Matthew Benefield

Name:
Benefield, Matthew Nathaniel

Date of Booking:
06/18/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
Battery – Family Violence (1st Offense) (M)

CRUELTY TO CHILDREN-ALLOW CHILD TO WITNESS FELONY/BATTERY/FAMILY VIOLENCE-3RD DEGREE

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

[NARRATIVE #1 on June 18, 2026]

On June 18, 2026 at approximately 0042 hours, Officer Spurgeon and I (Officer Chorjel) were dispatched to the Red Roof Inn & Suites located at 217 US-411 in regards to a female hiding in the office from her husband.

Upon arrival, I made contact with [VICTIM #1] who states that she had been involved in a domestic altercation with her husband, Matthew Benefield. [VICTIM #1] states that she and Matthew had been arguing and Mathew had grabbed her by her face and slammed her head into the wall. [VICTIM #1] states that this had happened several times over the past few days and the incident tonight caused her to run to the office to hide from him (Matthew).

[VICTIM #1] goes on to state that several days prior to this incident, Matthew had grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against a wall in front of their fifteen year old daughter, [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (JUV). When asked by Officer Spurgeon of any marks or pain, [VICTIM #1] stated that she had “lumps” on her head from being slammed against the wall. Upon inspection of [VICTIM #1]’s scalp, Officer Spurgeon informed me that he did find “lumps” on the back of [VICTIM #1]’s head. [VICTIM #1] stated that Matthew told her ([VICTIM #1]) that if she called the cops and he goes to jail, he would “put her under the jail.”

Officer Spurgeon and I then made our way to room [REDACTED] where [VICTIM #1] informed us that she and Matthew were staying. Upon arrival, I made contact with Matthew who stated that nothing had happened between him and [VICTIM #1]. Matthew states that they had been arguing for several days due to the stress of their living situation. Matthew goes on to state that he did not put hands on [VICTIM #1] and that the “lumps” on her head were cysts that she sometimes gets.

While inspecting the hotel room after being given consent by [VICTIM #1] to enter, [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (JUV) walked past Matthew and I to go speak to her mother. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (JUV) had walked frantically past Matthew and I several times and appeared to have a very stressed look on her face. The second time [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (JUV) walked past me, I asked her if she would be willing to speak to me to which she replied yes.

[REDACTED BY AGENCY] (JUV) stated that her parents, ([VICTIM #1] and Matthew) had been arguing a lot and that she was unsure of the exact cause. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (JUV) states that Matthew had slammed [VICTIM #1]’s head against the wall twice that she was aware of, once during this incident and once the day before yesterday (6/16/2026) leaving a “knot”on [VICTIM #1]’s head.

[REDACTED BY AGENCY] (JUV) states that she did not witness Matthew slam [VICTIM #1]’s head against the wall tonight, although she did witness it happen on a separate incident the day before yesterday (6/16/2026). [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (JUV) states that a witness came upstairs to break them (Matthew and [VICTIM #1]) up. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (JUV) however goes on to state that every time Matthew and [VICTIM #1] argue, Matthew puts his hands on her ([VICTIM #1]).

I then returned to the walkway in front of room [REDACTED] where Matthew had been waiting and placed him under arrest with handcuffs to the rear, checked for tightness, and double locked. Matthew was then escorted to my patrol car where he was searched incident to arrest and placed into the rear passenger seat of my patrol car.

While standing by the patrol car, the witness [REDACTED BY AGENCY] (JUV) pointed to, later identified as [WITNESS #1], walked by and I asked if he would be willing to tell me what he saw to which he agreed. [WITNESS #1] stated that he had heard Matthew and [VICTIM #1] arguing and that it sounded like Matthew was kicking and beating [VICTIM #1]. [WITNESS #1] then states that it had happened several times with the first time being earlier in the day with another Officer responding to the hotel.

[WITNESS #1] states that when the Officer came earlier, Matthew stopped beating [VICTIM #1] and left the area only to begin beating her again after the Officers left. [WITNESS #1] states that he could hear everything that had happened and he had gone upstairs to check on [VICTIM #1]. [WITNESS #1] states that he is staying in the room directly below Matthew and [VICTIM #1] (room [REDACTED).

Matthew was then transported to Floyd County Jail without incident.

A victim notification form was left at the Floyd County Jail.

[End of Narrative]

[NARRATIVE #2 on June 18, 2026]

On June 18th 2026, I was dispatched to 217 HWY 411 (Red Roof Inn) in regard to a domestic.

Upon my arrival, Officer Chorjel and I went to the lobby where dispatch said the victim/complainant, [VICTIM #1] was waiting on us. When speaking with [VICTIM #1], she stated that she got into a verbal altercation with her husband/arrestee, Matthew Benefield, that turned physical. [VICTIM #1] then said Matthew grabbed her head and pushed it into the wall. [VICTIM #1] showed me where she got hit. I asked if I could feel her head and she said yes. I could feel a large knot on her head, and [VICTIM #1] said that it was tender to the touch. [VICTIM #1] also tried to show other marks on her face and neck, but nothing was visible and she said they were old injuries that she did not report.

Officer Chorjel and I then went to talk with Matthew who was in his room. Upon talking with Matthew, I could see that he was very visibly nervous. He could not sit still and kept deflecting questions while also apologizing. Matthew kept saying that he could just leave and there would be no further incidents between them. I asked Matthew if we could speak inside, in an attempt to see if any damage was on the walls, there was no damage that either of us could see.

After some time, Officer Chorjel advised Matthew that he was under arrest.

I stayed behind to give [VICTIM #1] the victim bill of rights and complete the victim notification for her. After the forms were completed, I gave the notification form to Officer Chorjel and he transported matthew to Floyd County Jail.

I took photos of [VICTIM #1]’s injuries and uploaded them to Axon under the report number.

See primary narrative for any further details.

[End of Narrative]