Gentle giant Robert Poynter was regarded as a hero. The veteran firefighter was retired, but he'd saved so many lives and everyone still turned to him for help.
Robert, 47, had spent 19 years fighting blazes while based at the University Park firehouse near Dallas and eventually became a captain. He'd earned the respect of his crew with his physical strength, but also with his gentle ability for comforting traumatised children at the scenes. Robert had been active in the community and had gone to Louisiana in 2005 to help search for survivors in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Robert had been happily married to his first wife and had two daughters, but then he met Chacey Morman. At the time, Chacey was 20- 18 years his junior - and he was captivated by the assistant nurse, who pursued Robert until he eventually left his wife for her. The couple married in 2009 and settled in Royce City, Texas, with their daughter. Chacey, now Poynter, worked at a dental office and ran a cake business.
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By 2016, Robert was retired, and his seven-year marriage to Poynter was in trouble. Robert confided in friends that he had considered divorce and that Poynter, then 29, had been unfaithful with multiple men. He'd even installed a security camera at one point and had caught Poynter with one of her lovers
When friends and family suggested that Robert leave his wife, he seemed reluctant. With one divorce already behind him and a potential custody battle ahead for his six-year-old daughter, Robert wanted to make it work. The couple even went on a holiday to Mexico that August.
STRANGER IN THE SHADOWS
On September 9, around 10.40pm, Poynter called 911 in distress from a remote country road. She said a tall, darkly dressed man had come out of nowhere and had shot her husband as he sat in her jeep.
When first responders arrived, they found Robert slumped over the passenger seat with a bullet wound in his right temple. He was dead and Poynter was hysterical. The officers were wearing body cameras and recorded everything. Poynter said she was driving to meet her husband at a local restaurant, Jack In The Box, and said they were travelling separately. She'd taken a wrong turn, leaving her on the muddy track usually used by farm vehicles. Her jeep got stuck so she had called Robert for help.
Poynter claimed that while Robert was in the jeep trying to get it out of the mud, a man had walked out of the shadows and shot Robert in the head. She hadn't seen the face of the assassin and nothing had been taken.
Poynter jumped around with her story, which made the police suspicious. They were also stunned when Poynter started talking about her marriage problems.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1673334139/articles/CD7YvEoV-1673865280154/2827768058.jpg]
"I was young and stupid when we got married," she was recording saying. "I didn't want to be married any more." Detectives cautioned Poynter but she told them she'd been meeting Robert at the restaurant to talk because he'd been "trying to take my daughter away from me". Within an hour of being at the scene, officers knew the couple's relationship had been in crisis.
"I love him," she insisted, when she was pressed on details. "He's a pain in the ass but I love him." The only part of the story that made sense was that Robert would have come to his wife's rescue.
Poynter then admitted she'd visited someone before meeting her husband her 39-year-old lover, Michael Garza. She confessed they were having an affair and she'd had sex with Garza, that day. They'd started an affair after connecting on Facebook in the summer of 2016. Poynter transformed from a grieving widow into the prime suspect.
LIES AND EXCUSES
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1673334139/articles/CD7YvEoV-1673865280154/6785287785.jpg]
At the police station, she was questioned for more than eight hours. Why had the shooter let her escape? How had she not seen his face from a few feet away? As Poynter was pushed, she alleged it was her lover, Garza, who had shot Robert – and that she’d had no part in it.
Poynter tried to discredit Robert, saying he had a temper and was on steroids, which made him aggressive, but there was no evidence or witnesses to back up her claims. She also said she’d told Garza about he...
Robert, 47, had spent 19 years fighting blazes while based at the University Park firehouse near Dallas and eventually became a captain. He'd earned the respect of his crew with his physical strength, but also with his gentle ability for comforting traumatised children at the scenes. Robert had been active in the community and had gone to Louisiana in 2005 to help search for survivors in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Robert had been happily married to his first wife and had two daughters, but then he met Chacey Morman. At the time, Chacey was 20- 18 years his junior - and he was captivated by the assistant nurse, who pursued Robert until he eventually left his wife for her. The couple married in 2009 and settled in Royce City, Texas, with their daughter. Chacey, now Poynter, worked at a dental office and ran a cake business.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1673334139/articles/CD7YvEoV-1673865280154/8633202655.jpg]
By 2016, Robert was retired, and his seven-year marriage to Poynter was in trouble. Robert confided in friends that he had considered divorce and that Poynter, then 29, had been unfaithful with multiple men. He'd even installed a security camera at one point and had caught Poynter with one of her lovers
When friends and family suggested that Robert leave his wife, he seemed reluctant. With one divorce already behind him and a potential custody battle ahead for his six-year-old daughter, Robert wanted to make it work. The couple even went on a holiday to Mexico that August.
STRANGER IN THE SHADOWS
On September 9, around 10.40pm, Poynter called 911 in distress from a remote country road. She said a tall, darkly dressed man had come out of nowhere and had shot her husband as he sat in her jeep.
When first responders arrived, they found Robert slumped over the passenger seat with a bullet wound in his right temple. He was dead and Poynter was hysterical. The officers were wearing body cameras and recorded everything. Poynter said she was driving to meet her husband at a local restaurant, Jack In The Box, and said they were travelling separately. She'd taken a wrong turn, leaving her on the muddy track usually used by farm vehicles. Her jeep got stuck so she had called Robert for help.
Poynter claimed that while Robert was in the jeep trying to get it out of the mud, a man had walked out of the shadows and shot Robert in the head. She hadn't seen the face of the assassin and nothing had been taken.
Poynter jumped around with her story, which made the police suspicious. They were also stunned when Poynter started talking about her marriage problems.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1673334139/articles/CD7YvEoV-1673865280154/2827768058.jpg]
"I was young and stupid when we got married," she was recording saying. "I didn't want to be married any more." Detectives cautioned Poynter but she told them she'd been meeting Robert at the restaurant to talk because he'd been "trying to take my daughter away from me". Within an hour of being at the scene, officers knew the couple's relationship had been in crisis.
"I love him," she insisted, when she was pressed on details. "He's a pain in the ass but I love him." The only part of the story that made sense was that Robert would have come to his wife's rescue.
Poynter then admitted she'd visited someone before meeting her husband her 39-year-old lover, Michael Garza. She confessed they were having an affair and she'd had sex with Garza, that day. They'd started an affair after connecting on Facebook in the summer of 2016. Poynter transformed from a grieving widow into the prime suspect.
LIES AND EXCUSES
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1673334139/articles/CD7YvEoV-1673865280154/6785287785.jpg]
At the police station, she was questioned for more than eight hours. Why had the shooter let her escape? How had she not seen his face from a few feet away? As Poynter was pushed, she alleged it was her lover, Garza, who had shot Robert – and that she’d had no part in it.
Poynter tried to discredit Robert, saying he had a temper and was on steroids, which made him aggressive, but there was no evidence or witnesses to back up her claims. She also said she’d told Garza about he...
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New UK (Digital) - 1 Issue, January 16, 2023