Viswa Vanapalli
Laren Sims’ arrest in Destin, Florida, meant that the authorities finally had lawyer Larry McNabney’s killer in custody. But the person who told the authorities about her location was her daughter, Haylei Jordan, who was a teenager at the time. ABC News’ ‘20/20: Hell in Heels’ delves into Laren’s life of crime and scamming people, all the while featuring an interview with Haylei, who talks about her life with a mother who was constantly on the move.
Who is Haylei Jordan?
Soon after dropping out of school, Laren had two children — a daughter, Haylei, and a son, Cole — born to different fathers. Growing up, Haylei spent most of her time in Brooksville, Florida, where her mother was raised. She talked about her childhood being erratic, with them constantly moving, staying in one place only for a few months or a year. Haylei stated, “When I think about my mom from that time, for her, it was about fun until it was not. Until it was about waking up in the middle of the night and saying, ‘Hey, we have to leave.’ Because rent hadn’t been paid, or she was being evicted.”
After some trouble with the law for shoplifting in 1993, Laren took her daughter down to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she eventually met and married Larry in 1996. Haylei and her mother thus moved in with the wealthy lawyer, but all was not well. According to Haylei, his alcohol and drug problems made her feel unsafe. She added that he physically abused Laren at one point. Haylei said that Laren left Larry, but he had tracked them down and threatened to kill them before killing himself, driving her mother to take him back.
Haylei even claimed that Larry knew of her mother’s outstanding warrants for all her petty crimes. After an incident where he allegedly grabbed Haylei violently, Laren sent her away to Maine for a job that required her to train horses. Later on, when authorities discovered his body in 2002, Laren and Haylei were on the road and had traveled through several cities before settling in Destin under different names. At the time, the teen didn’t know about his murder and didn’t question why there were moving so much again.
However, when Laren wanted to move again, Haylei didn’t want to do it anymore. She said, “I just felt resigned. I’m just a non-person, a non-person. I exist, but I’m not really me.” Sfter all, in her eyes, her mother never once catered to her innate needs or desires. Nevertheless, they went to South Carolina before coming back to Florida. Around the same time, Laren told her daughter that she’d killed Larry with Sarah Dutra’s help. Back then, Sarah was a legal secretary at Larry’s private law firm. When her mother left after dropping her off in Destin, a worried Haylei called the police because she thought Laren would harm herself somehow.
Eventually, the police tracked Laren down and arrested her. In a letter to Haylei, she explained her actions, saying, “I could not figure a way out. The drugs, the alcohol, the prostitutes, the trust account, things I told you about, he just couldn’t bring himself out of the darkness.” While Laren killed herself awaiting extradition, Sarah’s case went to trial. She claimed to have been manipulated by Laren, but Haylei testified for the prosecution, saying Sarah never once seemed scared of Laren. This strengthened their case against her.
Where is Haylei Jordan Now?
After Laren’s death, since Haylei was still a teen, she was sent to live with her maternal grandparents in Brooksville, Florida. She has since talked about how she has been healing from what transpired before stating her belief that her mother was a domestic violence victim. She also said that nobody should feel trapped, adding, “You never have to stay in a situation that you don’t feel safe, a situation that you question. You have a right to feel safe, and you have a right to whatever future you’re willing to make.”
Despite thinking she would never have a normal life, Haylei seems to be doing much better now. With a Master’s degree in Nursing, she works in the healthcare industry and is seemingly a proud mother of two young kids. From what we can tell, she’s still based in her hometown of Brooksville, Florida.
Read More: Where is Sarah Dutra Now?
