Image Courtesy of Hunt County Sheriff’s Dept.
A Quiet Texas Town Shaken
Royse City sits out there on the edge of North Texas, the kind of place where folks wave at each other in the grocery store parking lot and bad news travels faster than the wind. In 2016, the community found itself at the center of a story that felt more like a late-night crime documentary than something that could hit so close to home.
The case of Chacey Poynter and the murder of her husband, Fire Captain Robert Poynter, became one of the most disturbing and talked-about crimes the small town had ever seen. It blended infidelity, manipulation, and cold calculation—wrapped inside a marriage already hanging by threads.
The Night Everything Changed
On September 9, 2016, Chacey Poynter placed a frantic 911 call. She told dispatchers she and Robert had been ambushed on a rural road in the dark, insisting some unknown man had shot her husband through the truck window. She cried. She begged for help. She spun a story full of panic and confusion.
But even in those first few minutes, investigators sensed something off. Her emotion didn’t match her details, and her details didn’t match the physical evidence. Within hours, that “ambush” didn’t look like an ambush at all.
Robert Poynter, a respected firefighter and father, lay dead in the passenger seat—killed by a shotgun blast.
A Marriage Falling Apart
As detectives dug in, they learned the Poynters’ marriage had gone sour long before that night. Chacey told investigators she felt lonely and unloved, painting herself as a desperate wife trapped in a broken relationship. But phone records, social media messages, and interviews revealed a whole lot more.
Chacey had multiple affairs. She wasn’t shy about complaining to different men about her husband, often describing Robert as controlling and cruel—claims his loved ones strongly denied.
Her most intense relationship was with Michael Garza, a man she’d met only months before the murder. Their messages hinted at passion, anger, resentment—and eventually, a deadly plan.
The Plot Unravels
The more Chacey talked, the worse things got for her. She changed details. Shifted blame. Tried to distance herself from Garza. Tried to sound like a grieving wife instead of a willing accomplice.
But Garza’s story — and the evidence found on the scene — told investigators exactly what they needed to know.
He admitted to firing the shot but insisted he never meant to kill Robert. He claimed he was manipulated, coaxed, and emotionally entangled by Chacey’s dramatic descriptions of her supposedly miserable marriage.
To the jury, though, it didn’t matter who pulled the trigger first. What mattered was whether Chacey helped set it in motion.
And every message, every lie, every step she took that night pointed in one direction: she wanted Robert gone.
A Calculated Setup
Detectives determined that Chacey had lured Robert out that night under the guise of “working on their marriage.” She got him into the truck. She drove him down a lonely road. And Garza was waiting.
What Chacey thought would be the start of a new life turned into a tragedy—one that destroyed Robert’s family and left the community reeling.
Justice in the Courtroom
Chacey Poynter stood trial in 2019. Prosecutors argued she didn’t just encourage the killing—she orchestrated it. They laid out her affairs, her messages, her contradictions, and her attempts to play the victim.
The jury didn’t take long to decide.
Chacey Poynter was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Her accomplice, Michael Garza, also received a lengthy sentence of his own.
Aftermath and Reflection
Years later, the case still hits hard for folks in Royse City. Robert Poynter was remembered as a dedicated firefighter and father who worked hard and gave more than he took. His death wasn’t just senseless—it was rooted in betrayal by the person he trusted most.
Chacey’s story has been featured in documentaries, interviews, and crime specials. Each retelling adds more layers, but the core remains the same: a marriage broken not by misfortune, but by a deadly combination of manipulation and desire.
It serves as a chilling reminder that sometimes danger doesn’t come from strangers in the dark — it comes from the people standing right beside you.
Lisa Crow contributed to this article. She is a true crime junkie and lifestyle blogger based in Waco, Texas. Lisa is the Head of Content at Gigi’s Ramblings and Southern Bred True Crime Junkie. She spends her free time traveling when she can and making memories with her large family which consists of six children and fifteen grandchildren.
