- Gunshot residue was found on clothing of a 15-year-old in Saratoga Springs, police say.
- The teen's mother and 8-year-old brother were shot in their home on March 28.
- No arrests have been made and the murder weapon remains unrecovered, police say.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Clothing worn by the 15-year-old son of a Saratoga Springs mother who was shot and killed in her home had gun residue on it.
That's according to a series of search warrants recently unsealed in 4th District Court that provide more insight into the evidence collected by Saratoga Springs police in their ongoing investigation into the shooting deaths of Jessica Orton Lyman, 44, and her 8-year-old son, Eli Painter. No arrests have been made in the killings and no suspects have been named.
The four warrants also discuss a network of friends that the 15-year-old boy has online and how he has been known to spend up to 15 hours each day on messaging apps. Some of the messages sent by the teen were in regard to the double murder case, according to the warrants.
Lyman and Eli and were found in their townhome, 1244 N. Willowbrook Lane, on March 28, 2025, after her 17-year-old daughter discovered them in her mother's bedroom. Eli, who was shot twice in the head, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lyman was taken to a local hospital in extremely critical condition and died a couple of days later. Investigators also found evidence that Lyman may have been sexually assaulted, according to court documents.
Lyman's teenage son was found by police in the home. He said he had been sleeping and did not hear anything, according to police. When an officer asked him if there were any "weapons" in the home, the teen "responded that he wasn't aware of any 'guns' inside the home," although police had yet to use the word "gun," according to the warrants.
When detectives searched the teen's room, they found it "in a state of disarray. I also helped with the residence search, and observed dirty dishes, old food matter, dirty clothing, and overall clutter," an officer wrote in one of the recently unsealed warrants originally served in October. Previous warrants say police also found two BB gun pistols, plate carriers and magazine pouches, and a handwritten note referencing "several forms of forensic evidence," including "serology," "DNA" and "firearm testing." A detective also reported locating a second handwritten note stating, "This is a murder story."
On July 15, detectives received a report regarding evidence collected from the home and sent to a forensics lab in Illinois for testing.
"Detectives had previously sent the clothing that (the teen) had been wearing when originally contacted by law enforcement on the day of the homicides. The lab report received from Microtrace Lab indicates that gunshot residue, or GSR, was present on (his) clothing. It should be mentioned that during the searches of the residence, no ammunition and/or firearms were located in the residence, and investigators still have not located the weapon that was used in the homicides. Detectives are unaware of any possible reason or explanation of why GSR would have been present on (the teen's) clothing," one of the new search warrant affidavits states.
In November, FBI dive teams and Saratoga Springs police searched the Jordan River and its surrounding banks for evidence. Although police declined to say what exactly they were looking for, it was noted that the murder weapon had not yet been recovered.
During the afternoon of March 28 — the day the shooting victims were discovered — the 15-year-old boy was taken to the Saratoga Springs Police Department with his father accompanying him. While at the police station, the teen repeatedly asked for his cellphone, according to investigators.
After obtaining a search warrant for the teen's phone, detectives learned that the 15-year-old son "spends most of his time, 15 hours per day on average, on his phone talking with his friends on Discord and Snapchat" and used three different email addresses, according to one warrant.
"Other data on (the teen's) cellphone indicates that he subscribed to channels on a social media app called Telegram," the warrant states. "Detectives located a Telegram group chat/channel on (the teen's) phone that shows messages where an identified person is offering a 'dirty gun' for sale. No further details regarding the firearm are available from the data that detectives have been able to review."
In December, several search warrants that had been served in June during the early stages of the investigation were unsealed in 4th District Court. The warrants outlined the evidence collected to that point, but also mentioned some of the hurdles detectives were facing in interviewing family members. News stories about the warrants prompted Saratoga Springs police to release a statement saying that the warrants "provided an outdated narrative regarding the cooperation of the Lyman family" in the investigation. "We want to make clear that the Lyman family has been cooperative with our investigation in recent months."
Search warrants were also "accidentally allowed to become unsealed" in July, police wrote in their most recent unsealed affidavit. "Several of the news outlets published articles that painted (the teen) in a negative light and indicated that he could possibly be responsible for the murders based on the information listed in the unsealed warrants."
The warrants say the teen saw the July news stories and contacted his friends on social media apps "just to vent," but "some of his friends had begun blocking him or refusing to talk with him due to the recent news articles that had been published."
Investigators also found a friend that he "spent large amounts of time" chatting with on Discord, including on the night of the shootings, the warrant states.
On April 15, several weeks after the killings, the teen regained contact with that friend online. The boy "repeatedly told police, Children's Justice Center case workers, and family that he wanted his phone to speak with his friends regarding the homicide on March 28. Detectives have learned that (he) is extremely invested in his friendships with online friends and that while detectives have been unable to speak with and/or interview (the teen), his communication with his friends … will help detectives to better understand what occurred on March 28, 2025," according to the warrant.
Police say on April 28, the teen contacted his friend on Discord and "shared his frustration" that the friend "has not bothered to 'research' what happened on March 28, 2025," the warrant says. After the friend agrees to do some quick research on the killings, the friend "continues to discuss what he has learned about the case with the teen." Police noted that the teen "expresses knowledge of the case details and seems to question details that may not be true."
The October warrant says, "As of July 18, 2025, detectives have still not been allowed to speak with or interview (the 15-year-old)."
Saratoga Springs police declined Monday to comment on the newly unsealed warrants.
