A teen who claimed he was asleep when his mother and youthful brother have been shot useless of their Utah house has been charged with their murders 17 months later — after cops discovered disturbing messages about his hatred for his mother.
The boy was simply 15 when his mom, Jessica Lyman, 44, and half-brother Eli Painter, 8, have been fatally shot within the head at their house in Sarasota Springs on March 27, 2025, along with his horrified 17-year-old sister discovering the our bodies the following morning.
“He claimed to have been sleeping and acknowledged he had not heard the gunshots, (his sister’s) frantic and high-volume dialog with 911, which came about instantly subsequent to his bed room, or the preliminary entry of a number of officers and EMT personnel,” officers wrote in courtroom docs obtained by KSL.
Nevertheless, surveillance footage from a neighbor’s home appeared to catch him in a shouting match simply earlier than the pictures rang out — after which carrying a masks whereas leaving to eliminate the homicide weapon, the courtroom docs alleged.
“Close to midnight, a lady’s voice, in step with (Lyman’s) might be heard shouting … ‘What are you doing?!’” the docs mentioned of voices “constant” with the suspect and the victims.
“Lower than two minutes later, three gunshots are heard: one, adopted by a quick pause, after which two in very fast succession. (The teenager) later admitted in a police interview that he and (his mom) had argued that night time,” the paperwork acknowledged.
Lower than three hours later, “a determine in a masks is seen on a number of completely different house surveillance cameras within the neighborhood,” the paperwork acknowledged.
“This determine is identical top and the identical construct” because the suspect and “the masks and a few clothes gadgets are in step with gadgets” the boy was identified to put on, the docs alleged.
“Primarily based on the trail of journey within the surveillance video in addition to time durations the place the masked determine is just not seen, (he) might have disposed of the homicide weapon in a number of areas,” together with a close-by river that was searched with no luck, the paperwork acknowledged.
Regardless of claiming he had been asleep when his mother and brother have been shot — and even nonetheless when emergency crews arrived — the teenager “had gunshot residue on a number of gadgets of clothes, together with the clothes he was carrying” when first responders arrived, the docs acknowledged.
He additionally had “scratches on his proper shoulder” — and his DNA was discovered below the fingernails of one of many murdered kin, in addition to “on the waistband” of his slain mother’s shorts.
Investigators then discovered a sequence of disturbing messages by the boy after looking out the house and his gadgets — together with one titled, “It is a homicide story,” in line with paperwork seen by KUTV.
“Go away me the f–-k alone,” he additionally allegedly messaged his mother, whereas additionally calling her a “witch.”
“Have you learnt how insignificant you might be in my life? Very insignificant,” he mentioned, whereas additionally saying he can be glad with out her in his life.
“I want I died in your abdomen. Wouldn’t must put up with you,” he allegedly penned in one other message.
The boy, now 16, was charged with two counts of aggravated homicide, a first-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.
He was charged as a juvenile however prosecutors confused that it’s “the state’s intention in submitting this legal Data to bind the defendant over to the grownup district courtroom.”
In Utah, adults convicted of aggravated homicide face a sentence of 25 years to life in jail.
Lyman’s household welcomed the event.
“In the present day’s arrest marks an vital step towards justice for our daughter and sister, Jessica Orton Lyman, and our grandson and nephew, Eli Painter,” they mentioned in a press release issued by police.
