JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) — Two people will spend ten years in prison and another person could get a plea deal after the three of them were charged with giving a lethal dose of methamphetamine to a Navy sailor from Jefferson County, Georgia.
Matthew Good’s mother, Edith Good, says on Friday, June 12th, 2015, Matthew told the family he was heading to Tybee Island with a woman he had just met.
Two days later, the family hadn’t heard from him.
“We couldn’t reach him. His phone seemed to be dead. He wasn’t responding on Facebook. He wasn’t answering any phone calls from anyone in the family,” Edith said.
Three days after he went missing, Matthew’s body was found in the woods, off Highway 1 in Emanuel County.
“I fell on all fours on the ground in front of the vehicle. I just fell on the ground and cried out to God,” Edith said.
It was initially reported that Matthew was on the way to the beach with Will Knight, Betty Jones and Sara Jones when he got out of the car and ran into the woods.
His cause of death was an overdose of meth. Edith says the overdose is suspicious.
“Our son was in the military. He took drug tests all the time. He didn’t use drugs,” Edith said.
Edith believes her son was drugged, and investigators felt that way too.
Knight and the two Jones women were charged with Matthew’s murder for loading a capsule with a lethal dose of meth and giving it to him.
Matthew’s family also believes something much more sinister was at play that night.
“When Will Knight was found at Walmart stealing a saw, after my son had been left the woods, it looks like had he gotten out of Walmart and not been caught stealing that saw, we might not have recovered my son’s body,” Edith said.
Knight and Betty Jones have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and Sara Jones is facing lesser charges because she testified in court.
“Ten years just seems like a slap on the wrist for taking the life of another person,” Edith said.
According to the CDC, many overdoses go unreported because those involved are afraid they will be arrested for drug related crimes.
Matthew’s mother is encouraging people to call for help when someone is overdosing.
Georgia law gives everyone involved immunity for minor drug offenses.