Sounak Sengupta
In a case that got global attention and law enforcement of various nations involved, ABC’s ’20/20: Would You Kill For Love?’ chronicles the sensational story of Elizabeth Haysom, who conspired with her boyfriend, Jens Soering, to murder her parents, Derek and Nancy Haysom, in Virginia in April 1985. The killer couple was finally nabbed months after they fled from the police, traveling to various countries. It is a case that will intrigue every viewer, and rightly so. Who is Elizabeth Haysom? Let’s find out then, shall we?
Who Is Elizabeth Haysom?
Elizabeth Roxanne Haysom was born in April 1964 in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) to retired Canadian steel executive Derek William Reginald Haysom and his artist wife, Nancy Astor Langhorne “Cita” Benedict Haysom. She was the only child born after her parents, who had five children in between them from their prior marriages, got married in 1960. She was enrolled in a boarding school in Switzerland before being admitted to Wycombe Abbey in England.
Though beautiful and intelligent, Elizabeth had a tough time fitting in. As per reports, she felt pressurized by her parents’ expectations and believed they controlled every aspect of her life. Elizabeth messed up her grades and interview for Trinity College, Cambridge, in her final year at Wycombe Abbey. Around that time, she got hooked on drugs and traveled through Europe. Finally, she returned to her parents, and the three of them moved to Virginia after Derek’s retirement.
Elizabeth got admission to the University of Virginia in the fall of 1984 as an Echols Scholar. It was there she met Jens Soering, a baby-faced German who was the son of a West German diplomat. They instantly hit off, but her parents approved of their relationship. When they returned home during the term breaks, the couple used to write long, passionate letters to each other, underlying their shared hatred for their parents.
On March 29, 1985, Elizabeth and Jens rented a gray Chevette and drove to Washington, DC, where they stayed at the Georgetown Marriott. They went to the movies, roamed around the city, visited several restaurants, and returned to Charlottesville after spending the weekend. On April 3, 1985, Elizabeth was notified by the police that her parents had been brutally murdered at their home in Virginia. The couple even attended the funeral together.
Initially, the investigators dismissed the couple as suspects. But owing to discrepancies in their story, the authorities soon started to suspect them. Feeling the heat, the couple fled the country, going from Paris to Luxembourg under disguise and pretenses. They planned to go to Thailand to obtain Jens’ birth certificate, get married, and jointly apply for Thai citizenship. They rented a car, intending to drive to Thailand, but were stopped at the Bulgarian border.
The pair also met with an accident and had to appear in the local traffic court. After that, Elizabeth and Jens flew to Thailand, made false documents, and traveled to Singapore and Moscow before finally coming to England. The couple stayed under aliases there and conned financial institutions and stores in London until they got caught in April 1986.
Where is Elizabeth Haysom Today?
After London police arrested Elizabeth and Jens, American authorities visited them in May 1986 regarding the murder of the Haysoms. Jens confessed to the crime and was indicted by a grand jury on murder charges in June 1986. On the other hand, Elizabeth wrote to Jens in October 1986 that she intended to plead guilty. In May 1987, she voluntarily returned to Virginia, where she took a plea deal, blaming the murder of her parents on Jens.
In August 1987, Elizabeth pleaded guilty to being an accessory to the murders before the fact and even testified at Jens’ trial. She was sentenced to 90 years in prison – two consecutive terms of 45 years for each murder. Elizabeth was incarcerated at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Troy, Virginia. According to her court records, she was first eligible for parole in 1995 but was denied. However, her sentence came with mandatory parole, meaning she would have to be discharged in 2032 after serving 45 years of her conviction.
While serving her sentence, Elizabeth wrote many articles for several publications. On November 25, 2019, it was announced that both she and Jens were to be discharged on parole and extradited to their respective home countries. It was also declared that the decision was not based on merit, but due to a cost-cutting measure by the state. After serving over 30 years of prison term, Elizabeth was transferred to the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She was deported to Canada in January 2020.
Read More: Where is Derek and Nancy Haysom’s Killer Jens Soering Now?
