Joshua Goen Obituary, Death – Joshua Goen, a former employee of Seagraves Independent School District, was the subject of a press release that was distributed by the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office yesterday. This person had just been released from jail a few days prior to their death by suicide. It was alleged that Goen had secretly recorded female students using their locker room without their permission. On Friday at 10:15 in the morning, the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding an investigation into a death. When deputies arrived at the residence where Goen’s parents lived near Shallowater, they discovered that Goen, 43, had committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a gun. The office of the medical examiner was contacted, and the sheriff’s department has stated that this incident is still being investigated. The following statement was issued by the Seagraves Independent School District: “Our deepest condolences go out to the entire Goen family.” We are a close-knit community; as a result, we are all saddened by the family’s passing and will come together in solidarity to offer our condolences and support during this difficult time.
On Monday, December 5, deputies with the Gaines County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Seagraves Police Department worked together to place Goen under arrest on a charge of invasive visual recording. On December 6th, Goen was released from the Gaines County Jail after posting bond. After playing a game against Seagraves ISD on November 15, the girls’ high school basketball team from Hale Center ISD traveled to Seagraves ISD, where the superintendent of Hale Center ISD, Steven Pyburn, stated that the investigation into Goen began at that time. Pyburn stated that when the team from Hale Center ISD entered the locker room that was being used by the Seagraves ISD visiting team, they saw something that appeared to be a phone charger. The players did not give it any thought at the time, but one of them did place a speaker in front of the device, which they found out was a camera later on. Pyburn remarked that it was a fortunate circumstance that the speaker obstructed their view of the girls changing.
After the competition, an athlete from the Hale Center ISD took possession of the item, mistaking it for something that belonged to one of her teammates. Pyburn claimed that she had brought it on the bus with her, but that no one claimed it after she had given it to them. The following day, Pyburn reported that an eighth-grade student had seen the device and recognized it as a camera while riding on the same bus as the previous day. The student brought it to the dean of students at the Hale Center Independent School District, who in turn notified the county’s school resource officer and gave it to them. Because of this, an extensive investigation was launched at the time, which included participation from the FBI, Homeland Security, the Hale County Sheriff’s Office, the Gaines County Sheriff’s Department, and the Seagraves Police Department.
The school board and administrators of Seagraves ISD have stated that they became aware of this investigation on November 22. After holding an emergency meeting, the board of education decided to put Goen on paid administrative leave at the time of the incident. The principal of Seagraves High School, Daylan Sellers, is currently acting in the role of interim superintendent. The meeting that the Seagraves school board had planned to hold on Monday, December 12 has been moved to Tuesday, December 13 at 7 p.m. due to a conflict with another event. If and when new information regarding this story becomes available, we will ensure that it is updated on our page. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Goens family as well as all those whose lives have been impacted by this tragedy and death.