What happened to Livye Lewis? Details explored ahead of 48 Hours on CBS

Season 37 episode 26 of 48 Hours on CBS will focus on the murder of Sabine County, Texas resident Livye Lewis in October 2020. Livye Lewis was shot to death in her vehicle when she was only 19 years old.

Originally expected to be resolved quickly, this case took much longer due to the murderer's nearly year-long fugitive status and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The upcoming episode of 48 Hours that will focus on this case is titled The Blackout Murder of Livye Lewis. It will air on CBS on January 4 at 10 pm ET. The logline for the same reads as:

"A woman is found shot in her car on the side of a road with her ex-boyfriend disoriented nearby. "

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Livye Lewis was shot in the neck

As per reports by CBS News, in the early hours of October 2020, 19-year-old Texas resident Livye Lewis was found dead in her vehicle. The car was located at FM 80, about 2.5 miles east of Hemphill, as per KTRE.

As per reports by CBS, the victim was “draped over the steering wheel” after being shot in the neck. Lewis’s mother, Darci, came to know about her daughter’s demise from a friend, after which she arrived at the crime scene.

As per CBS News, J.P. MacDonough (Sabine County Sheriff's Investigator) who took over this case determined that Lewis knew the killer as she was sitting comfortably in the car when she was shot to death and there was no sign of force or struggle.

Livye Lewis’s boyfriend, Matthew Edgar, was also found at the crime scene behind the vehicle. Additionally, there was a rifle next to Edgar which made him a primary suspect in this case. Edgar was taken to the hospital as he was “bloodied but not injured.” Later, when Edgar was interrogated, he claimed that he had no memory of how he ended up at the scene of the crime.

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Lack of evidence

Even though Matthew Edgar was found bloodied at the crime scene, he claimed that he had no memory of what happened. No fingerprints or DNA were found from the gun either, so it was impossible to determine if Edgar had pulled the trigger.

However, as per court testimony and reports by KTRE, Edgar and Livye Lewis had an argument at a party about Lewis’s conversation with another man and when Lewis was going home, Edgar allegedly chased her down.

A text from Edgar’s phone which raised suspicions read:

“I will watch y’all, take y’all with a smile on my face"

The alleged third person because of whom the argument happened reportedly texted Edgar about Lewis’s whereabouts, to which Edgar replied, “dead”.

According to authorities, Edgar used his truck to catch up with Lewis and shoot her before taking his key fob and her phone. He then drove to his mother's house, changed cars, and returned to the crime scene. As per KTRE, he had dropped the key fob at his mother's house but his DNA was not found on it. Hence, there was an overall lack of DNA evidence in the case.

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Matthew Edgar was arrested in 2020

Matthew Edgar was eventually arrested while he was admitted to the hospital although he didn’t plead guilty to the crime. He was later released on bail during the COVID-19 pandemic as all the courts were shut down.

As per CBS, on March 16, 2021, Edgar was charged with the murder of Livye Lewis by a grand jury based on circumstantial evidence. He was sentenced to 99 years behind bars with a chance to apply for parole on May 31, 2052, On day four of the trial, he went on a run after draining the battery of his ankle monitor.

He was arrested on December 9, 2021, and remains incarcerated at the Byrd Unit, Huntsville, Texas.

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To learn more about this case, watch the upcoming episode of 48 Hours on CBS titled The Blackout Murder of Livye Lewis. It airs on CBS on January 4 at 10 pm ET.