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PRIMETIME JUSTICE WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Murder Suspect in Nationwide Manhunt Captured; Attempted Murder or Attempted Suicide; Show

Aired March 1, 2017 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[20:00:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST (voice-over): Breaking news tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is in custody.

BANFIELD: An armed and dangerous fugitive wanted in connection with the murder of his girlfriend and at least three other shootings capture after a

chase and a fiery crash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) turned over, so I`m sure his resisting it (ph) ended at that point.

BANFIELD: How police caught up with Alex Deaton and where he is now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hang on sweetie, OK?

BANFIELD: A police officer`s wife found shot in the head inside her bedroom closet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s trying to get up.

BANFIELD: Investigators say it was a suicide attempt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve got to get her out.

BANFIELD: And though her memory is foggy, she says not so fast on that theory.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) officer (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: Jessica Boynton live in a PRIMETIME JUSTICE exclusive interview.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motto was, Today`s going to be that day.

More than 9,000 tips and dozens of police agencies all scouring the country, trying to find the killer of two Indiana girls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want people to know we`re looking for the murderers and murderer of Liberty German and Abigail Williams.

BANFIELD: The reward has ballooned, but will that help them find the elusive killer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A woman had awakened to screams from her roommate.

BANFIELD: A beautiful nurse mysteriously stabbed in the middle of the night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A random act, a very rare random act.

BANFIELD: Who is the stalking, haunting figure creeping through this video, moving from cars to apartments until he finally found the one

unlocked?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This burglar, this murderer, left the apartment with some of the items from inside.

BANFIELD: A motormouth back in court...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) human being.

BANFIELD: ... and he just can`t seem to stop himself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: Accused of killing a cop and his pregnant girlfriend, he sure seems tongue-tied about entering a plea.

And hold onto the wheel. In a scene straight out of a blockbuster movie, a speeding driver takes flight, landing on this car. How the woman inside

survived.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.

We`ve got breaking news tonight. The accused killer wanted in connection with two murders and several shootings from Mississippi to New Mexico is

wanted no more. Alex Deaton was captured in a fiery chase and crash. And he is behind bars tonight, but not before his alleged reign of terror got

even worse for several more victims. We brought you this story last night, agents spanning across the country in pursuit of that alleged serial

killer.

But just after we went off the air, Deaton made his way to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and that is where police say he violently carjacked a couple,

forcing them into the trunk of their white Honda. But when he slowed that car down, the couple was able to pop the energy latch inside the trunk and

make a break for it. Unfortunately, that`s when things went bad to worse for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRYAN BAILEY, RANKIN COUNTY SHERIFF: When the male and female jumped out of the trunk of the car to run, Deaton shot at them, striking the male in

the -- in the rear -- in the upper thigh and grazing the female. Again, he recaptured the female, he went to a house and stole a van at gunpoint.

Deaton jumps out of the van, gets back in the white car and leaves the scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So at that point, Deaton allegedly had shot that couple, but then police say he recaptured the woman. With her, he then carjacked

another vehicle at gunpoint, a van. The woman was luckily able to escape. But don`t forget she`d been grazed by a bullet. So she`s injured and she

escapes.

Hours later, Deaton then ends outside of a convenience store, and not nearby, all the way in Pratt, Kansas. And that`s where he allegedly shoots

a store employee and carjacks yet another vehicle, this time a Cadillac. And from there, he leads police on a very dangerous chase.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL GUEST, RANKIN COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: (INAUDIBLE) got into a pursuit. More of these stop sticks were put out. While he was exiting a

ramp at a high rate of speed, we believe, he had an accident, a wreck, vehicle caught on fire, and he has since been taken into custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Today, that nationwide manhunt that went right across multiple states, leaving a path of terror in Mississippi, New Mexico and in Kansas

and came to a very abrupt and fiery end.

For the very latest on Deaton`s dramatic capture, Therese Apel is the breaking news reporter for "The Clarion-Ledger." She`s live with me now

from Jackson, Mississippi.

All right, so where is Deaton now, and what kind of trouble is he in?

THERESE APEL, "CLARION-LEDGER": He is in custody in Ellsworth, Kansas. And basically, what we are looking at is he is charged with murder in two -

- the two homicides, the girlfriend here and the woman in the church. And then you`ve got the shooting of the jogger that he allegedly is connected

to. You`ve also got all the shootings that you detailed.

There is evidence that police have talked about that connects him to some of these, including a 9-millimeter casing at the shooting of the clerk, and

they found a 9-millimeter Glock in the car that he finally wrecked (ph) out (ph) in.

BANFIELD: Wow! We`re showing pictures of him since he`s been captured. He is very different from the man with the scruffy beard who they were

looking for, and he looks like he is badly banged up. I can only imagine it`s from how his ultimate, yes, reign of terror ended in that crash.

Real quickly, last night, Therese, when he talked to the sheriff and the DA, it just seemed like it was all so random, and they just didn`t know

about a motive. It seems like they`re getting a hint now. What is it?

APEL: Well, he was breaking up with his -- well, it`s fair to say his girlfriend was trying to break up with him, and they believe that`s what

really set him off, that at the time that he allegedly killed her, he went from there to Newton -- I mean, to Neshoba County, where he had family.

And at some point randomly, that`s how he encountered the lady at the church.

Everything seems very unconnected. He seems to be the only connection in all these crimes.

BANFIELD: Well, Alex Bridges Deaton, fair to say, is not going to be walking out of any cell anytime soon. Not only is he wanted where he is

right now, he`s wanted in a few more places. Take a good look at that face because the next time you see him, he`ll probably (ph) wearing (ph) some

kind of jumpsuit and walking into one of many courtrooms to follow. Thanks, Therese, for that.

I want to take you to this next story. Some shootings remain unsolved for years after they happen and some never get solved at all. But

investigators near Atlanta say that they think they know what happened to a 19-year-old mother of two who was found shot inside the closet of her own

master bedroom nearly one year ago.

They say Jessica Boynton shot herself with her police officer husband`s service weapon. Here`s where it gets strange. Jessica lived. Here she

is, recovering in a hospital bed. But understandably, looking at the condition she`s in right there, she does not remember much, and she

certainly doesn`t remember trying to kill herself. In fact, she had a completely different story to tell when she miraculously woke up after

three weeks in a coma.

I want to take you back to the night of the shooting. It was April 15th, 2016, and I want to show you the police bodycam video that they were able

to capture when the officers responded to the scene, but not without a word of warning first because the language and some of the video that you`re

about to see is graphic and it is absolutely not meant for any children. So if they`re in the room, please make sure they`re not anymore.

And this is what the police came upon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay out, Matt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this the master?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re in the master room, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep going that way. OK, open this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police department! (INAUDIBLE) kick that door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me move the 32. Move the 32. She`s still moving. She`s still moving and breathing. She`s still moving. She`s still moving

and breathing. Take this door off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s the name? Do we know her name? I can`t tell. I don`t know where it`s at. Hang on, sweetie, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know what she used?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Glock 40 -- 40-caliber.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Unbelievable. You could probably hear one of those two babies crying in the background of that video.

So how did police find out about Jessica`s shooting? Her husband, Officer Matthew Boynton, called it in. Boynton says he was returning home from

being out with a friend at a waffle house about 1:00 o`clock in the morning when he says he heard two gunshots coming from his apartment and then

called the police.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Matthew Boynton.

MATTHEW BOYNTON: I believe I just heard a shot fired coming from my residence. I just came upstairs to do rounds. Be advised of a smoke gun

smoke. And I can`t get an answer to the door!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay outside. I`ll be there in about two. Stay outside.

MATTHEWS BOYNTON: 10-4.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Matthew bolstered his story with this. He claimed that while he was at the waffle house, his wife, Jessica, sent him a text message. I`ll

read it for you. "I can`t do this anymore. Take care of Tollin and Tyler. Please tell them I love them every day. I have been suffering for a while

now, and no one has noticed. Here lately, I have not been able to recognize the person I see in the mirror. This is not the first time I

have had suicide thoughts. I love you and the boys."

As for Jessica, she says she does not remember anything from that night, let alone shooting herself. But the Georgia Bureau of Investigation looked

deeply into this case and made a decision. They closed it, and they ruled this a suicide attempt.

Stacey Newman is a PRIMETIME JUSTICE producer. She`s been working through the case file all throughout the day. Stacey, why, with all the forensic

ability that we have today, was this so tricky? Why was there any question as to whether or not it was a suicide?

STACEY NEWMAN, PRIMETIME JUSTICE PRODUCER: One of the main things I found in this very deep document was conflicting reports from two doctors at the

hospital, Ashleigh, that worked on Jessica.

One was saying, based on the wounds and their observation, that wound could not have come from a self-inflicted gunshot. Another doctor said exactly

the opposite. So you had two doctors saying two different things, and the chief million examiner, who did not look at Jessica herself, reviewed all

the evidence, Ashleigh, and agreed she tried to shoot herself.

BANFIELD: Stacey, one of the things they always look at is the hands of the shooter because if you fire a weapon, gunshot residue puffs out in a

big cloud and it gets on the hands of the shooter. And her story is intriguing.

NEWMAN: Yes, you know, the doctor also noticed she didn`t have any of that residue on her hands, which would have been there, Ashleigh, if she had

pulled the trigger on that gun and shot herself.

BANFIELD: What about the idea that there were two actual shots fired? They found two bullet holes in that bedroom coming from the closet, I

believe one in the ceiling and one in the wall. It is unusual for someone to shoot at themselves twice in a suicide, isn`t it?

NEWMAN: Yes, and I agree with you. However, maybe the idea is maybe she missed on one of the shots which sounds unusual, but there also were two

bullet casings found at the crime scene along with those two bullet holes.

BANFIELD: OK, another very strange twist to this. Jessica Boynton, who -- by the way, if you`re just joining us, you`re seeing here, and the reason

we`re showing you this video is she`s alive. You are not seeing the victim of a suicide, the victim of a killing. You`re not seeing a dead body. She

survived this.

But one of the very strange things is that Jessica actually now does not even believe she was shot. What is that about?

NEWMAN: Yes, she`s saying that she thinks she actually was hit on the head. And one nurse at the hospital, according to the report I looked at,

said she had a skull fracture and no gunshot to the head. But everything in that report over and over and over, 178 pages, says it was a gunshot.

BANFIELD: Wow. All right. Hold on for a second. I want to bring the lawyers in on this, Joey Jackson, Danny Cevallos joining me live on the

set. We go through this a lot, not often when the person survives. It`s always after the fact, and the forensics are what help us get through this

kind of a crime.

And here we have a young woman who survived but not with a memory of it. The first thing I got to ask -- forensics are great.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely.

BANFIELD: They would tell if you`re shot or if you`re hit.

JACKSON: Well, Stacey Newman alluded to it. What about the -- you know, the paraffin test where you have gunpowder residue on your hands? If it`s

absent, it`s a bit problematic.

But let me tell you what really concerns me about GBI, Georgia Bureau of Investigations. They cleared, apparently, the husband for two apparent

reasons, which to me are somewhat suspect. Reason number one, there was this suicide note. There was a text suicide note. So? If a phone is

unlocked, anyone could have written that note.

But here`s the other thing. They said there was DNA on the weapon. So? You have the spouse of the person, and even if the spouse doesn`t touch it,

you could always get that DNA...

BANFIELD: Transferred. transferred.

JACKSON: ... transferred DNA.

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I now have Joey Jackson`s DNA on me.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: ... as funny as that is, that is a brilliant -- just show that again in full screen now that we`re...

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: That`s how you get the DNA on another surface.

JACKSON: So you`re going to clear someone predicated upon...

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Take her toothbrush, take her brush, take her clothing and rub it -- you could do that. You`re right.

JACKSON: The other evidence to me is much more powerful, which would be consistent with it not being a suicide. I`ll let you address that. I

mean, it`s -- it`s nonsense.

BANFIELD: Right.

CEVALLOS: These kind of investigators can create opportunities for defense attorneys. Here`s why. When police come in and presume a suicide, they

miss important points. Now, you talk about GSR, gunshot residue -- lead, antimony, barium -- it explodes out of the gun, right?

Well, what if those hands got cleaned between the time they picked her up and brought her to the hospital? When did they swab? GSR moves around.

Just like Joey showed us with transference. It can get onto your hand, it can leave your hand. It should have been there, but it may be explained

away.

The biggest thing for a defense attorney here is that this investigation may have been approached initially as a suicide, and those early

conclusions, a defense attorney can use at trial.

JACKSON: And real quickly, Ashleigh...

BANFIELD: Real quick.

JACKSON: Are you kidding me? The fact that it was her husband`s revolver -- he happens not to be at work. He happened to be out with his friends at

the time. That`s when she takes the opportunity to do it?

BANFIELD: I mean, there are a lot of questions...

JACKSON: I don`t know.

BANFIELD: ... about it.

JACKSON: I don`t know.

BANFIELD: Without question, it is odd. But I will tell you this -- no charges for Mr. Boynton. Officer Boynton has not been charged in this.

JACKSON: At this point...

BANFIELD: At this -- and the GBI has released a statement. I want to read this because they`re -- they`re pretty clear about what they say their

findings are.

"The Georgia Bureau of Investigation completed the investigation into the shooting incident involving Jessica Boynton. It is the finding of the

agency that the injuries sustained were self-inflicted. The findings were presented to the (INAUDIBLE) judicial circuit district attorney`s office.

The district attorney reviewed the findings and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support any criminal proceeding. The GBI is

confident in the investigation, and this case was closed on 9/15/2016. The full investigation file speaks for itself and is available upon request` --

da-da-da-da-da-da-da. And that`s what we do. We (INAUDIBLE) records got that request. So clearly...

JACKSON: I sense a review coming.

BANFIELD: And that is possible.

JACKSON: (INAUDIBLE) enough pressure on the GBI and the district attorney.

BANFIELD: Who do you think -- who do you think...

(CROSSTALK)

CEVALLOS: ... that initial conclusion.

BANFIELD: Who do you think might do the pressure? Maybe -- maybe, maybe Jessica?

JACKSON: I think -- No, I think Ashleigh Banfield!

BANFIELD: OK.

JACKSON: I mean, honestly.

BANFIELD: So with that...

JACKSON: With these stories...

BANFIELD: With that...

JACKSON: ... and talking about it, people see this injustice, and they want digging here, not just because you`re an officer so we`re going to

brush by the investigation.

BANFIELD: Asked and about to be answered because PRIMETIME JUSTICE has an exclusive tonight. Jessica Boynton herself, who you saw in that hospital

bed, is fully recovered. She is live on the screen right now. She`s going to talk to us about that night, about the alleged shooting and what she

remembers, what she doesn`t remember and what she sees happening next. Jessica is live in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: A miraculous recovery for a woman shot in the bedroom closet of her Georgia home. After three weeks in a coma, Jessica Boynton woke up.

She says she didn`t remember what happened that night, but the moments right afterward were captured on a police officer`s body camera.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just tell us what you need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: A police investigation says that Jessica shot herself. But she`s not buying it, and she joins me live next to explain why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: For nearly a year, Jessica Boynton has been looking for answers because last April, she was shot inside the bedroom closet of her home in

Georgia. Investigators ruled that this was a suicide attempt. But Jessica survived and says that she does not remember anything from that night. But

there is a body camera video from when the police responded to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) she`s in the master.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay out, Matt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this the master?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Master room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep piling (ph) that way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, open this. Police department!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: This is right before the moment that the police would break in and find Jessica shot and on the floor of her own bedroom closet but

miraculously alive and with a pulse. Really quite remarkable that she survived this. But again, not helpful to the investigation because after

this kind of trauma, Jessica did not remember what happened. Here`s the closet. Here`s where they find her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s still moving and breathing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Jessica says even though they ruled that she was suicidal, she says she was not. She believes that this was a crime scene staged to look

like a suicide.

Jessica Boynton is live with me. Jessica, what`s the last thing you remember that night before you were shot?

JESSICA BOYNTON: The last thing I remember is arguing with Matthew.

BANFIELD: What about?

BOYNTON: About him cheating on me and about the baby`s formula.

BANFIELD: And is it true that the two of you were in marital discourse (sic) and maybe headed towards divorce before this happened?

BOYNTON: Yes, that is true.

BANFIELD: So tell me what it is about the investigation that just doesn`t sit well with you.

BOYNTON: Well, there`s a lot of stuff that doesn`t sit well with me, but one of them would be the timings of the places that they said they were,

and they weren`t. For example, one of the officers said he was at our apartment complex at 10:53. Well, GPS coordinates proved that that`s wrong

and he wasn`t there until 11:43 that night.

BANFIELD: That`s almost a whole hour difference.

BOYNTON: Yes. And he said -- according to the GBI`s report, he told them it was just a typo. But that`s a mighty big typo for something like this.

BANFIELD: What about the texts that Matthew says you sent him alleging that you were suicidal, that you were about to end it all?

BOYNTON: That doesn`t even sound like anything I would say. It`s -- the wording is off. There are so many mistakes in that whole text message.

BANFIELD: And what about your phone itself? Did you keep your phone on your person? Did you have a passcode? Was it locked? What is something he

couldn`t have gotten into.

BOYNTON: Oh, no. He could have easily gotten to it. I always left it laying around and it was always unlocked. So very easy to get the phone

and send yourself a text message.

BANFIELD: And I just want to remind our viewers, while this is such an excruciatingly fascinating event of facts, the Georgia police closed the

case and ruled it a suicide and Matthew has not charged in any of this.

What I am curious about is the gun. This is Matthew`s service revolver. Did Matthew ever leave his service revolver unattended in the house or

anywhere else?

BOYNTON: Yes. If he wasn`t on duty, it was at home.

BANFIELD: So there`s nothing untowards about Matthew having gone to the waffle house and leaving his service revolver at home unattended.

BOYNTON: Right. Yes. He did that all the time.

BANFIELD: Had you ever handled it before? Do you know how to shoot a weapon? Are you familiar with weapons?

BOYNTON: No, I`m not. I mean, I grew up around them, but when my younger siblings and everything went outside to shoot, I always stayed inside. So

I`ve never been up close and personal with them.

BANFIELD: There is this very unusual question about your belief about what happened. You don`t believe you were shot. And I think it`s mystifying

for many among us who think, you know, you spent a month almost in a coma in the hospital. How could that be disputed or refuted? Why do you not

believe you were shot? What is it about your injury that you don`t think was a gunshot?

BOYNTON: There was no blood spatter on the walls anywhere. And I only had a fractured skull. The way that the GBI said I had to have shot myself,

that closet would have been a mess. There`s no way I could have missed.

BANFIELD: So what do you think caused that wound? And where was the bullet that police undoubtedly would have had to recover?

BOYNTON: The bullet that they`re saying did the damage was the first one, you know, because then their ruling was that I did it at a downward angle

on the top of my skull right here because you can`t see it, but I have a scar all the way from here to here, from where they had to do surgery. But

they`re saying that it was at a downward angle and that I was doing it when I was standing up, and then I fell over and the gun shot on the bottom part

of the wall, where it went through the living room and through the baby`s room.

BANFIELD: So if I`m understanding you, Jessica, The first shot, you would have had to reach up to the top of your head and shoot in a downward

trajectory...

[20:30:04] BOYNTON: Yes.

BANFIELD: . and ultimately make contact. And the second shot would have been after you shot yourself in the head?

BOYNTON: Yes, they`re saying that it went off when I fell. If you shoot yourself like this, it`s not gonna go up, it`s gonna go down.

BANFIELD: And the gun was found as I recall under you, correct?

BOYNTON: Yes. I was also facing towards the bedroom. So the barrel of the gun was facing towards the bedroom.

BANFIELD: Was there any possible circumstance that you can imagine that would have indicated a fall or a positioning of your body whereby the gun

could fall that way and you could fall on top of it?

BOYNTON: Not to my knowledge. I`ve tried to think about it, and there is just no explanation for that other than somebody putting it there. It would

be consistent when somebody at the door sliding it under you to make it look like you had it.

BANFIELD: I want to -- if I can, I want to play something that your husband actually was recorded saying on the body cam that night. By other police

officers. He`s a police officer. So he`s presumably fellow police officers. He talked about having wanted to jump in front of you had he been able to

get there in time. I want to play this and get some thoughts from the other side. Have a listen.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW BOYNTON, HUSBAND OF JESSICA BOYNTON, GRIFFIN POLICE OFFICER: I could have just (beep) jumped. If I could have been here 10 minutes earlier

I could have just jumped in front of the gun and tried to get it from her man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s still breathing. She`s got good pulse, blood pressure.

BOYNTON: All right, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s even fighting with EMS, dude.

BOYNTON: Where did she shoot herself at?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn`t tell.

BOYNTON: All right, man. She would have never done this, I don`t know why.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Ultimately did his fellow officers believe him? Did anybody ever talk to you about feeling otherwise?

BOYNTON: No, they didn`t. The GBI only interviewed me once and that was probably a week after I came out of a coma, maybe a little bit longer. But

they never came back to talk to me anything. And every time I`ve had to tell them something, it took me forever to get them on the phone. And then

once I did get them on the phone, they didn`t really seem that interested in what I had to say.

BANFIELD: So, Jessica, what`s next? Is there something you are going to do about this? Or you literally resigned to telling your story in the media

and that`s where it ends?

BOYNTON: Well, hopefully, all this attention gets the case open back up and then hopefully we can see where it goes from there.

BANFIELD: Well again, I just want to restate for those who may be joining us that Matthew was not charged in this crime. That the Georgia Bureau of

Investigation opened and closed this. Even though two doctors both differed as to whether this could have been self-inflicted or not.

And the AME (ph) ruled on this having not actually, you know, meeting with you or seeing you or literally having any contact with you, just working

with the material supplied. Jessica, thank you for being with us tonight. I really appreciate you telling your story.

BOYNTON: Thank you for having me.

BANFIELD: Jessica Boynton joining us live in Georgia tonight. As investigators search for the killer or killers of two Indiana girls, the

reward for information leading to an arrest in this case has now spiked to over $200,000. These are the girls. The bodies of 13-year-old Abigail

Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German were discovered in the woods after they went for a hike and police say their parents couldn`t find them

afterwards.

They say they received thousands upon thousands of tips by phone and by email. The FBI is involved in this nationwide manhunt. And this is who

they`re looking for. He`s the primary suspect. He was caught on this image on Liberty`s cell phone. And that cell phone had something else. The

hunting voice of the man in the photo saying, down the hill. It could be the clue that breaks the case.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down the hill. Down the hill. Down the hill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Listen closely to that. If you know anything, police are asking you to make a contact with your local authorities. Video that you are about

to see is not a scene from a demolition derby and it was not shot in the back lot in Hollywood.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God!

BANFIELD: Not a stunt either. This is an 18-year-old behind the wheel during a 100-mile-an-hour crash. That`s a stolen pickup truck. Authorities

in Louisiana are saying that Kevonte Austin who had escaped his prison work release program was actually driving 115 miles an hour and that this was

the result of a police chase.

He lost control of that truck after he hit spike strips that the police had laid out and then went into the ditch. That sent the car flying in

trajectory that you witnessed and this is the aftermath of that truck. But it landed on a Toyota Corolla. A -- right here. Look at this.

[20:35:00] Look at this car. It landed on that car parked at a restaurant, and there was a woman sitting in the driver`s seat. Look at that. She was

lucky to have scooted over to the passenger seat and escaped without injuries. Young Mr. Austin, however, not so lucky tonight. He has been

taken back into custody. Just imagine what the charges would be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Video something else too. A critical care nurse murdered in her own bedroom and her killer is somewhere still out there tonight.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And it`s baffling people, baffling police. They say they think this is him. Take a close look. Caught as always on surveillance tape. But

he stops. There`s more to it. What they say the suspect was doing in the moment just before the stabbing and during this video could help to

actually catch him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: A young woman whose job it was to save lives has now had hers taken away by a very brutal and a bizarrely random killer. This is Tiffany

Ferguson, just 23 years old. She was a critical care nurse at a hospital in Nashville. Early Tuesday morning, someone unknown to her, broke into her

apartment and then stabbed her to death. Police believe that that person entered through her unlocked front door, and was robbing the place. It was

her roommate that was awakened by Tiffany`s screams.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This does appear to be a random act, a very rare, random act of violence in this particular area. This burglar, this murderer, left

the apartment with some of the items from inside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So random or not, we do have a couple of things from the police report. They did find a, quote, potential weapon connected to this case,

this according to some local reporting. They haven`t released the details yet about it. But they did release surveillance video that they collected

from outside of the apartment complex in the moments just before Ferguson was murdered.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And it may have the telltale clues to finding this killer. So officers believe this is him. They believe this is the killer. They think

that he was skulking around, checking unlocked cars in the parking lot. But then you see him here, check the hood, it`s a zip-up sweatshirt.

Underneath, he has got a white t-shirt on with a very bold print. See that? Or at least a white print on the t-shirt.

He`s wearing boots. He`s walking across the complex, gated entrance, then he pulls that looks to be a phone out of his back pocket and actually turns

the flashlight on. I don`t know if you can see the back of the knees of his pants but they have big significant rips in them. So when you`re watching

this video again, just make sure you take a very close look at the backs of those knees because that may be what sets him apart from others.

See those rips in the back of the knees of the jeans? Recognize those? Know anything about those jeans? He walks out of the frame and so far he has

walked out of any more information. I want to bring in Joey Jackson and Danny Cevallos on this one. I keep looking at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And I think when you have a pattern on a piece of clothing like that, it`s so significant, it got to lead to something and often does.

JACKSON: It really does. And I think there is couple of things here, would be helpful to the police, okay. First of all, we have that surveillance

tape, right, which you point out, it has the definitive clothing. But even more than that, if you commit a crime like this, where you`re bludgeoning

somebody, the likelihood that your DNA, we talk about that oftentimes, would show up in that environment would be high.

And so I would suspect that the police will go through that with a fine toothed comb and not only for blood, but for hair samples, anything, sweat,

not only serology. And as a result of that, run it through what? CODIS, right? That database, which is a national DNA database that the FBI has.

And if there is a hit because he`s a criminal, guess what, you`re captured.

BANFIELD: I mean, oftentimes these guys think they`re smarter than they are, and they`re not. But interesting here though is that the roommate

heard her screaming and that makes you think that maybe she thwarted a home invasion robbery. I mean, really what you should be doing if you find

someone in your home, I mean, if you`re that size, right?

JACKSON: Get out.

CEVALLOS: Well, you got to retreat. Don`t bait me to say, you have a firearm. The safest thing to do is retreat, get to a phone, call 911. But,

you know, look, the reality is it`s easier to talk about this. In the moment, people panic. Maybe you go for a window. It happens. It`s a scary

time. Whether you`re 6`5" or whether you`re 5`5". It makes no difference.

BANFIELD: I`m so curious as to what he was looking for with the flashlight. He sparks that flashlight up with what looks like to be a phone and he`s

looking on the street for something. Don`t know whether it`s something maybe he stole. Apparently he went back into the apartment at least one or

two times, which is shocking. Keep a close eye on that, folks. We`re going to keep watching for you to see if someone turns in something that catches

this person.

JACKSON: You see something, you say something, right?

BANFIELD: Say something. No question. Since accused cop killer Markeith Loyd was arrested, remember that guy in Florida? He has made a number of

pretty memorable court appearances like this one.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

MARKEITH LOYD, SUSPECTED COP KILLER: I`m here for what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Resisting arrest.

LOYD: Resisting arrest?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LOYD: And this is what happened to me? (beep) you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:45:00] BANFIELD: That`s what you call an "F" bomb. And today guess what, the gentleman was back in court, and this time he told the judge to

quote, go ahead and strap him in." And he was just getting started too. There`s a lot more where that came from. Details are coming straight ahead.

[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Markeith Loyd, the accused cop killer who is charged with murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend as well, has not been very cooperative

when making his court appearances.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

LOYD: (beep) is what I`m trying to tell you. I`m Markeith Loyd. Who are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m the lady.

LOYD: Lady in black dress. May I have your name, please. I`m here for what? I`m here for what? Resisting arrest? (beep) you.

BANFIELD: Do you think today would be any different? It wasn`t. Markeith Loyd was back in court to enter pleas in two murders he`s charged with and

all the crimes that are connected to those shootings too. And yet again, he refused to give straight answers when the judge asked him pretty simple

questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you understand that you will not be entitled to a continuance simply because you choose to represent yourself? Do you

understand that, Mr. Loyd?

LOYD: You need to understand that you all can`t do nothing to me. If you`re gonna kill me, strap me up right now. I don`t care nothing about that. The

worst thing that happened to me done happened. This (beep) you talking about, I don`t give a (beep). I don`t care nothing about that. The worst

thing that happened to me, happened to me. I told them I would represent myself, so what you keep doing, trying to put for the news, so they say,

oh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Loyd.

LOYD: . and make up stories and (beep).

BANFIELD: The judge decided well, okay, whatever. And entered multiple pleas of not guilty for Mr. Lloyd in both of the cases. Remember that

police say he shot and killed his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, that was in December. And then Orlando Police Lieutenant Debra Clayton was shot

after she confronted him at Walmart on January 9.

Ray Caputo is a reporter with News 96.5 WDBO. He joins me live from Orlando. Ray, here is the thing. He sounds crazy, but no one was alleging

that he is incompetent to be in that courtroom.

RAY CAPUTO, REPORTER FOR NEWS 96.5 WDBO: Yeah, you know, Ashleigh, that`s exactly, you know, the judge was deciding on today. He even sided though.

He allowed in the end Loyd to represent himself, but he said it was a close close. He doesn`t look right.

And will make you wonder if he is setting up an insanity plea for himself. But, you know, in that case, it will probably be a lot better to have an

attorney represent him and that`s exactly what he doesn`t want to do, so none of this makes sense right now.

BANFIELD: Okay. I want to play another little moment where he sort of tries to describe what he is in terms of a legal entity. I`m not kidding. You

can`t make this stuff up. He went off again in court about being a corporation. I`m not kidding. Have a listen.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you plea for those charges, sir?

LOYD: For the record, I want to state, that I am Markeith Loyd, flesh and blood, human being. I am not a fictitious person. I am not a corporation.

And therefore, I`m attorney of fact, I`m (inaudible).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And yet later, he said, it`s a fictitious person corporation which is not me, and created by the slate (ph) system. So I`m a little

confuse as to what his point was. Danny and Joey, maybe you can come in on this. Sometimes I wonder if it`s kind of Ted Kaczynski, you know, really,

really smart but then sounds nuts and ultimately can`t make a point, or is there something actually to this? What do you think?

CEVALLOS: Joey and I have seen this kind of defendant in court plenty of times. He spouts some things about independence and declaration and the

constitution, and then they get led downstairs with everybody else. It`s one thing to try and shout at the judge and make your point and entirely

another thing to be legally or medically incompetent to stand trial.

JACKSON: A 100 percent. And ultimately, Ashleigh, he could say what he wants, he could continue with the disrespect, he continue, you know, with

these unchoice words for the court and for the judge, but the process and the train is going to move.

And I think the judge was very good in his temperament, and you`re not going to answer the guilty plea or not guilty plea, or we`ll do it for you,

and setting the trial date as it relates to the people he allegedly murdered and the significant evidence that goes with those things.

BANFIELD: So here`s the weird part. He was granted the opportunity by this judge to make the decision to represent himself. I tend to look that that

guy is barely competent, he`s not aiding in his own defense, that`s the pillar of whether you`re competent to stand trial. So why would the judge

say, sure, you can ramble on like that

[20:55:00] and you can make the decision to represent yourself.

CEVALLOS: It`s a difficult balancing test. On the one hand, everyone has the constitutional right to appear pro se (ph) represent themselves at

trial. On the other hand, a judge has to be mindful that there aren`t any competency issues.

BANFIELD: Do you think that`s a good idea? Five seconds or less.

JACKSON: Absolutely not. I never -- you know, the expression, an attorney represents himself has a fool for a client. And the client represents

himself is a fool.

BANFIELD: Has a fool for a lawyer.

JACKSON: Exactly.

BANFIELD: I wasn`t gonna say it, I`m glad you said it. All right. Danny, Joey, thank you both. Thank you all for watching as well. We`ll see you

right back here tomorrow night at 8:00 for PRIMETIME JUSTICE. In the meantime, stay tuned. "FORENSIC FILES" starts right now.

[21:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END