Kriti Mehrotra
When 27-year-old entrepreneur and graphic designer Laura Jean Ackerson suddenly disappeared before being found dead in a creek days later, the entire nation was left baffled to the core. That’s not only because this North Carolina resident’s body had been cut up into pieces before being disposed of in Texas but also because it gradually came to light that she had died at the hands of those she knew. In fact, as chronicled in ABC’s ’20/20: Can I Prey First?,’ her killers were her ex-husband as well as the father of her two toddlers, Grant Ruffin Hayes, and his new wife, Amanda Perry Hayes.
Grant Hayes Has a Deeply Troubled Past
Although Grant was born into a relatively middle-class and ordinary household in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 30, 1979, everything reportedly changed for him following his first marriage at the tender age of 18. This talented musician had actually tied the knot with a beautiful ballerina named Emily Lubbers in 1997 before relocating with her to Greenville, but their relationship soon crumbled apart. That’s when he allegedly fell into such a deep mental state he was diagnosed with depression as well as bipolar disorder, leading him to be prescribed some powerful medications like lithium.
Grant did subsequently return to his hometown, but nothing was the same despite it gradually appearing as if he was doing better because he soon found himself seriously addicted to substances. By 2005, he had actually evolved into a serious drinker, smoked marijuana, dabbled in powders such as cocaine as well as heroin, and discovered that his true vice was synthetic hallucinogens. Nevertheless, he still had a charm about him, which is how he managed to impress 22-year-old Laura Ackerson after one of his shows in late 2006, even though they had a 5-year age difference.
According to reports, Laura and Grant got involved almost immediately as she believed in fate — she was taken by the fact they shared a birthday — resulting in them having a whirlwind romance. They tied the knot on their birthday a few months later. The pair settled down in the city and welcomed two adorable sons into this world: Grant Ruffin Hayes IV and Gentle Reign Hayes. However, owing to his allegedly volatile nature, possible narcissistic/delusional tendencies, and infidelities, Laura filed for divorce, which kickstarted a truly acrimonious battle between them for custody.
Amanda Hayes Has Always Maintained Her Actions Were Unwilling
It was in 2010 that Laura and Grant’s divorce was finalized, yet they still kept in constant touch owing to the bitter custody battle and the past they shared, so the former knew about Amanda. The musician had actually told her this new woman in his life was helping him get his music career back on track, all the while feeding him and doing his laundry in exchange for guitar lessons. However, no one could have ever imagined that by the time the summer of 2011 rolled around, this duo was already married and shared a 1-year-old daughter named Lillian “Lily” Ann Love Hayes.
Then came July 2011, by which point Grant had reportedly grown so frustrated over the custody battle for his sons that he came up with a plan to eliminate Laura from the picture altogether. Therefore, alongside his new wife Amanda, he broke into his ex’s home and killed her before cutting up her remains with a power saw, storing it in coolers, and driving it away in a U-Haul to Texas. As per records, the couple initially tried to dispose of her body using muriatic acid, yet when that failed, they decided to just dump her into the alligator-infested Oyster Creek in Richmond.
Amanda and Grant were both charged with first-degree murder on July 25, 2011, following which they chose to await trial by pleading not guilty, with the former consistently claiming she was not a killer. Instead, she asserted, she only helped dispose of Laura’s body because her husband had threatened to kill her if she didn’t, and she was genuinely afraid of him owing to his alleged erratic behavior. She did testify that Grant had never actually been physically abusive towards her in the past, but she was partly believed as the prosecutors had also declared he had violent tendencies.
Amanda and Grant Hayes are Serving Their Sentences Today
While Grant was unanimously convicted of first-degree murder on September 16, 2013, Amanda’s trial ended with the jury concluding she was guilty of second-degree murder on February 19, 2014. They were hence sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and 13 to 16 years, respectively, just for Amanda to later also be convicted and ordered to consecutively serve an additional 20 years in Texas on the charge of tampering with evidence.
Therefore, today, at the age of 45, Grant is incarcerated at the Eastern Correction Institution in Maury, North Carolina, where he is expected to remain for the rest of his natural life. We should mention that he did appeal his conviction and requested a new trial, but his legal arguments were dismissed in early 2023. As of Amanda, the 52-year-old is currently incarcerated at the Lucile Plane State Jail in unincorporated Liberty County, Texas, where she is expected to remain until at least April 2034. She has already completed her sentence in North Carolina – she was actually released and transferred to Texas in August 2024.
Read More: Sha Garrison: Where is Amanda Hayes’ Daughter Now?
