SABINE COUNTY, Texas — An East Texas convicted murderer who was arrested Thursday night after being been on the run for nearly a year was found sitting on the back porch of a Sabine County home, not far from his family’s property, officials said Friday.
The U.S. Marshal’s Service arrested Matthew Edgar, who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Livye Lewis, 19, in January 2022. She was killed in October 2020.
Edgar skipped out on the third day of trial and had been missing ever since. A jury sentenced him to 99 years in prison, even in his absence.
He had been on the run for 11 months.
Sabine County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshal’s Office began an investigation and worked tirelessly to find leads with help from law enforcement and citizens.
The leads included Texas, Louisiana, Florida and several other states.
Ultimately, Edgar was arrested while on a back porch in Sabine County at a home not far from his family’s property and near the actual homicide scene, the sheriff's office said.
U.S. Marshal's Office transported Edgar to the Sabine County Jail to await his former sentencing. Two other people were detained but later released by deputies; however, the investigation could lead to more arrests by the sheriff's office, the press release said.
Sabine County Sheriff Tom Maddox thanked the law enforcement agencies involved in this lengthy investigation, especially the United States Marshal’s Service, as well as the citizens.
A special deputy with the USMS had believed Edgar remained in East Texas or kept his close ties to the community. The agent also believed his family and acquaintances were helping him “stay off the grid” despite his family saying he had disappeared.
On Dec. 29, a plan was put in place to perform surveillance on the home and take Edgar into custody if he was sighted.
That afternoon, the Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force personnel and Texas Game Wardens moved through the woods and pouring rain and after hours of waiting, they confirmed Edgar and another man were sitting on the porch, the U.S. Marshal's Office said.
Officers quickly moved in on Edgar and the other man, ordering them to the ground. They were both taken into the custody, but the other man was later released, the statement read.
In 2015, Edgar was also found guilty of evading arrest and detention, and causing seriously bodily injury. He was sentenced to three years in prison and three years probation.
