New information about murder of woman, 8-year-old in Saratoga Springs unsealed

SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah (ABC4) — More information about what was discovered at the scene of a double homicide in Saratoga Springs has been revealed after search warrants were unsealed today.

In March, the Saratoga Springs Police Department identified the two victims of a double homicide as Eli Painter, 8, and Jessica Lyman, 44. 8-year-old Painter would be pronounced deceased at the scene. 

Lyman passed away three days after the incident, on March 31.

On Mar. 28, police responded to a 911 call in the area of 1200 N Willowbrook Lane in Saratoga Springs. The 17-year-old caller reported that she had returned home and found the two victims lying unconscious on the floor, covered in blood. She also stated that she believed a 15-year-old to be in the home.

New information from search warrants has revealed that officers found Lyman and Painter in the master bedroom, both having been shot in the head “with a small caliber round.” Painter was cold to the touch, pale, and in rigor mortis, according to documents.

Lyman, the adult woman, was found to have her pants “down around her knees.” When officers checked for a pulse, she gasped for air and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. The officer initiated CPR until paramedics took over and transported her to the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.

A 15-year-old male was located in an upstairs bedroom and told officers he had been asleep. He was escorted to the living room. While waiting with an officer, the teen allegedly asked what happened multiple times and claimed he hadn’t heard anything. The officer asked if the 15-year-old was aware of any “weapons” inside the home, and he responded that he wasn’t aware of any “guns,” despite no mention of guns being the cause of death.

A search warrant was served on the residence, and two .22 shell casings were found inside the master bedroom. Using an alternate light source tool, crime scene technicians identified what they believed to be seminal fluids on the sheets near the area where Lyman was found.

The 15-year-old’s bedroom was found “in a state of disarray,” according to documents. Inside, officers located an empty beer can, two BB gun pistols, and handwritten notes. One note referenced “serology,” “DNA,” and “firearm testing.” Another handwritten note stated “this is a murder story.”

The doctor who was treating Lyman at the hospital before she passed away told police that he had located a substance that “could be sperm” on Lyman. Doctors confirmed that she had experienced a gunshot wound to the head.

After an autopsy was performed on 8-year-old Eli Painter, the medical examiner confirmed that he had been killed by “two fatal gunshot wounds to the head.”

Surveillance footage revealed that an individual could be seen walking around the residence during the early morning hours of March 28. They can be seen putting a white mask over their face, documents say, and walking behind a nearby residence, which reportedly has a connecting gravel path to the home where the murders took place.

A mask matching that description was uncovered in the 15-year-old’s bedroom after another search warrant was filed by police, documents say. Search and Rescue teams, as well as dogs and drones, checked for any evidence nearby but did not locate the firearm used in the murder or anything else relevant.

A search warrant was returned on Lyman’s cell phone, and officers located a text conversation between her and the 15-year-old. He made various threats toward the woman, saying things like, “shut up witch,” “I’m more happy when I’m not around you,” “you’re so f— mentally ill,” and “do you know how insignificant you really are to my life?”

The search warrant that was unsealed was filed for information on the 15-year-old’s cell phone. No information that was returned from that search is public yet.

ABC4 has reached out to the Saratoga Springs Police Department for more information about what was revealed in this search warrant.