SARATOGA SPRINGS, UT - An affidavit for a search warrant that was executed on the Utah home where a mom and her eight-year-old son were killed paints a horrifying crime scene.
Jessica Lyman and her eight-year-old son, Eli Painter, were found shot in the head inside their Saratoga Springs home on March 28th, KUTV reported.
Painter was pronounced dead at the scene, and Lyman later died at the hospital.
According to the affidavit, Lyman's 15-year-old son sent her a barrage of hateful texts in the days before she and Painter were shot dead, and in his bedroom investigators found a handwritten note that read, "This is a murder story," according to People Magazine.
A suspect has yet to be named publicly, but the newly unsealed warrants filed on April 18th are shedding light on the double homicide.
Police responded to the home after Lyman's 17-year-old daughter reported that she found the two victims on the floor, unconscious and covered in blood. Lyman had been shot twice with a small caliber round, according to the warrant.
Lyman was found in critical condition beside her son with her pants and underwear "pulled around her knees," showing initial signs of life.
Lyman's 15-year-old son allegedly said that he had been up late the previous night using his cellphone.
He was reportedly taking a nap before police arrived and said he didn't hear anything out of the ordinary.
When an officer asked if there were weapons in the home, the boy allegedly said he wasn't aware of any "guns" in the house, per the warrant.
"At that point, [the boy] had not been told by EMS or police officers that the incident involved a gun or gunshot wounds," police wrote.
Crime scene technicians used an alternate light source on the bed where Lyman and Painter were found and found dried semen on the sheets. Detectives reportedly found sex toys, lubricant, and fishnet stockings in that bedroom, as well as in the bedroom of Lyman's 15-year-old son.
There were also several pairs of female panties, a handwritten note about forensic evidence, DNA and firearm testing, and another handwritten note saying, "This is a murder story," in the 15-year-old son's room, which was described by police as being in a state of "disarray."
A neighbor's surveillance camera captured a person putting a white mask over his face. During the original search warrant, several mask, including the one light in color were seen but not collected.
A second search warrant signed by Judge Kraig Powell turned up a white and brown mask, resembling the one that was seen on surveillance video and found in the 15-year-old teen's bedroom.
Along with the evidence noted above, investigators found two BB gun pistols, plate carriers, and magazine pouches.
However, no other weapons were recovered in the home, per the search warrant. A figure was seen on the surveillance footage walking out-of-view near the victim's home that evening.
Another clip shows someone exiting through a gap in a fence around 2:30 a.m. on the morning of the murders, then returning around 3:00 a.m. Before disappearing from the frame, the person allegedly puts on a white mask, per the search warrant.
"Nobody was captured either entering into or exiting from the gap for the rest of the night," police wrote. A forensic download of Lyman's phone revealed a slurry of vitriolic texts send by her 15-year-old son in the weeks before she was shot.
Some of those texts read: "I don't like you go away;" "Leave me the (expletive) alone;" "Do you need to learn how to shut your mouth;" "Shut up witch;" "Do you know how insignificant you are in my life? Very insignificant;" and "I wish I died in your stomach. Wouldn't have to put up with you."
"They put it in for a reason, and the reason would be that the think it goes to motive," said Nathan Evershed, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. "They're just kind of showing, I guess, the breadcrumbs of like, 'Judge, this is what we think.'"
The Saratoga Springs Police Department shared the following statement:
"On July 7, 2025, local media outlets published information obtained from search warrants that were recently unsealed following the expiration of a 90-day seal.
Neither the family of the victims nor the Saratoga Springs Police Department participated in the release of this information," the statement read.
"The families of the victims have been extremely cooperative throughout the entire investigation and the Saratoga Springs Police Department remains committed to continue to work closely with them in the pursuit of justice."
The investigation into the case remains ongoing.
