better get here and get your kids. McDonough says evidence shows that a drunk and angry Matthew then got behind the wheel of his truck, where he kept his rifle and went hunting for Livy. I think she pulled over to talk to him, and I'll tell you why. She was just sitting there with her legs crossed. It indicates to me she was not afraid.
Starting point is 00:25:17 It was not a fight or flight thing where she was prepared to just bolt out the car. She was actually, to some degree, comfortable with who she was speaking with. 12 minutes after texting, I'm leaving, Matthew texted, I'm home. I got Livy's keys and her phone. Montana asked, where is she? Matthew's response, dead. Montana told investigators she didn't call 911
Starting point is 00:25:44 because she didn't believe he was serious. Instead, Montana texted Matthew, can I come down there? His reply, yeah. But Montana claims that Matthew's mother wouldn't let her leave. So she just fell asleep. I never left.
Starting point is 00:26:01 I didn't even know anything had happened until I woke up at around 6 o'clock this morning. But Matthew didn't go to bed. McDonough says evidence shows that not long after sending that text that Livy was dead, Matthew did something no one can explain. He went back to the crime scene, this time in his cousin Zach's truck. It's that truck that was found parked behind Livy's car. Why would he go back then?
Starting point is 00:26:30 Why would he return to the scene of the crime? That would be a question you'd have to ask Matthew. I can't explain that. Also hard to explain, Montana's failure to call 911. It made no sense to Livy's friend Bailey. She knew who he was and what type of person he was. And then she was receiving all those texts. I don't think that you can just take that with a grain of salt after you've received those text messages. Yeah, it's time to call police.
Starting point is 00:26:57 Right. McDonough says he and his team of investigators wondered if Montana had been to the crime scene that morning to try and help Matthew cover up Libby's murder. I know you don't believe me, but I can't tell you stuff that I don't know happened. Two months after the crime, Montana was given a polygraph exam. Are you covering for the person responsible for Libby's death? After monitoring her physiological responses, Montana was told she failed the polygraph. No doubt that you left something out
Starting point is 00:27:30 or something you're not telling me. But after an in-depth multi-agency investigation, investigators concluded that Montana was never at the crime scene and had nothing to do with Livy's shooting or any cover up. And so to all those who think somehow she's involved you say not true not true at all. All the evidence says McDonough points to one person
Starting point is 00:27:58 Matthew Edgar is there a motive in your mind jealousy. Jealousy plain and simple. What's the emotive in your mind? Jealousy. Jealousy. Plain and simple. In February 2021, the COVID pandemic shut down the courts and this case.
Starting point is 00:28:11 With no grand juries being convened, a judge was forced by law to release a still unindicted Matthew Edgar on a reasonable bond, $50,000. For them to set it so low was insane to me. Months after Matthew's release, Darcy was at her local convenience store, when Matthew just strolled in. When he came in the door, I just went and started throwing whatever at him and went for him. And I just remember and started throwing whatever at him and went for him.
Starting point is 00:28:46 And I just remember saying, you killed my daughter. You killed my daughter. Matthew pressed charges against Darcy, and she was arrested. The charges would eventually be dropped, but Darcy says she just wanted some answers. She loved you and she was good to you and your kids and to your family. What makes you think that this was the answer to anything that was going on? On March 16, 2021, four and a half months after his arrest, a grand jury finally heard the evidence against Matthew Edgar and indicted him for the murder of Livy Lewis.
Starting point is 00:29:25 But Matthew, who is still out on bail, wasn't done breaking the law and tormenting Livy's family. I just was like, are you serious? You don't believe in ghosts? I get it. Lots of people don't. I didn't either, until I came face to face with them. Ever since that moment, hauntings, spirits, and the unexplained have consumed my entire life. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for the past 20 years. I've taken people along with me into the shadows, uncovering the macabre tales that linger in the darkness,
Starting point is 00:30:13 and inside some of the most haunted houses, hospitals, prisons, and more. Join me every week on my podcast, Haunted Canada, as we journey through terrifying and bone-chilling stories of the unexplained. Search for Haunted Canada on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of the Wondery Show American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud.
Starting point is 00:30:51 In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space Shuttle. And in 1985, they announced they're sending teacher Krista McAuliffe into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, along with six other astronauts. But less than two minutes after liftoff, the Challenger explodes. And in the tragedy's aftermath, investigators uncover a series of preventable failures by NASA and its contractors that led to the disaster. Follow American Scandal on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:31:23 Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season only on Wondry Plus. You can join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app, Apple podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today. As January, 2022 and the trial of Matthew Edgar approached, Darcy Bass was confident that the evidence in the murder of her daughter, Livi, would finally prove that Matthew had killed her. What in this case struck you as the most powerful evidence against Matthew Edgar? From him saying that he was going to kill them, her, to him being at the scene, to it being his gun.
Starting point is 00:32:09 Then there were all those venomous texts between Matthew and Montana that Taylor and Bailey say ended with a clear confession. When he texts and said, she's dead. Because who would know that except? The person who did it. And remember that text that read, I got Livia's keys and her phone?
Starting point is 00:32:29 Well, Livia's phone was found in the truck Matthew had driven to the crime scene. Her keys were found on the driveway at his grandparents' house and reluctantly handed over to investigators by Matthew's mother, Cindy Hogan. Is it true, in your opinion, that she tried to keep Livy's keys from investigators? That was the indication. Cindy Hogan also tried to help her son by suggesting that Livy had been killed by a
Starting point is 00:32:58 drug cartel because Matthew owed them money. And that the cartel had killed Levy and staged it to make it look like Matthew did it because they were out $30,000. What do you think of that theory? Uh, I think it's a far-fetched fairy tale. It was so far-fetched. It was just a crazy story
Starting point is 00:33:20 to try to distract people from the truth. On Monday, January 24th, 2022, the trial of Matthew Edgar began with jury selection. Matthew, who is still out on bond, walked in and out of court every day like a free man. Due to the nature of the crime and the emotion throughout the county, we had security arrangements in place for trial.
Starting point is 00:33:45 We even had Matthew wearing a bulletproof vest. On the first day of testimony, the state began presenting its case, which included DNA lab results that detected a tiny speck of Livy's blood on the pants Matthew was wearing when he was found at the crime scene. How important is that piece of evidence?
Starting point is 00:34:06 It's critical. It puts him there at the time that that injury caused her death. But Matthew's court-appointed defense attorney, Rob Hughes, argued that a tiny drop of blood doesn't prove a thing. How else could that speck have gotten on his pant leg if not coming from blood spatter from the shooting? You can get DNA transferred from just touching someone. Hugh says there's no telling how long that blood had been there.
Starting point is 00:34:34 And all that blood on Matthew's face that McDonough swabbed and had tested? It wasn't Livy's or Matthew's. And once they were excluded, investigators didn't pursue other matches. Hughes says there were additional DNA tests that also raised questions about who else may have been at the crime scene. There were other people's DNA on Matthew, and Livy was excluded as a contributor
Starting point is 00:35:00 to those DNA samples. Hughes tried his best to argue that the DNA should be considered reasonable doubt, but admits that his biggest obstacle in defending Matthew were those texts and Matthew's insistence that he has no memory of sending them. In your entire career as a defense attorney, have you ever had a client who was functioning during the course of a crime, texting, conversing with people, driving an automobile, client who was functioning during the course of a crime,
Starting point is 00:35:25 texting, conversing with people, driving an automobile, who then said they had no memory whatsoever of the events. I have not. And you understand why that would be hard for people to believe. Yes. Hughes also asserted that the murder weapon had not been tested for fingerprints or DNA,
Starting point is 00:35:46 but conceded the rifle belonged to Matthew. After a second day of testimony, the prosecutor notified Hughes that he would be resting his case the next morning, and it would then be Hughes' turn to call witnesses. Sean Dunn says that he had been snapchatting with Matthew, who was feeling optimistic about his chances. He was so confident that he was going to need a job, and asked me would I find him a spot to go to work. But the next morning, as Rob Hughes arrived at the courthouse,
Starting point is 00:36:20 he got a panicked call from Matthew's mother, who told him her son was now a fugitive. She just started frantically telling me that Matthew was gone. Matthew had run and he had taken a gun with him. She was afraid he was going to kill himself. Are you serious? Like, he's gone? He shouldn't even have been out on bond. Didn't he have an ankle monitor on?
Starting point is 00:36:40 What happened with that? Authorities say Matthew had simply waited for the battery on his ankle monitor on. What happened with that? Authorities say Matthew had simply waited for the battery on his ankle monitor to die and then left home, most likely on foot. We started getting assets from all over. Lufkin PD SWAT, GPS, Texas Rangers. We even had tracking dog from the prison unit. They followed a trail through the woods, roughly two miles. Meanwhile, Matthew's trial went on without him. That very same day, defense attorney Rob Hughes
Starting point is 00:37:13 began presenting his case. The jury was not told that Matthew had fled, but they must have wondered. So a case that's already very difficult for you has now become, I'll use the word, impossible. It made it much, it didn't help, that's for sure. No one was surprised when after deliberating for about an hour and a half, the jury found Matthew Edgar guilty of murder. But he was still on the loose, out there, somewhere, an armed threat to himself and the community.
Starting point is 00:37:46 I mean, I think that it was like a scary time because it's him who knows where everybody lives at. That was a terrible, crazy time for me knowing that he's out there, supposedly loved my daughter but murdered her. And me, the one that's actively trying to make sure that he goes to jail, what would he have done to me? Darcy says it felt like no one was searching for Matthew, so she became a mother on a mission
Starting point is 00:38:10 and hung this homemade wanted poster all over town. But she wasn't alone. JP McDonough had been joined by Jeff Coulter, a special deputy with the Eastern District U.S. Marshals Service, and they were on the hunt for Matthew. Do you consider him right off the bat to be a dangerous fugitive? Oh, absolutely. From what I was told, from the murder to the crime scene,
Starting point is 00:38:35 yes, no doubt. See a timeline of the night of the murder at 48hours.com. Her car was right here before the sign. This is the very spot where 19-year-old Livia Lewis was murdered. Now a memorial lovingly tended to by her mother, Darcy. I just want everyone to remember what happened here, what Livy had to go through. It's also a place that Darcy is convinced Matthew Edgar visited
Starting point is 00:39:17 after becoming a fugitive. I just felt it as a mother. I was like, he's coming here. He's not far. Darcy says she also heard rumors that Matthew's mother had been spotted buying her son's favorite cigarettes and liquor in large quantities. Where is she taking them to?
Starting point is 00:39:35 One week after Matthew ran from the law, Jeff Coulter, a special deputy with the U.S. Marshals, was asked to take over the manhunt. When you first begin your investigation, do you start with his family to see if they've heard anything? No, no, I don't like being lied to. I've already heard their stories claiming
Starting point is 00:39:53 she was killed by the cartel. So no, I didn't even waste my time. Coulter says he quietly spent nearly a year working with the Sheriff's office and other law enforcement agencies around the country to chase down every lead that came their way. We had put in a lot of hours, a lot of weekends, a lot of late nights.
Starting point is 00:40:13 Then a tip that Matthew might actually be hiding in plain sight, just yards from his grandparents' property in this house. It looked great. It sounded great. it sounded great, but we physically have to put eyes on him before we make a move on his residence. The house, which belonged to a family friend,
Starting point is 00:40:32 was surrounded by woodlands, so Coulter enlisted the aid of two wardens with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The plan? To get as close as possible under the cloak of darkness, using night vision to ID their man. We're going to enter into the woods, make our way up to the back of the property,
Starting point is 00:40:53 get as close as we could, and sit there and see if we could get a visual of him. While Coulter led a team of three men into the woods, JP McDonough and his deputies were on the opposite side of the house, near the driveway, but out of sight in their vehicles. My job was to sit right there at the front door of that house. If Coulter and his men made a positive ID on Matthew, they would finally have him cornered. We went in about 4 30 in the afternoon. We knew it was going to get dark about 5.30. We got into probably about 100 yards of the house
Starting point is 00:41:27 and we heard barking, come to find out they had a pretty good sized rottweiler in the backyard. So we were out there for an hour or so, we could hear voices. We could hear female voices, we could hear male voice, but it's so thick we can't see. Then we catch a violent thunderstorm.
Starting point is 00:41:43 Lightning and thunder and torrential rain. It was miserable. But it was a blessing in disguise. And the noise covered our movement. They were 30 yards from the house when a second storm hit. But there was no giving up. That's 11 months and two days. This needed to end tonight.
Starting point is 00:41:58 Drenched and exhausted, Coulter and his team could hear voices on the back porch of the house, but couldn't see faces. Exhausted, Coulter and his team could hear voices on the back porch of the house, but couldn't see faces. Until about 8 p.m., when a man stepped off the porch. He walks around the side of the house and he stands there. One of Coulter's men immediately recognized that man as Matthew Edgar. He goes, he's here.
Starting point is 00:42:21 I got eyes on him. We got word that they had made a confirmation. Drove down, pulled in the driveway. got eyes on him. We got word that they had made a confirmation. Drove down, pulled in the driveway. Back in the back, back, back. Watch the front. I got movement. They're in the house.
Starting point is 00:42:31 Once we saw the lights, it was a 30-yard sprint, all four of us. We break the corner, and we started screaming law enforcement police. Sheriff's office, anybody inside? Come out with your hands up. He jumps up, and he throws himself against the wall like, oh, crap. You got me.
Starting point is 00:42:45 Yeah. It was over with. Did you guys make eye contact? Absolutely. He said, hey JP. I said, hey Matthew. And then he asked me, you hadn't proven my innocence yet? And I said, no Matthew.
Starting point is 00:42:59 I have not. Coulter says that's not all Matthew had to say that night. He said, please don't shoot my mother. Mother, please come out of the house. His mother is in the house. Mother's at the house. Was she crying? Was she upset?
Starting point is 00:43:13 No, I think she acted amazed that he was there, like she didn't know what was going on. Really? Yes, surprised he was there. I'm going to jail for something I don't even know nothing about. Was she arrested as well? Not at the timeprised he was there. I'm going to jail for something I don't even know nothing about. Was she arrested as well? Not at the time. She was not.
Starting point is 00:43:28 Can somebody get my purse with my seizure medicine? Cindy Hogan was eventually charged with hindering apprehension. We reached out to her attorney for comment, but did not hear back. On January 3rd, 2023, Matthew Edgar was formally sentenced for the murder of Livy Lewis, 99 years in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 30 years. Does it give you, I don't know what the word is, not any peace, but in prison he will likely suffer for decades. You can only hope, but he doesn't suffer like... Like her brother.
Starting point is 00:44:12 He doesn't suffer like her little sister. Darcy hopes to be there when Matthew comes up for parole, and Taylor and Bailey say she won't be alone. And I don't care. However, he says that he changes while he's in there. up for parole and Taylor and Bailey say she won't be alone. And I don't care. However, he says that he changes while he's in there. I don't think that that's something you can ever come back from
Starting point is 00:44:31 because she's definitely not coming back. Meanwhile, Darcy is trying to save up enough money to buy a headstone for Libby's grave. How do you carry on and honor your daughter's memory? I just gotta get up every morning and just remember the good things. And I want to make her proud. I don't want her to be remembered as the girl that got killed in the small town. I want her to be remembered for the way that she carried herself
Starting point is 00:44:59 and the happy person that she was to be around. Cindy Hogan is awaiting trial. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at Wondery.com slash survey. So get this, the Ontario liberals elected Bonnie Crombie as their new leader.
Starting point is 00:45:41 Bonnie who? I just sent you a profile, her first act as leader asking donors for a million bucks for her salary. That's excessive she's a big carbon tax supporter. Oh yeah check out her record as mayor. Oh get out of here she even increased taxes in this economy. Yeah higher taxes carbon taxes she sounds expensive. Bonnie Cromby and the Ontario liberals. They just don't get it that'll cost you. A message from the Ontario PC party.

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