It was 5:00 a.m. on Halloween morning in 2020. Most of the residents in the small town of Hemphill, Texas, were still asleep, blissfully unaware that a grisly scene was cooling on the side of a rural road. A passerby noticed a car pulled over. Inside, 19-year-old Livye Lewis sat slumped over the steering wheel. She was dead.
Just a few feet away, lying in the grass in a fetal position, was her ex-boyfriend, Matthew Edgar. He was covered in blood. When the police arrived, he didn't run. He didn't fight. He just stared blankly, later claiming he had absolutely no memory of how he got there or why his girlfriend was dead. This is the core of the 48 Hours Livye Lewis episode, titled "The Blackout Murder of Livye Lewis," and honestly, the details only get more disturbing from there.
A Small Town Romance Gone Wrong
Livye Lewis was the kind of person people noticed. She was a straight-A student, a recent high school graduate, and she had big dreams of becoming a physician’s assistant. She was driven. But like many young people in small towns, the dating pool was shallow. She ended up in a relationship with Matthew Edgar, a man several years older than her who was already a father of two and, at the time they started texting, still married to a woman named Montana Bockel.
The red flags didn't just wave; they screamed.
Livye’s mother, Darci Bass, later shared that the relationship was a volatile "rollercoaster." Text messages recovered by investigators painted a grim picture of their dynamic. While Edgar would send "I love you" notes, Livye’s replies often mentioned physical pain. In one haunting text, she asked why he kept putting his hands on her, noting that her body hurt.
By October 2020, they were supposedly over. But in Hemphill, people tend to circle back to the same circles.
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The Night of the "Blackout"
On October 30, the night before the murder, there was a pre-Halloween party at a friend's house. Both Livye and Matthew were there. So was Matthew’s ex-wife, Montana.
Witnesses say the tension was thick enough to cut. Matthew reportedly became aggressive and jealous, eventually lashing out at both women. At one point, he allegedly threatened to "kill y'all." Things got so heated that the host tried to restrain Matthew so the women could get away.
Livye drove off into the night. Matthew followed.
When investigators eventually pieced together the timeline for 48 Hours Livye Lewis, they found a chilling piece of digital evidence. At 3:34 a.m., while Livye was already likely dead or dying, Montana Bockel texted Matthew asking where Livye was.
His response? A single word: "Dead."
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This was hours before the 911 call was ever placed. Investigators like J.P. MacDonough pointed out the obvious: how could Matthew have "blacked out" and forgotten everything if he was texting about her death in real-time?
The Courtroom Vanishing Act
The trial for Livye’s murder began in January 2022. Matthew Edgar was out on bond, walking into the courthouse every day with his mother, Cindy Hogan. He looked like any other defendant until the third day.
He just didn't show up.
He let the battery on his ankle monitor die and vanished into the Texas woods. The judge, in a move that felt like a scene from a movie, ordered the trial to continue without him. You can't just pause justice because the killer decides to go for a hike. The jury heard the evidence—the rifle found near him at the scene, the drop of Livye’s blood on his pants, and those damning text messages.
They found him guilty of murder in absentia.
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The 11-Month Manhunt
For nearly a year, Darci Bass lived in a state of suspended grief. She spent her days putting up "Wanted" posters, terrified that her daughter's killer was gone for good.
But Matthew hadn't gone far. In December 2022, authorities tracked him down to a house just a few hundred yards from where he used to live with his grandparents. He had been hiding in plain sight, reportedly aided by his mother. When the police finally breached the house, they found him.
He was finally sentenced to 99 years in prison.
Key Evidence in the Livye Lewis Case
- The Murder Weapon: A rifle found in the grass right next to Matthew Edgar at the crime scene.
- The "Dead" Text: Sent at 3:34 a.m., proving premeditation or at least immediate knowledge of the crime.
- Forensics: A small but undeniable drop of Livye’s blood found on Edgar’s clothing.
- The Scene: Livye was found sitting with her legs crossed, suggesting she may have pulled over willingly to talk to someone she thought she could trust.
What This Case Teaches Us
The 48 Hours Livye Lewis episode isn't just a true crime story; it’s a cautionary tale about the lethality of domestic obsession. Experts often point to the "breakup" as the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship.
If you or someone you know is trying to leave a volatile situation, remember these steps based on advice from domestic violence advocates:
- Document Everything: Keep a record of threats or physical altercations somewhere the other person cannot access (like a cloud-based note app with a different password).
- The "Safety Exit": Never meet an ex-partner alone in a secluded area to "talk" or "get closure." If a meeting must happen, do it in a very public, well-lit place.
- Trust Your Gut: Livye’s family and friends saw the red flags. If your inner circle is worried, there is usually a reason.
Justice was eventually served in Hemphill, but it came at a staggering cost. Matthew Edgar is behind bars, but a 19-year-old girl with a bright future is gone. Her mother continues to advocate for domestic violence awareness, ensuring that Livye's name is remembered for more than just a headline or a television episode.