Chacey Poynter Now: Conviction, Failed Appeal, and Michael Garza

Chacey Poynter is now serving a life sentence at the Murray Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the 2016 murder of her husband, University Park fire captain Robert Poynter III. She is held under inmate number 02271121, and her parole eligibility date is September 9, 2046, meaning she must serve at least 30 years before she can be considered for release.¹

What She Was Convicted Of

On June 28, 2019, a jury in the 354th District Court in Greenville convicted Poynter of murder, a lesser-included offense of the capital murder charge she faced, and sentenced her to life in prison.² The original indictment alleged capital murder “for remuneration, namely: money and financial assets and benefits owned or controlled by the victim.” Prosecutors waived the death penalty.³

Robert Poynter, 47, was shot in the head at point-blank range with a shotgun on the night of September 9, 2016, while sitting in the driver’s seat of Chacey’s Jeep on an isolated farm road outside Royse City, Texas.⁴⁵²

The Evidence Behind the Life Sentence

Investigators recovered more than 10,000 text messages between Poynter and several men she was involved with, including Michael Garza. Prosecutors said the messages showed a sustained push to have Robert killed. One read, “I need him gone. Gone. G-O-N-E.” Another said she “would be better off with him gone — benefits and can’t lose custody.” The day before the shooting, she texted Garza, “I’ve made up my mind.”⁵

Prosecutors pointed to money as the motive. Robert held a life insurance policy worth roughly $680,000, and his daughter Natalie told investigators that Chacey had convinced him to change the beneficiary from his daughters to herself in April 2016. Robert had contacted a divorce attorney the day before his death. Prosecutor Jeff Kovach told the jury Chacey viewed her husband as “an ATM machine.”³⁵

Five weeks after the shooting, a farmer plowing a field less than a quarter-mile from the scene found the shotgun, loaded with slugs. The weapon was traced to Michael Garza’s brother, Matthew Garza. Chacey’s claims that Robert had been abusive were not corroborated; his daughters and his ex-wife, Amy Poynter, denied the allegations.⁵

Where Michael Garza Is Now

Michael Garza was tried first. On July 20, 2018, a jury in the same 354th District Court found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to 99 years in prison. He appealed, arguing the trial court should have granted a mistrial after a detective testified that Chacey had told police “Michael Garza killed her husband.” The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas rejected that argument on July 22, 2020, and affirmed both his conviction and sentence.⁶

Her Appeal Failed

Poynter also appealed. Her attorneys argued the trial court had improperly admitted her videotaped and written statements because she was not adequately advised of her right to counsel during initial police questioning, and separately challenged the court’s refusal to give the jury a lesser-included-offense instruction. On May 24, 2021, the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas affirmed the conviction, with Justice David J. Schenck writing that the trial court did not err on either point.⁷

With that ruling in place and no release currently scheduled, Poynter’s next meaningful date remains her 2046 parole eligibility.¹

1
Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Inmate Detail – Poynter, Chacey Tyler
2
Royse City Herald-Banner. Poynter Gets Life Sentence for Husband’s Murder
3
Insurance News Net. Life Insurance at Center of Murder Trial in Texas
4
People Newspapers. Wife of Slain UP Fire Chief Found Guilty of Murder
5
CBS News. Chacey Poynter, Texas Woman Convicted in Husband’s Murder
6
Royse City Herald-Banner. Appeal in Royse City Murder Case Denied
7
Herald-Banner. Appeals Court Upholds Chacey Poynter Conviction