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What prompted a churchgoing businessman to commence a high-caliber shootout with deputies of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) three months ago? According to his surviving family, the Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) parishioner had an affinity for pure cocaine and explosive tendencies.
On September 15, 2023, the escapades of Matthew Edward Healey, 57, reached a pinnacle when he was gunned down by police at approximately 12:45 a.m. EDT following an intoxicated display outside The Trophy Club — the highest-rated gentlemen’s club in Greenville, South Carolina.
In addition to his bullet-riddled body — the only fatality from his shootout — deputies retrieved a Century Arms Micro Draco 7.62x39mm, Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm, FN 509 9mm, Glock 19 9mm, and Glock 19X 9mm from inside a pickup truck he commandeered.
The purportedly devout attendee of Colonial Hills Baptist Church left behind his self-titled dental practice in Taylors, S.C., his longtime wife and four biological children. Such is the wholesome life his friends, family, clients and congregation insist he maintained.
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“THE MURDAUGH OF GREENVILLE”
Within hours of his death, a daughter of Healey’s — who was born out of wedlock — contacted FITSNews with major allegations against her father. She has since introduced this author to an immediate relative who claims the god-fearing patriarch bragged of being an illegal arms dealer, among other nefarious occupations.
These almost inconceivable accusations against the Bob Jones University (BJU) graduate turned documented millionaire were partnered with recorded conversations, court issued rulings, felony-grade charges and abhorrent surveillance footage from two separate locations. As fate would have it, Healey’s family was building an amateur case file before he died.
“Matthew was quite an actor,” said the immediate relative on condition of anonymity. “And the reason I was supposed to keep quiet all these years was to preserve the Testimony of Christ and the family name … Well, someone tell me how the family name is faring today?”
According to files provided by this relative, the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (SCLLR) suspended Healey’s dental license on Jan. 30, 2023 — after he was arrested for breaking into a Culver’s restaurant and passing out in the bathroom with enough cocaine to land a distribution charge from the Greenville Police Department (GPD).
The burglary happened approximately ten months before the same agency watched Healey abscond from a traffic accident — just to crash his 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser into the Greenville Bus Station. He was purportedly intoxicated and believed he was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the time, according to a probable cause affidavit dated Feb. 24, 2022.
Following the incident, Healey was ordered to forfeit his Kimber K6S .357 to GPD after pleading guilty to unlawfully carrying a pistol during his botched getaway. As a condition of his agreement, though, GPD was ordered to return his confiscated Smith and Wesson Bodyguard .380, according to an undated document shared with FITSNews.
“I have never told a lie about Matthew and I never will,” continued Healey’s relative on the topic of his firearms. “So believe me when I say that his guns were everywhere. Out of his oldest child’s mouth to my ear … there were stashes of weapons under every bed in their home. That included all four of the children’s beds.”
While he was allegedly trafficking firearms across the Eastern Seaboard by virtue of someone with a private airplane in Charleston — Healey was simultaneously defaulting on child support payments owed to his estranged daughter in Pennsylvania. Fear not, though, as she eventually had her day in family court.
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THE “HOMELESS” DENTIST
According to a paternity test conducted by Labcorp on May 24, 2002, Healey impregnated one of his employees during an explosive workplace romance at his previous office. On condition of anonymity, the woman — known only as “Lou” — told FITSNews Healey had previously promised to abandon his longtime wife.
Instead, he abandoned the affair after less than one year.
“He was an emotional rapist with a victim’s mentality,” said Lou in reference to Healey. “And when Satan called his son home on September 15, he went straight to hell.”
While Lou declined an on-camera interview, the same cannot be said for her 21-year-old daughter who will almost inevitably become a mainstay on this platform as the ‘House of Healey’ continues to crumble under the weight of family revelations and forthcoming investigations.
“My father will always be the villain in my story,” said Hastings Eddy during her exclusive sit-down with FITSNews last month. “I feel very badly for what happened. I feel very badly for his family. But I always said that I was going to go public. It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise … I don’t know where Matthew ended up, but I have a feeling I won’t be seeing him ever again.”
According to Eddy, her father defaulted on paying medical insurance and child support almost every month for nearly two decades. Her personal family court files profess the dentist was behind $6,500 in 2002, $10,515.58 in 2012, $7,900 in 2017 and $6,000+ in 2022.
Healey’s coordinated response? Assuming the role of an indigent defendant in family court despite his five-figure monthly salary and six-figure annual salary proving his ability to make these payments. This, on top of claiming he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, ocular shingles and untreatable brain abnormalities throughout these legal battles.
A letter from Horton Law Firm to Healey’s attorney, John W. Howard III, reads in part: “Your client is earning an annual income in excess of $200,000 and has undertaken some creative financial maneuvers in an effort to shield his income from child support. I do not believe a family court judge … is going to appreciate his attempts to avoid paying child support.”
Come April 13, 2022, Eddy watched as Healey was arrested in court and ordered to pay six months of child support on top of misdemeanor charges for willfully lying under oath. This was the second and last time Eddy laid eyes on her biological father — and supposedly her fondest memory of the Greenville socialite.
“His wife told me I was Matthew’s biggest mistake,” concluded Eddy during our interview. “I just don’t understand how she could say that when her husband went out — quite literally — guns-a-blazing in a strip club parking lot with cocaine up his nose … But at least he was wearing church clothes.”
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THE END?
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While Healey died three months ago, the extent of his double life was unknown beyond his immediate relations … until now. And as previously stated, the items already shared by Healey’s family suggest that future reports detailing the depths of that double life are all but guaranteed.
For example, this article makes no mention of Healey’s alleged backroom dealings within his practice; alleged financial crimes against his employees; alleged federal crimes admitted over alcohol; whereabouts of a neighbors missing treasure; testimonies from his favorite adult entertainers; incidents GCSO failed to explore; or the state’s investigation into his fatal shootout.
As for his widow?
“No comment,” Sherri Ann Healey texted this author. “I want nothing in your fake news about my family. My family has suffered enough hurtful news and you are interviewing someone [Eddy] that didn’t even know him or have a relationship with him. My kids and I loved him and dearly miss him.”
She asked FITSNews not to contact her further.
“I’ve repented of my failures,” Matthew Healey said in a conversation recorded over a year before his demise. “Fortunately, I’m a person who has seen lots of different circumstances over the years and I don’t jump to conclusions … I’m not a mean person. I’m not an angry person. I’m not a vindictive person. I’m just an average guy.”
If you or someone you know was a victim of this “average guy,” please contact the author of this article at andy@fitsnews.com. We religiously protect our sources and handle every conversation as confidential – whether information is provided anonymously or not.
This story may be updated.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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5 comments
Sherri’s DELUSIONAL. Nothing fake about this news! :) i’ll be praying for her!
“World’s Greatest Dentist” on his headstone really SCREAMS “My kids and I loved him and miss him.” BFFR.
His wife is definitely delusional, she misses his paycheck. I’m sure his favorite strippers haven’t given him a second thought. Typical of many sanctimonious BJU people who are taught to hide scandalous behavior rather than being taught to be honest and upright people.
After all his accomplishments, the hidden flaw, rises up from the depths, triggered, it demands attention that will not be denied. A chameleon, addicts learn what to do, how to act. It is a sad event, his train was on the inevitable track to destruction. There were flags, ( as they say) previous charges minimized by the system? (low bail) Enabled, by whom? Hard to curtail a loved one, when hard decisions are not made.
LEO’s answering the call do not want to be placed in this situation..”defeating the threat”, going home healthy, no innocent people harmed. The expose of this man, should alert everyone. Prayers to the survivors, the family and our LEOs.
Innocent until proven guilty but my oh my, what a tangled web.