Unsealed Warrants Shed Light on Utah Mother-Son Double Homicide

Newly unsealed search warrants outline the evidence investigators have gathered in the March 28 shooting deaths of Jessica Lyman, 44, and her 8-year-old son, Eli Painter, inside their Saratoga Springs, Utah, home. The documents, unsealed on 7 July, show detectives recovered two .22-caliber shell casings from the master bedroom and located a white and brown mask that they say resembles one worn by an unidentified individual captured on neighbors’ security cameras shortly before the killings. Footage reviewed by police depicts a person walking between houses in the early-morning hours, pausing to put on a white mask before moving toward the Lyman residence and returning about 30 minutes later. A basement sliding door at the home was found unlocked, and no firearm has been recovered despite searches of the property and the nearby Jordan River. Investigators also executed digital warrants to Apple and Google seeking data linked to family accounts. Inside the house they found hostile text messages between Lyman and her 15-year-old son, a handwritten note referencing forensic evidence, and items of the victim’s clothing and a light-colored mask in the teenager’s bedroom, according to the filings. Police have not publicly identified a suspect or announced charges as the investigation continues.